Carrubba Newsletter  |  FARM EDITION
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 

Our Talking Rock, GA Farm | Our Newtown, CT Farmland | Gilbertie’s Organics
Our Farm in Talking Rock, GA
For many years, Carrubba, Inc. has embraced the need for traceability and authenticity. We have provided sustainable products through our shared program with farmers across America and other regions of the world. For more than a decade we have partnered with farmers located in Connecticut and have recently added farmland in Talking Rock, Georgia and Newtown, CT with plans for more expansion slated for the near future. Operating our own farmland and plantings allows us to control the entire botanical process from seedling to the extract ensuring sustainability and conservation while producing the best and highest quality products. Also, this gives us the versatility to grow specific botanicals that customers require.
The 27-acre Georgia farm is found in Talking Rock which is a quaint town nestled in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains and the third smallest town in the state of Georgia. Talking Rock's history is rich with stories. The endearing town’s name may have been inspired by the noise of the water rolling over the rocks in the beautiful creek or possibly from the notion of folks “sitting for a spell” on a rock to have a talk with a neighbor.
The farm has a welcoming entrance lined with beautiful cypress trees. A touch of European elegance in a very Americana setting. Morning and evenings are the most beautiful parts of the day with amazing sunrises and sensational sunsets.
The farm utilizes the most efficient ways of keeping the plants healthy while being eco-conscious. Organic practices are the standard on the farm. “No till farming” is used for the plants. This decreases the amount of soil erosion and increases the amount of water that infiltrates into the soil retaining more organic matter and nutrient cycling. A gravity fed irrigation system that uses rainwater and well water is used on the farm. There are several greenhouses with raised beds to ensure the proper care for the wide diversity of botanicals. The plants are naturally recycled for
next year’s crops by cultivating seeds from previous crops for the next generation. The seeds are sown in a special seedling raised bed until they get to a more substantial size to plant in the main areas of the farm.

Additional future initiatives include a new barn, additional greenhouses and a perfumery studio.
There are many botanicals growing on the farm. For example, we grow different types of roses, 3 varieties of passion flowers, a variety of teas, and something as unique as prickly pear and Moringa trees. Another initiative is growing comfrey and alfalfa to use as natural fertilizer for the seedlings and botanical nourishment.

Janice Ray, who works for Carrubba and co-owns the farm, is living her dream of being one of the less than 14% of female farmers/owners/operators in the United States. You can find her every day at 4:30 am riding the tractor and personally tending to all the plantings. Janice grew up next to a large farm where she spent much time wandering in the fields as a child, which contributed to the inspiration for her perfumery career.
Look What's Growing
Passion Flower Laurifolia
Opuntia Ficus-Indica
Prickly Pear

Dwarf Moringa Tree
Passion Flower Quadrangularis
Passion Flower Incarnata
Moringa Tree
Our New Farmland in Newtown
Carrubba’s farmland in Newtown, Connecticut is also 27 acres of land. Plans are in progress to feature a larger barn, additional greenhouses, and other supporting facilities. We maintain our philosophy of “giving back to nature so it keeps going” by collectively harnessing our decades of farming experience and ongoing collaboration with our farmland teams with an intense focus on conservation and protecting our ecosystem. For example, all botanical extract waste from Carrubba production and our R&D laboratories is used to enrich the soil at our farms. Nothing goes to waste.
Our Partner:
Gilbertie's Organics
Our partner farm, Gilbertie’s Organics, boasts 34 acres of farmland located in Easton, Connecticut. It is the largest USDA Certified Organic greenhouse grower in the Northeast USA offering over 4 acres of greenhouse production that grows and harvests year round employing up to 50 full time and seasonal people.

Sal Gilbertie, 3rd generation grower, is one of the country’s leading experts on herbs, vegetables, specialty botanicals, microgreens and organic growing for nearly a half-century. The farm has grown to become the largest organic potted herb grower in New England, with over 200 varieties. It all started in Westport, CT in 1922 with Sal’s Grandfather just selling cut flowers. During WWII Eleanor Roosevelt started the Victory Gardens and people had to go to greenhouses for vegetables. At that time people had large herb gardens. They were canning and preserving. After WWII air freight came in and the cut flowers business in the Northeast ceased to exist. That’s when Gilbertie’s decided to diversify and go into potted plants such as geraniums, poinsettias and other ornamentals.

In the late 1960’s when the ecology boom started, the demand for herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano and sage increased dramatically. No one else was growing/selling herbs at that time in the area so Sal’s father started growing 100 pots of each which were either personally delivered or sold out of his Westport shop. They outgrew the Westport location and then moved to the Easton, CT farmland.

Sal met Duane Carrubba in 1984 in his quest to look for a local business to work with and says, “It was an easy back and forth right from the beginning. Duane is a master perfumer.” Gilbertie’s has been growing many plants and supplies including witch hazel exclusively for Carrubba for many years. Carrubba recently produced a 20,000 lb. batch of a certified organic witch hazel at Carrubba’s new manufacturing facility in Monroe, CT on June 8th which coincidentally is Sal Gilbertie’s father’s birthday.


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