A John Deere Publication
Agriculture, Specialty/Niche March 01, 2025
Backyard Bounty
Rare breeds, raspberries, and unexpected turns.
by Katie Knapp
When an old Scotsman at a New Hampshire Farm Bureau meeting pointed to a flock of Scottish Blackface sheep and said, "Dear, dear! Come here!" Naomi Scanlon's backyard farming journey took an unexpected turn, weaving together rare breeds, family history, and community building.
She brought as many of those sheep home that night more than 30 years ago as would fit in the back of her Chevy pickup.
"It was probably for the best that I got back at midnight," she says with a chuckle. Her husband, Dave, did not know yet what she had stumbled into.
They had just moved their family into a dark and drafty Colonial-era inn that needed considerable work.
The property was built by the Clough family in the mid 1700s with a grant from King George III of England. And, their daughters—who had yet to live on a farm—would turn their nose up at the slightest waft of manure.
Dave's family had lived in the Clough Tavern Inn most recently. The couple had no desire to bring it back to its former glory hosting travelers, but Dave and Naomi also couldn't give it up, being only the third extended family to own the property.
Instead, Naomi's heart—and her 4-H livestock-loving inner child—told her the acreage and barn needed animals.
She had grown up on a small farm just up the hill from the inn until age 13. Her childhood memories are marked by showing shorthorns, caring for her uncle's sheep, and riding horses. "I just loved the sheep," she recalls, her eyes lighting up with thought of her family's full barn.
After bringing those first few Scotties home in the 1990s, she quickly found herself running in circles. She would come home to do chores, rush back for meetings, hurry home to do chores, and then turn around again for children's events. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.
"I asked myself what I really wanted and thought, 'it's the animals. That's what I want to do,'" she remembers, happy with her decision to pivot careers so long ago. She left her job and leaned into her new path.
Above. At 12 years old, Peg the border collie still takes seriously her job of herding the Teeswater sheep from the barn to the stonewalled pasture across the road and back. Naomi Scanlon picks raspberries in her patch behind her family's 250-year-old home built with grant money from King George III in Canterbury, N.H.
Digging in. The 30 breeding ewes she had by then needed a lot of attention but didn't provide enough to replace her full-time job. Their little farm needed a cash crop.
"I had been studying, looking, and thought garlic might be the fix," she says. "The sheep and garlic would work well together—or at least theoretically on paper—as you would breed sheep when you're harvesting garlic."
Naomi was in the right place at the right time again and was able to buy out a nearby garlic farm. Then together with her sister, they developed a successful cottage-food business using the garlic. They made spice mixes and garlic jelly.
Fate intervened again, and the truck driver who delivered their jelly jars led her to some of her best meat customers. She remembers the Bosnian immigrant put in a lamb order as soon as he saw the sheep come down from the field across the road. Pretty soon his whole community regularly bought lamb.
For years it was just her and her dog working the farm as her husband worked long hours off the farm. Eventually, she says, her shoulders told her she couldn't do so much manual labor anymore. After unsuccessfully trying to hire help, she pointed the farm in another direction.
"My daughters convinced me to keep a few sheep, and I cleaned up the raspberry bushes that I transplanted from my mother," Naomi explains.
The Scotties soon gave way to Teeswater sheep. She decided if she was only going to have a few, a breed with good meat and desirable wool would be best.
They had developed a successful 'Garlic Day' event so followed suit with the raspberries in 2023.
"It would be a good way to get rid of the berries and introduce people to the importance of maintaining the minor, old sheep breeds," she explains.
As part of the 'Raspberry and Wool Day,' the local University of New Hampshire Extension home horticulturist, Steph Sosinski, taught visitors how they can best manage their own backyard raspberry patch with these top ten tips.
Above. UNH Extension educator Steph Sosinski taught visitors to Dave and Naomi's farm about backyard raspberry management while Naomi showcased her sheep's beautiful wool during the 'Raspberry and Wool Day' in July 2024.
Top ten tips.
Site Selection: Choose sunny, well-drained areas away from wild brambles and where crops like tomatoes and potatoes have not recently grown to minimize virus and pest risks.
Watering: Provide consistent moisture (1 - 2 in. weekly).
Mulch: Use sparingly to retain moisture and suppress weeds, but not so much as to delay fruit ripening, interfere with fall hardening or harbor pests.
Variety Selection: Select based on local hardiness zone and your desired color and harvest timing.
Trellising: Train all raspberries to keep the canes off the ground.
Pruning: Twice a year for airflow and light penetration.
Weed Control: Remove weeds that compete for nutrients and can introduce pests and diseases.
Pest and Disease Prevention: Start with virus-free stock, remove diseased canes, fallen fruit, and leaves.
Wildlife Protection: Fencing and netting can keep wildlife away.
Harvest: Pick when firm and easily comes off the core. ‡
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