Hybridoma Organic Fruit Farm

General information

Hybridoma Organic Fruit Farm is a 50 acre farm in the Long Green Valley area of Baltimore County, Maryland (USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7). The farm was certified organic by the Maryland Department of Agriculture and in recent years has maintained its registered organic status. Hybridoma is dedicated to faithful stewardship of this farmland, emphasizing biodiversity, sustainability and natural fertilization and pest control. A concurrent mission is educational: to share knowledge to about fruit production using organic techniques, solar energy production, and honey production.

Currently, thirteen acres are planted with 14 varieties of highbush blueberries, and approximately four more acres -- the "bramble area" -- are dedicated to red, black, yellow and purple raspberries, blackberries, and two experimental plots of currants and gooseberries. There is also a small apple orchard.

The origin of the farm was an "organic" process: Beginning in 1995, Hybridoma owner R.G. Hamilton experimented with a spectrum of vegetables, evergreen (Eastern White Pine, Colorado Blue Spruce) trees, redbud trees, and fruits (blueberries, raspberries and strawberries) grown in experimental plots to determine which species would be selected for future years. While the evergreen and the redbud trees grew well and could have formed the basis of a Christmas tree farm or a landscaping nursery, the farmer felt that it was boring to observe their slow growth. More importantly, the idea of cutting down what had been a labor of love in growth and nurturing was not a tenable option. Since the farmer came originally from Michigan where blueberries are common, blueberries became one focus of the early years of farm development.