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Adams' Full Well Farm Celebrates 'Climate Battery' Greenhouse

Full Well opened on East Road in 2018.

ADAMS, Mass. — The town hosted a ribbon cutting for Full Well Farm on Halloweeen to celebrate the opening of its new "climate battery" greenhouse.

"We're super grateful to be farming in Adams and have the chance to celebrate with [the town]," said Meg Bantle, the farm's co-founder. 

Bantle and Laura Tupper-Palches founded the East Road farm in 2018 and currently manage three-quarters of an acre of permanent, no-till beds. The new greenhouse, which uses the thermal mass of the soil below ground for heating and cooling, was funded via grants and loans by the state, Berkshire Agricultural Ventures and the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

"The greenhouse was a long time coming. We had been anticipating it for well over a year by the time we got the funding all together," Tupper-Palches said. " ... There was a lot of pieces that came together to make it happen. And now we'll be able to go produce year-round." 

The project, Bantle and Tupper-Palches explained, will allow the farm to use less propane in the winter when growing cool-weather crops like greens and kale. Currently, the greenhouse is growing spinach, radishes, hakurei turnips and kale. 

"The fans push air down through tubes that go under the ground, and the heat is stored in the ground under there, which is why it's called a climate battery; the storage battery is the ground," Tupper-Palches said. "And then when it's cold, we can draw the air back up as warm air."

Significant work, according to Bantle, went into creating the climate battery structure underneath the greenhouse. They don't anticipate needing to use propane until February, if not later. 

"We dug 8 feet down underneath the footprint of this structure," Bantle said. "So it's a big soil mass area that will be used in the cooler months to heat this, which will lower how much we have to rely on propane." 

Selectmen Vice Chair Christine Hoyt said the greenhouse is exciting for Adams and other groups that the farm services. Currently, the farm operates at the North Adams Farmers Market, the Indoor Winter Farmers Market and via its Community Supported Agriculture program. 

Town Administrator Jay Green thanked Bantle and Tupper-Palches for their work on the farm and the project. He reiterated that they and other businesses have the town's support.  

"I just want to highlight that there's so many unique opportunities in Adams that we don't know about," Green said prior to the ribbon cutting. "These are great opportunities to get to celebrate not just you, but what you add to Adams. These are great events because we go from small stores, small business; to something unique like this." 

Those interested in learning more about Full Well Farm can visit its website here.

Friday Afternoon Fire Destroys Cheshire Barn

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
04:40PM / Friday, April 03, 2026

 

CHESHIRE, Mass. — A fire on Friday afternoon destroyed a barn at 920 Sand Mill Road.

 

The building is a total loss but firefighters were able to prevent the flames from reaching another nearby barn and the house at Stoney Brook Farm. 

 

Fire Chief Thomas Francesconi said the fire was called in 12:39 p.m. by the homeowners "but it already had a foothold before they noticed it."

 

Responding firefighters found the L-shaped structure fully involved. Adams, Lanesborough, Savoy and Windsor fire companies responded and Williamstown Fire covered the station.

 

The tankers were used to transport water from a nearby brook until a pool could be set up near the scene and water pumped into it. 

 

Northern Berkshire EMS responded and one firefighter was treated at the scene and then taken to Berkshire Medical Center. 

 

Francesconi said there were no other injuries but the owners told him there were 18 chickens in the barn. The structure also had equipment and other materials in it, including a Jeep.