The earth breaths a sigh of relief as a much needed slowdown of the economy takes place worldwide. Rivers are cleaner and air quality is up. For the first time in 30 years the Himalayan mountains are not obscured by pollution. The next step is to curb soil pollution by developing a healthy, local food…
Growing high quality CBD Cannabis is no different than growing high quality fruits, vegetables, and other produce. We start with the soil, and this begins the preceding fall. Our fields, such as this one we are growing CBD Cannabis in, receive an annual application of biodynamic compost at the rate of 40 tons to the…
I love growing potatoes. They are a fun and early crop for us. This year we planted 1,500 pounds of seed potatoes on an acre below the orchard and another 500 pounds on the south side of Heady Ridge Road. Fifteen loads of beautiful, black, biodynamic compost were spread with the New Idea manure spreader….
You don’t have to understand chemistry to learn how to grow plants. The earth, rain, atmosphere and sun work together and you just need to plow, fertilize, sow, and tend the plants at the right time. But learning a little chemistry is necessary to learn how plants grow. In atomic theory, atoms are the smallest…
If you garden in Middle Tennessee, here are a few ideas to consider. In April, plant a few rows of Detroit Dark Red beets, an old fashioned, tried and true heirloom. We have learned to make a four inch wide furrow and sprinkle the seed in it, firm them in, and then cover lightly. Thin…
Please donate to our GoFundMe page here to help us rebuild! I left my cabin at 4:15 and stopped at Shrums to get some tractor parts and vetch seed. At that time, the barn was fine, and no one else was at the farm. Phil had gone home for the day and Anthony and Kristina…
Table to farm is the name we’ve given to September’s labor day event. Twenty folks from the staff of Husk restaurant spent the day at the farm. In light of the popularity of Farm to Table dinners, the importance of restaurants learning first hand how food is produced seems paramount. I was picking tomatoes with…
As observation is a key to learning, closely comparing a handful of rich garden soil with one from a worn out field can teach us a lot. The garden soil, with its additions of organic matter and minerals, will be dark and crumbly, while the worn out soil will be lighter in color and compact….
Written By: Jeff Poppen Photos by: Sherman Thomas – See more at The Lost Art of Farming Nashville’s local food movement celebrated it’s 7th annual Summit December 1, 2 & 3 at Montgomery Bell Academy. Chris, a MBA science teacher, had been to the previous 6 events and thought it would be great to bring…
In nature, as with life, everything is connected. Symbiotic relationships are ever-present. Grass is good for cows and cows are good for grass lands, bees need flowers just as the flowers need the bees, and fruits and vegetables need humans just as humans need fruits and vegetables. Eating plant-based foods helps to fortify the…
Situation Much of middle Tennessee crop land is misused or not used at all. The way crops are grown currently for exporting out of state is increasingly under scrutiny by scientists and the public alike for their questionable affects on the environment, the economy and our health. On the other hand, Tennessee’s cultural and economic…
The secrets of manuring are now being discovered in the fields of soil microbiology, and the incredibly rich interrelationships there. When we choose to refuse chemical fertilization, we instead rely on these complete interactions to supply our crops with the nutrients they require for proper growth. At the top of the list is nitrogen, and…
Below is an excerpt from this past Monday’s consultation. Winter is a great time for consultations, to get you ready for what to do in the following year. It is also our most free time, so you are more likely to be able to schedule something with us now! Please request your consultation here! Dear…
The 6th annual Tennessee Local Food Summit began almost right on time. With excellent facilities at Tennessee State University’s downtown campus, the event ran from December 2 through December 4, 2016. A partnership with the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has made sponsorship easier, and the Nashville local food community pulled it off elegantly. Our…
Below is an excerpt from a consultation report Jeff wrote up for someone after visiting their farm. With your 7500 square feet of bed space in mind, here are my suggestions. I would ensure a good crop by incorporating: – 50 lbs green sand – 50 lbs granite dust – 50 lbs kelp – 50…
A note to our CSA members. Thinking of You Always When we sort potatoes in the middle of the week, I wonder what you‘ll do with them when we bring them to you on Monday. Then when we sort butternuts I wonder if you‘re making pies with homemade crusts and plenty of cinnamon. I think about you…
The mid-October garden report finds the farm in pretty good shape. We survived festival season and got a lot of much needed clean up done. Tomatoes and peppers are dwindling, but the fall beans are banging. Besides six rows of blue lake, we have many rows of October beans whose time has come. These were…
Planning plantings to provide people who’ve previously pledged payments with plenty of produce places particularly peculiar and perplexing parameters around the potential possibility of periodic over productions. It is way too easy to grow way too much. Our first plantings pose no problems. We can never grow too many onions or potatoes. These storage crops…
We sat in the field, letting the sun kiss our skin while we watched the butterflies and fairies play, and the wildflowers and grass dance. Our fingers worked to pull up the weeds that were choking the garlic and stealing their food, and in return they thanked us, one by one, with a deep sigh…
We are so lucky to always have such talent and creativity on our farm. The poem below is by an intern from two seasons ago, Olivia Cantrell. I Am But A Single Cell I am but a single cell within a seed, with little energy I must proceed To the sun above that…