Our farm

When we bought a derelict 13-acre farm in Greene County, Georgia, in late 2002, we were more concerned with the house – which was a major fixer-upper of the "animals are living in it" variety – than the land.

But that November, the ancient pear tree outside the kitchen window dropped hundreds of hard Kiefer pears. The following spring, asparagus sprang up unbidden from the billows of green grass. And despite the best efforts of the man who bulldozed all the kudzu off the property, summer brought a frenzy of blackberries.

The county health inspector, who came to help us find the elusive septic system, told us that we had some of the best soil in the county. Yes, there were areas of crusty silt and rock-hard clay, but there were also patches of fertile loam and riverine sand. The land had been a cattle farm in the early 20th century. Here and there, we found the remains of ancient barbed-wire fences.

Basically, the land started calling to us, and it wouldn't shut up.

We still haven't really finished remodeling the house. Not to our satisfaction, anyway. But we have built a chicken house, an orchard, a vineyard, and two large fenced gardens. We grow what we love and what the land supports best – all without petrochemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides.

A few years ago, we started offering our cut flowers, vegetables, herbs, and fruit at the Oconee Farmers' Market and at Athens Locally Grown. In 2010 we added Oglethorpe Fresh in downtown Lexington. Please visit us at any of these locations, or drop by our farm for a dozen eggs.