90 acres hosted by Woody B.
1 lodging site
I would consider our homestead very mature from the standpoint of organic food production. We have been here 13 years developing the infrastructure.
We raise three different kinds of heritage animal breeds as part of our permaculture regime - rabbits, chickens & pigs. I help found the Appalachian Homestead Association where we help teach people to raise their own food on a small homestead and learn what grows well locally. I teach permaculture and we have an extensive permaculture setup.
We have large fenced garden using raised beds & low tunnels, as well as a year round greenhouse. We also have large growing spaces outside the fenced garden. We make extensive use of leaves which we collect from our woodland, then shred, then compost and finally filter thru a trommel I designed. We use the fine leaves as part of our soil block mix and larger leaf fragments for mulch. We use the 21 day fast compost method.
Our pigs are the American Guinea Hog which is the original homestead pig dating back to the beginning of the US. They are very docile and friendly, small compared to commercial pink pigs. They forage on grass and acorns vs rooting like many other pig breeds. We also free range them. We are members of the American Guinea Hog Association.
We recently purchased a bandsaw mill to utilize our woodland to construct additional building on the homestead and are now constructing a solar wood kiln for drying the sawmill output.
Organic methods: We follow the Intelligent Gardner for soil health.
We make heavy use of companion planting to deter pests.
Certifications: we are organic in practice, but not certified
Internet access provided, we have very high speed fiber connected wifi.In the interest of clarity and full disclosure, we are very committed followers of Jesus - but we are not involved in an institutional church. Politically we are freedom loving libertarians. I am a mostly retired Fortune 100 Subsidiary President. Neither of us has taken the "vaccine". Both of us are very active in a local food pantry serving the underprivileged. We are in our early 70's.That should tell you a lot about us.
We have lived for 13 years on an 90 acre all organic farm in the Smokey Mountain area of Tennessee located about 20 minutes from the second oldest town in Tennessee - Rogersville. https://www.rogersvilleheritage.org/historic-rogersville
Hawkins County where we live has at one time been a part of North Carolina, then the short lived State of Franklin and finally Tennessee in 1798. https://www.hawkinscountytn.gov/history.html
We are good friends with the owners of the oldest stone house in Tennessee which also has the oldest stone dam in Tennessee - built in 1781. https://amismill.com/
