My farm field trip this week took me to McMinn county, Tennessee. A winding drive through the woods, dotted with wild flowers in bloom, opened up to a cottage surrounded by flowers. I usually feel a bit apprehensive when I pull up to a rural home/farm about whether I am in the right place and whether or not they have dogs. This day was no different, I slowly gathered my things, took a deep breath and was so relieved to see Dean with a gentle smile waiting to greet me on the front porch.
Dean Yoder and his wife, Carmen along with their 5 children, farm 11 acres in between Athens and Etowah. Their farm is called Abundant Acres, and they sell produce and honey. The Yoders moved to East Tennessee a few years back to help start a Mennonite church in the area. The church is very conveniently next door. Dean’s father also calls Tennessee his home now. Since Dean built him a home across the street, to care for him as he ages.
Carmen has a green thumb so she and I instantly started talking flowers. As we talked I got to meet some of their children, who were all very busy. Carmen home-schools all five kids, and they are finished for the summer, and their time is now more closely focused on the farm. Carmen is the artistic one that draws up the chalk signs for the market.
Everyone in the Yoder family takes a hand in Abundant Acres success. Before I arrived, that morning the whole crew were out in the field weeding the rows of tomatoes, lettuce, beans,squash, While Dean and his daughter Heather took me on a tour of the farm, the boys were off mending fence, Carmen was tending the herb beds and the laundry. I am not sure what the other to girls were doing at the time but I am confident they were busy as well. Each child has a “project” for the farm market season. A type of produce they grow and earn money for whatever sells at the market. One daughter is trying her hand at growing celery. Celery is a very slow grow; she started the seeds in January and doesn’t expect to have it ready for market until June. The other children have, cabbage, peas, eygyptian walking onions and even artichokes to contribute to the abundant offerings from their farm.
Dean worked for years in construction and would spend summers truck farming. Truck farming was a new term to me, so I googled it and found this quote, "The southern truck farmer . . . is a symbol of what's left of a human scale in a world gone big."—Tom Rankin, from the conclusion of The Last Harvest Truck Farmers in the Deep South by
Perry Dilbeck. This year Dean hopes to make his sole income from farming. The Yoders are fortunate enough to have a neighbor who needs someone to take care of his property and this is where the bulk of their produce is grown.
The goal at Abundant Acres is to grow everything organically. A decision Dean and Carmen have come to with the health of their children in mind. Dean tries every organic solution to pests before resorting chemicals. Take aphids for instance, spraying with garlic water would be the first line of defense, then pyganic spray an OMRI listed insecticide derived from chrysanthemums. As a last result he would use something stronger rather than lose the entire crop. So far they have been very successful sticking with organic remedies. One test they are trying this year is companion planting amaranth with cantaloupes and watermelons to control the cucumber beetle population.
The Yoders keep honey bees, and gather honey which they sell at the Farmers Markets. For their own personal consumption they have Alpine Goats for milking and even make their own yogurt and cheese. There are chickens on the farm as well. When I asked if another goal was to become self sustainable, Dean said it was not a quote unquote goal, “but it does seem to be the natural progression of things here at the farm.”
All good field trips leave you with thoughts to ponder. Before I left the Yoder’s home I asked to get a family photo. Portraiture is not one of my better skills, especially in groups. In order to try and get comfortable natural shots of everyone smiling, I tried to get them to tell on each other, a funny story, an odd habit or just something different. Though this soft spoken humble family kept more or less mum, I did witness a fondness with one another. I saw them exchange the knowing glances of those in a close relationship. As I left their home I began to ponder the effects of working together as a family, of living without the outside distractions of todays modern technology in your face 24-7, and I liked what I saw.
It seems every farm, or local food producer I visit I learn more lessons. The one lesson I observe over and over is how much value is in local produced foods. I will be completely open with you a tell you it is more money out of my pocketbook to buy local, to buy organic, to buy fresh, and to buy artisanal foods. I will also tell you straight up I don’t pay near the value these individuals deserve for the effort they put in.
I was expressing these thoughts with Dean at the end of our interview. Telling him how overwhelmed I would be with this much to take care of. Yes vegetable seeds are inexpensive, yes I can grow a tomato in a pot on my back porch if so desired. That is a whole other story than producing enough of that one vegetable for my family, and having enough to offer at the market, not to mention make an income from it.
Dean started his 400 or so tomato plants from seed this past winter. His greenhouse is heated by a wood burning stove. All winter he would set an alarm to get up in the middle of the night to stoke the fire so the seedlings could make it through the cold nights. Then once the seedlings were strong enough he transplants each of them into 3 inch pots. Then he will transplant those into the garden. Before he can do that though, he will have to pound 6 foot stakes into the ground then add strings to support the plants. Don’t get me started about preparing the ground, fertilizing, pinching the suckers off each plant of the 400 plants, and keeping the aphids away. That’s all before harvesting the tomatoes and arranging them to bring to market a hour and a half away.
Abundant Acres sells their abundance at the Knoxville FARM market at Laurel Church of Christ and at the Dixie Lee Farmers Market at Renaissance Center in Farragut
