Vicki and I traveled to Blackberry Farm in Tennessee this weekend while our husbands were out of town – a location we have both been interested in seeing for years. The first thing we booked was a tour of the vegetable garden with Master Gardener, John Coykendall who has worked at Blackberry Farm for the past 18 years. John is not only a fabulous person to spend time with but he has an encyclopedic knowledge of sustainable farming practices and the heirloom seed world.
According to Blackberry Farm’s website, John was exposed to the world of gardening at an early age with his grandfather, Congressman John Jennings. He always knew he wanted to create and care for some of the finest produce in the world. John has spent his lifetime cultivating his knowledge of the garden and sustainable farming practices, along with centuries old heirloom seeds that he has collected from the Smokey Mountain region and all over the world.
At the end of the day, I think John’s real mission and passion is to protect our food source, guard the history of our seeds, retain our ability to be self-sustaining as a people, and ultimately save our heritage and species – all by saving seeds. He is part of a larger community of like-minded farmers from all over the world, trying to protect our future.
John can tell you about many of the special seeds he has collected, traded, acquired on his travels or purchased from Seed Savers, down to the family that grew the seeds and how long the family has been growing them. For example, the above ‘Red Calico’ butterbean has been traced back to George Washington’s day, which is truly remarkable to think about. He and his fellow seed savers protect these seeds and their heritage as if their lives depended upon it (which, in a sense, they do!).
I had heard about seed banks and how these banks are saving native seeds – especially important because of corporate interests (Monsanto, or the “M” word as John says) who are altering our seeds and farming practices, preventing farmers from using their seeds for future crops. We are slowly losing our native seeds and what our food is meant to be. What I didn’t realize is how BIG the community of seed savers is and how it works. Thanks to John, I now realize how important it is to be connected with this community.
My biggest take-away from today’s experience with John is that I’m going to now join and get my seeds from Seed Savers, a non-profit organization. Their mission is “to conserve and promote America’s culturally diverse but endangered garden and food crop heritage for future generations by collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants.” When you join, you get the following benefits: 1) a 10% discount on purchases and events, 2) access to their seed exchange, 3) a quarterly magazine The Heritage Farm Companion, and 4) a discount on admission to local botanical gardens. This is a great resource and opportunity to begin learning about heirlooms. Of course that also means I’m going to have to find room for a greenhouse in my garden, which I have wanted for years anyway…
When you walk through the garden he has created, you will see some of his six fellow gardeners who work the farm, as well as the fruit of all of their labor – two hoop greenhouses filled to the gills, rows and rows of many varieties of heirloom beans, tomatoes, peppers, corn, cabbage, garlic, onions, herbs and other goodies. It was useless for me to ask him about the varieties he is growing (with my nascent knowledge of heirlooms) as they are all unfamiliar varieties, like these beauties below.
(Look at the height of this heirloom corn!!!)
John’s team also cultivates and harvests three varieties of mushrooms on property – Shitake, Oyster and Lion’s Mane. You can see the holes that have been drilled into local wood as part of the process to cultivate their shitake mushrooms. Vicki and I enjoyed them in the Blackberry Farm restaurants during our stay. They were delicious!
His adorable gardening shed is a place you just want to hang out, with interesting projects and activity going on all around you. Today, we observed garlic being harvested and dill flowers being collected for their seeds.
I loved this painting from John’s daughter, which he proudly displays on one of his work benches.
Not only is Blackberry Farm a must-visit for relaxation and taking in the natural beauty of the Smokey Mountains, but the sustainable agriculture program on-site, which is fully integrated into your experience while staying here, is a must-explore. Meet John, check out the Preservation Kitchen, go to the gift shop to see all of the food products that come from Blackberry Farm, and take home their two cookbooks. Blackberry Farm is a very special place.
Addendum: There was a fabulous article about Mary Beall, the new proprietress of Black berry Farm, upon the death of her husband Sam after 20 years of marriage. It was in the New York Times on August 9, 2016. Check in out!
