The Farmer’s Still in the Dell

Three places your kids can learn about the land and food

By Janis Hashe

Never mind babies—where does food come from? The attitude of the modern urban child might be summed up in a young girl’s questions during her recent visit to Crabtree Farms: “How did the spinach get on the ground? Did you dump it out of the can?”
If you, like many parents, would like to allow your child to experience where and what food is before it winds up in your refrigerator or on the table, there are several wonderful and reasonably local options.

Crabtree Farms

Chattanooga’s urban farm offers many ways for kids to find out about growing, harvesting, and just being around food. “We’re uniquely positioned as an urban farm to meet the needs of city kids,” says Melanie Mayo, who coordinates many of the kid-friendly programs at Crabtree. The above anecdote took place, she says, on one of Crabtree’s school field trips.
“Crabtree is an exciting, open, play environment, different from what kids experience in parks and controlled spaces,” she says. “We love teaching kids that getting your hands in the dirt is fun.”

Besides field trips, Crabtree offers tours for kids on themes such as “Bugs & Blooms” and “What We Eat.” The popular “U-Pick” days are about to begin, with strawberries in May, blueberries in June, and blackberries in July. “Kids love peeking under the leaves to hunt for the strawberries. And our blackberry vines are thornless,” Mayo says.
Additionally, the farm will offer three “camps,” one each in May, June and July, each on a farm/nature/ecology theme. And families can visit Crabtree at any time for a self-guided tour.
“They can see the farmers and the farm, including the bees, and visit the farm stand, where food right from the field and eggs right from the chickens are sold,” she explains.
Visiting Crabtree’s web site at CrabtreeFarms.org will provide more information about programs. Melanie Mayo suggests calling her directly at (423) 493-9155, ext. 11, to make reservations for camps, tours, etc.

Crabtree Farms, 1000 East 30th St. (off Rossville Boulevard), Chattanooga 37409

Sequatchie Cove Farm

Adults who enjoy dining at some of Chattanooga’s top restaurants have no doubt seen the name “Sequatchie Cove Farm” on the list of the local suppliers. This 300-acre farm, about 35 minutes from downtown Chattanooga, “in the shadow of the Cumberland Plateau,” is well known locally and regionally for its beef, pork and cheese.
Sequatchie Cove is a true family affair, run by Bill and Miriam Keener, their children, Miriam’s parents, and a group of interns learning about sustainable farming techniques. The farm uses no herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics or growth-producing hormones, and all its animals graze and live their lives in open pastures.
Sequatchie Cove raises beef cattle and heritage pigs and also has a herd of Devon cows, whose milk is used to make cheese, and numerous chickens, whose eggs are collected and sold. The farm’s Dancing Fern Nursery has a wide selection of native plants, shrubs and trees.

The farm also grows vegetables and fruit, and a Farm Trading Post offers a selection of what’s in the fields. “Strawberry Pick Your Own” starts May 5, but the Keeners advise always calling ahead to ensure there is ripe fruit to pick. Families may visit the farm, as well, but they must call ahead, as Sequatchie Cove is a working farm, with all hands frequently in the pastures and fields.

One word of advice: Be prepared for questions about animals being raised for food. The cattle and pigs on the farm are not pets. It’s an important opportunity to talk to kids about the food chain, and where the meat in their diet comes from.

Sequatchie Cove Farm, 320 Dixon Cove Rd., Sequatchie, TN 37394. (423) 942-9201 or SequatchieCoveFarm.com

Broadened Horizons Organic Farm

“The bok-choy in the greenhouse is growing nicely, now that it is getting warmer with longer daylight. We have been thinning the planters and potting seedling ‘six-packs’ for sale to the public. The surviving kale and turnip plants have recovered nicely from the frigid cold of this winter, but have now started to bolt (the process of making flowers and seeds), so we will not have any for sale this spring. Chickweed damaged during the winter is fully recovered, so there are now plenty of greens to feed the chickens. This green salad we feed daily to the hens help produce those nice deep orange yolks.”
That’s a typical blog entry for Broadened Horizons Organic Farm in Rockwood, Tenn. It takes about an hour and 45 minutes to get to the farm from Chattanooga, but the trip is well worth it if you’d like to take the kids to a farm supported entirely by sustainable practices. Husband and wife farmers Leaf Myczack and Cielo Sand Hodson capture rainwater, recycle everything they possibly can for use on the farm, and treat their plants, chickens and bees as parts of an extended Earth family. The farm is solar powered, and a visit there reveals what can be done when farmers are completely committed to sustainability.
If you call in advance, farm tours are available seven days a week, as the couple regards teaching about farming as a mission important as the farming itself. But because during the growing season they are very likely in the fields, you need to let them know when you plan to come out.
Farm-style entertainment awaits—feeding the chickens, for example. “Chickens don’t have TV,” Myczack points out reasonably, “so they go bonkers when you throw in an apple core.” Broadened Horizons has both hens and roosters, divided by age. “You don’t want a young rooster in with the older girls,” he reveals.
The fish at Broadened Horizons are a favorite with young visitors. Bluegills that were originally acquired to eat mosquitoes now have become stars in their own right, coming out of the pond “mouth first” to gobble up food.
Crops raised on the 11-acre farm include beans, tomatoes, corn and watermelons, among others. “Some of the bean vines are just like Jack-in-the-Beanstalk,” Myczack says. “Kids love them.”
Kids might also be able to see the beehives, which produce honey that the farm sells at its farm stand, along with eggs from the “girls” and fruits and vegetables. But again—for the most fun and hands-on teaching, call the farm in advance and arrange for a tour.

Broadened Horizons Organic Farm, 226 Rodgers Ln., Rockwell, TN 37854. (856) 354-8170 or Sustainability-Teaching-Farm.com