Moss Hill Farm | Local, Fresh, Sustainable

Farm Profile:

Moss Hill Farm is a “Certified Natural Grown” market farm located in urbanville Milton in North Fulton at 13230 Freemanville Road about 1/2 mile north of Milton High School. It is about 1+ acre of intense close companion planting. I use the mulched, top 3" till, organic, bio-dynamic, co-creating methods of raising healthy, flavorful, wholesome vegetables and herbs. Moss Hill commitment to natural farming practices means NO synthetic products are used, including fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides are used on any of the vegetables. This is a "drug-free", chemical-free farm! The organic status (not government certified) is the customer's assurance that there will be NO Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), Sewage Sludge, or Irradiation used in the production of these agricultural food products. I have tried to get as close to the way God grows things as anyone can, to produce these vegetables. I honor our environment!

This year’s addition:

This year several ‘improvements’ were made. We have added 6 different areas to compost building. There have been about 120,000 pounds of horse manure put in place as mulch with Rudolph Steiner's preparations applied to speed composting and feed the microbes. This spring we will be adding about 16 tons of granite dust which has about 13 minerals to the soil. We have also added lime, cottonseed meal, Harmony 5-4-3, fish emulsion, horsetail, and various compost tea mixtures.

Michele Gillman has agreed to help in the sales and marketing, gathering, wheelbarrowing, broad forking, etc :) this year.

We are expanding the flower and herb sections, still offering some 'Pick your Own' but will have flower and herb bouquets.

CSA offer:

This year’s offer is a four season CSA’s with a limited supply of surplus vegetables offered for sale through the INTERNET. There will also be a few Flower and Herb shares as the season develop. You can send us your email address to be added or just do it from this site. The seasons I am offering are:

1. Spring shares from April 1st to Mid-May for 6 weeks.

2. Summer shares from mid-May to mid August for a total of 12 weeks.

3. Fall shares from mid-August to end of October for 12 weeks.

4. Winter shares from November to 1st week of December for 6 weeks.

Each share will normally supplement a family of four.... two adults (teens have adult appetites), and two small children, to compliment your family meals for the week. OR If yours is a vegetarian home, the amount is usually sufficient for one to two, depending on your unique eating habits. You will be able to modify the amounts by ordering extras if you feel you need it.

Freshness Plan:

The vegetables are cleaned, then immediately taken to the walk in cooler to keep the just picked vegetables as fresh as possible. Most of the time you will be receiving the vegetables that were picked that day.

Absolute Guarantee:

My guarantee is that if you ever buy anything from my farm that you do not 100% agree is the most flavorful and fresh, I will refund your purchase for whatever reason. Some of it will be ugly and not perfect like you see in the commercial stores, but they will not be able to compete with the flavor. Some of it will look perfect like in the store, except these will have all the nutients and vitamins. Is that fair enough?

Co-Creating with Nature:

Finding out how God does things and following His ways. At the farm, we plan, plant and manage the growth of our crops in succession so we won't run out. There are times that in spite of all the dedication and prayers, we still mess up with schedules and best intentions. When this happens there may be less of some crops. Our dedicated members understand the natural processes we work with. Since we replant at regular intervals during the season, what may be lacking one week will show up in future offers. This past year was an abundant year and the members had more than ever before.

Visits to Moss Hill and Event Days:

Members are welcome to visit the farm at almost any time -- BY APPOINTMENT! Since I am not always here (I do have other off-farm chores and activities) I encourage you to CALL AHEAD! We also hold volunteer work & fun days, encouraging members to get involved. Hands-on classes are offered at least once a season covering the various aspects of naturally grown gardening located at the farm. I strongly urge you to do the garden tour before becoming a customer. I would love to show you the process that your food will be grown, it takes about 30 minutes.

Soil Fertility:

I plant cover crops (green manure), horse manure that is various stages of composting, rotate our vegetable plant locations, and use only natural minerals, compost, herbal, and other organic preparations. I say I do the 3 inch mechanical tilling, but I do have thousands of tillers at work in the soil. These workers are the lowly earthworms; you can go to any place in my garden and find 1000’s of them. We use a hand broad fork to help aerate the soil for the microbes.

Insect Pests:

We introduce and encourage habitat for beneficial insects, birds, bats, and other creatures that prey upon unwanted insects. We are not insect free, in fact there is an abundance of good and bad insects. You will notice the wooded habitat around the garden and numerous birdhouses to attract the birds. Frogs are numerous because of the pond, and spiders help control the flying insects. The wasps help control the larva. The ants help aerate the soil, eat little critters, and clean up dead critters. We do not spray them with anything but seek to develop a balance.

Weeding:

No matter what I do, there seems to always be weeds. Good plants in the wrong place. I love this definition of weeds: 'they are like teenagers, they only want a place to stay, to eat and find a way to reproduce.' Weeding is done by hand, by hoe, "flaming", composting and other safe practices.

Irrigation:

You will notice the overhead sprinklers in the field. This is the primary method of applying water, from either the pond you see out front or well water which supplies our personal residence next door. I only have to use it a few times a year because the mulch retains the moisture so well.

Plant Diseases and other Problems:

The goal is to treat my plants like you do your children. If you give them a pleasant place to live, provide good wholesome food for them, and make sure they get plenty of 'exercise'; they will stay healthy warding off the unlimited germs and viruses all around them. The same is true of plants, make a healthy soil and they can fight off the diseases. These problems are mostly avoided by my pledge to use sustainable, healthy, environmentally friendly practices. We do spray fish emulsion and horsetail about every 10 days.

Cleanliness and Quality:

This is always the #1 priority! I use unclorined well water to wash all the vegetables. There still may be some small insects on the vegetables, but because I do not seek to kill them, you will still need to wash them yourself. They are coming from a natural environment and are not as ‘sterile’ as in a commercial store. Freshness, variety and the TLC from field to consumer have rewarded us with a favorable reputation in the North Fulton area!

Mule team