Wisps of fog were rising from the rolling hills of Whitley County as nearly 40 farmers, university staff, and technical assistance providers gathered for a late summer field day at GoodThymes Organic Farm, the home of CFA members Cortney Moses and Paul Dengel.
Paul Dengel and Cortney Moses welcomed the group to their farm with a tour of their seed starting area as they shared their journey to farming– from growing up on farm, to owning their first farm, to finding their home at their current farm and Cortney leaving her day job to work full-time on their farm. Along their way, they connected with the resources they needed to grow their farm business, improve their production skills, and find markets which are successful for them.
Paul and Cortney recently completed an irrigation project with funding from the Kentucky Horticulture Council’s on-farm water management program. They installed new drip irrigation system in their high tunnels as well as an overhead watering system in one of their open fields. This has reduced their labor and provided a more consistent and efficient way to get their plants the water they need when they need it.
Healthy soil is at the root of a successful crop. Paul and Cortney demonstrated several of their soil health strategies for the group. Chief among these strategies is cover cropping. Using a mix of grasses and legumes, they use cover crops to add organic matter into the soil. One of their two high tunnels had a mature cover crop so, much to everyone’s delight, Paul demonstrated their flail mower as an efficient way to chop up the cover crop as part of the termination process. From his experience, he noted that it is important to understand when each plant in the cover crop mix will go to seed so that each plant can reach maturity without the plants around it reseeding and potentially creating future weed pressure. The discussion on cover crops was a highlight for many attendees with one person sharing with us later that they went straight “home and added a few cover crops in bare areas. Inspired!”
Below: cover crop with the flail mower in action
Among the many notable aspects of GoodThymes Organic Farm, is the acreage they have planted in pollinator species. Through NRCS’s conservation programs, they created two plots, each bordering their production area, filled with pollinator species. These plots attract the pollinators they need for their crops, improve the health of the soil in which they are planted, and thanks to NRCS, still generate revenue.
As the sun neared its midday peak, the group gathered at Paul and Cortney’s wash and pack area. Thanks to funding from sources such as the County Agricultural Investment Program (CAIP), they have created this space — and will soon be upgrading it — to safely handle their produce from harvest to market.
You can find GoodThymes Organic Farm products at the Whitley County Farmers Market and at restaurants such as The Hunt and Harvest in Williamsburg and The Wrigley Taproom & Eatery in Corbin.Â
Left: Cortney gives a tour of their high tunnel
We are grateful to Paul and Cortney and the Kentucky Horticulture Council with whom we co-hosted this field day as well as the many technical assistance providers who attended and shared information on the programs they have available for small-scale producers, including Grow Appalachia, NRCS, Kentucky State University, UK Department of Horticulture, and Mountain Association.
If you want to learn more about programs and resources from GoodThymes farm, reach out to us at info@cfaky.org today!