Producer
Seven Oaks Farm
Address: PO Box 102 Bostic, NC, 28018
About Us
Erica and Karl met while working on neighboring farms in Western North Carolina. Their farm name is inspired by a line of oak trees that stand between their two main growing areas and is a nod to the native ecosystem that makes the area so beautiful. They provide vegetables!
Practices
Seven Oaks Farm goal is to maintain and further improve the natural balance of their growing areas by using techniques that minimize soil disturbance and increase biodiversity. Their focus is on keeping the soil covered (with living roots and vegetation or mulches) and adding organic matter so that they may nourish and feed the soil rather than mine and deplete it. We never use synthetic fertilizers and we never spray any type of pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides on any of our crops.
Tarps:
Silage tarps (large, durable, 5mm thick plastic sheets traditionally used for covering animal feed) are a great, low-impact way to prepare an area for growing. They do this by mowing the existing vegetation to the ground, pulling a tarp over the area, weighing it down with sandbags, and waiting. The tarp serves to starve the plants of light which terminates them.
Cover Crops:
Cover crops, such as the buckwheat and rye grass seen here, help us to keep soil covered before, after, and between crops. Termination of cover crops adds nutrients and organic matter to the soil.
Tarps:
Silage tarps (large, durable, 5mm thick plastic sheets traditionally used for covering animal feed) are a great, low-impact way to prepare an area for growing. They do this by mowing the existing vegetation to the ground, pulling a tarp over the area, weighing it down with sandbags, and waiting. The tarp serves to starve the plants of light which terminates them.
Cover Crops:
Cover crops, such as the buckwheat and rye grass seen here, help us to keep soil covered before, after, and between crops. Termination of cover crops adds nutrients and organic matter to the soil.