Farm Location, Soil Classification, & Growing History
Our 152 acre Maury County farm is located southwest ~55 minutes from the state capital along the fertile leipers creek valley, just 9 miles beyond Leipers Fork, in the Bethel Community. Our Farm's land has been placed in a permanent conservation easement with the Land Trust for Tennessee and will forever be available as farmland, protected from sprawling development.
Our land is found in the physiographic region of the Highland Rim and consists of rolling timbered hills, ridge balds, and a fertile valley. The valley soils' phase association is historically one of the most fertile and productive of the county, and consists of silt loams and silty clay loams that offer an optimum medium for agricultural purposes.
Arugula's Star of Neal Family Farms is a small farm with a large work ethic of expanding hopes and ideals, owned and farmed by Matthew and Allison Mills Neal. The farm had mainly been a sustenance farm for about eight years, until in 2007 when we had our first largest production for market sales. For the 2007 season, we consistently sold our organic produce at The Franklin Farmer's Market and to Margot cafe and bar.
In 2008, we continued to grow as we offered 40 CSA member shares, sold to the Franklin Farmer's Market, Whole Foods Market in Green Hills, The Turnip Truck Market in East Nashville, and to an organization started by Sean Siple called Farm to Chef/Locally Grown.
In 2009, we put most of our efforts into the Community Supported Agriculture "CSA" as we did not sell at the Franklin Farmer's Market in 2009. This decision allowed us to allocate more open spaces for the year's CSA and to accomplish an even more diverse and productive environment here at the farm.
Also, in the winter of 2009 we planted 55 different varieties of fruit trees mainly consisting of heirloom organic apple, with some pear, fig, and peach. We started blueberry bushes, and a grove of cane berry plants like blackberry, raspberry, and gooseberry, and on top of all of that strawberries too.
We were selected to be one of the host farms in 2009 for Outstanding in the Field on September the 13th. Martha Stamps was the selected chef and my what a wonderful feast this on-farm dinner turned out to be!
Our most exciting additions in 2009 were the heritage breed chickens and the moveable chicken coop built by Matthew.
Our farm which will thrive from early spring (March) through late fall (November), will provide a bountiful variety of many different species. All of our vegetables, melons, and herbs are certified organic, and are either from open pollinated, heirloom, or hybrid seed varieties. We will always offer organic produce that is interesting, tasty, healthy, and exciting to use for cooking and raw/cold preparation.