When we first arrived, we noticed that the wind made us quite chilly - we were not prepared for that. But we persevered - we "wandered" a bit through the greenhouses full of plants for sale (herbs, perinneals, and others). Then after wandering the grounds a bit more, we sat down for a wonderful picnic lunch. Then it was time for our tour to begin. At the beginning of the tour, our guide (Mike) gave us a brief history of how Crabtree Farms came to be.
At this point of the tour (above), Mike was explaining the down-side of clear cut lands and open expanses of "plowed" dirt for farming - loss of topsoil, benefits of tree lines and brambles, and so much more. He also included a bit about beneficial insects and having wildlife around (birds) to keep the bugs in balance.
A view of Crabtree Farms compost system - this farm is 100% certified organic. It was a beautiful place indeed.
These last 2 photos were of the Mushroom Project. Tucked away in the woods, there is an area where oak logs are innoculated with mushroom spores (Oyster and Shitake), soaked, and then grown to harvest size. This was really interesting. Also our guide took some time to talk about the improtance of trees, stages of life, stages of decay, and other fungi.
Our trip to Crabtree Farms was a success !! We learned so much from the experience, including quite a bit of information about our own gardens at home.
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