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ARGOSY
FARM is a farmsteading1 project located in Hillsborough,
North Carolina. After years of fast-paced, hectic lives, we're looking for a
"simpler", sustainable and self-sufficient lifestyle. We're not abandoning
modern conveniences, but we believe we can combine the best living practices of
our grandparents with those modern conveniences which bring value -- without
ecological compromise. We hope to protect and nurture the land. Integrate simple
low-impact, self-sufficient concepts such as ecological design and building,
natural and heritage food production, and
alternative energy. And most challenging of all, we hope to do this without
mortgaging our souls.
We invite you
to follow our progress as we wade through the challenges of the local permitting
process, and learn the joys and pitfalls of farming, building and more.
July 2008
 As
June rolls into July, we continue to enjoy a good harvest. Over 80 lemon cucumbers
were picked in just one day.
Tomatoes are now in -- grape, paste and Homestead varieties, and melons are about ready. We're still battling a few hornworms and potato beetles, but so far
handpicking is working. Check out our What's Growing
page to see the full list..
June 2008
Zucchino Rampicante turns out to be a VERY prolific squash. The skin is
tough, so must be peeled, and the pulp is similar in taste to a winter squash.
Cut into slices and sautéed in olive oil, it's quite good.
Rare Seeds, our source for heirloom seeds, says it's good for baking so
suspect this will turn up in a pie soon.
Lemon cucumbers are also coming in and the bees are very fond of their flowers.
Melons are also doing quite well and should be ready to pick soon.
Work has finished on the long driveway
into the property, up to the temporary home and back to the middle pasture where
the future house and cottage will go.
See driveway photos. It took many loads of dirt to raise the driveway's low
spots. Because the front pasture had an area that was consistently wet, we
pulled dirt from this area and had it sculpted into what is now a one-acre pond
-- or rather, a one-acre hole. Heavy rains moved in the day after the crew
finished the pond, leaving a few puddles of water. It will take awhile to fill.
As the rain fell, a dinner-plate size snapping turtle dragged itself to the top
of the pond wall and stared out into the hole.
After the dirt-moving equipment finished the first day of work in the pond area,
we. found a
woodland vole running frantically in circles across the large expanse of
sun-baked earth left void of its vegetation. We deposited it in a nest of leaves in the small forested area
next to the Bee Haven. This brings up a difficult question. We want to care for
and nurture our land, yet heavy equipment, in the process of establishing our
farm infrastructure, leaves uprooted trees, bare exposed earth and displaced
creatures. How do we reconcile our need to make space for us and meet our goal
of treating the Earth gently?
Treating the Earth gently is one thing. Sharing our produce with Tobacco
Hornworms is quite another. We discovered them feasting on tomatoes and
wonder berries. For now, hand-picking the worms appears to work, and as an added
bonus, provides fishing bait. We hooked, then returned, a
Bluegill Sunfish from the small pond using the hornworm as bait.
The bees now have a third 8-frame super on each hive. We added a queen separator
between this box and the last. If they're able to fill the box, perhaps we'll
get honey this year after all.
 The 100-degree plus heat wave continues,
making movement in the garden slower than usual. Sometimes you just have to take
a break and paddle for awhile. We put a canoe out on the pond for just that
purpose.
We've harvested our first
crops, purple plum radish and summer squash. Tomatoes, beans, peas and more are
progressing. Eggplant has been decimated by
Colorado Potato Beetle. See
garden photos.
Drip tape is hooked-up and we're now able to water the garden using the
generator to operate the well pump.
May 2008
 This
week brought the purchase of an old John Deere tractor. Working with a scythe
and other "old-fashioned" farming implements has certainly given us a new respect for previous generations that farmed without
petroleum-powered engines. We're glad to have the help.
Finally found time to install the wax frames in a new hive body for the bees, so
they've gained a second-story. They'd managed to completely fill the first
hive body added in April.
Both the electric and phone companies were out last week, installing underground
lines. It will be nice to have power as we're currently working off a generator.
 The
septic system is now in the ground. A 1500-gallon tank sits near the site of the
future cottage, while the drain field is west of the main house site. Don't get
us started on what a waste of money and space this is.
See photos.
Deer fencing is up around the 120' x 120' garden and hoop house, and the
seedlings are in the ground. While a portion of the drip tape is in place, it's
not yet connected to the well, making watering an important issue. We'll be
installing a pump and well house soon. In the meantime, we're manually watering
the seedlings using rainwater collected in rain barrels and water hauled from
the pond.
We planted the seedlings on a Saturday. By Sunday morning we discovered Spotted
Cucumber Beetles REALLY love Suyo Long Cucumbers. We're researching companion
planting and natural bug deterrents. No sign of deer or rabbit intrusion yet.
It's time to hire an electrician. We're finding it incredibly difficult to
identify contractors and get consistent quotes for jobs. In some cases we've
been fortunate to get referrals.
Flooring is going down in the temporary house. All three bedrooms are primed and
painted. Decks are up on the front and rear entrances.
We experienced our first bee swarm. A cloud of bees filled the air, surrounding
us as we worked in the garden. As we slowly moved away from thousands of
hovering bees, they flew off in unison. We've been too busy to suit up and go
down to the hives to see how many remain.
 Located
the nest of
Killdeer eggs in the un-planted section of the garden. The mother has spent
the last few weeks scolding us as we've worked in the field. Fortunately for the
eggs, our tiller expired before we could finish that row. Apparently the bird is
common in farmyards and likes to lay her eggs in gravel.
April 2008
 Six
pounds of bees
arrived April 5th. Fortunately,
Brushy Mountain provided an
introductory lesson that made it easier to transfer the bees from their
temporary home into the hives we'd prepared. Otherwise, prying the lid off a box
of buzzing bees would have been a scary challenge. They seem to be adapting
well. We find it difficult to leave them alone, wanting to peek into the hive to
see what they're up to.
Permits have
come in from Orange County for septic, well and the first temporary housing.
We're in the process of interviewing contractors to put in septic, driveway and
possibly a second pond in the front pasture. What's the best way to build a
gravel driveway? How much should it cost? What's the best septic system? Who
should we hire to install these features? These are some of the questions we're
pondering this month.
 We
asked a dowser to help us find a spot to drill our well. Using a dogwood branch,
he slowly walked back and forth with the divining rod held horizontally at chin height. After a
few passes, the branch tugged toward the ground, announcing the presence
of water.
A few days later, the well driller confirmed the dowser's talent when he struck
water at just 165 feet at 20 gallons of water per minute -- in an area where the
average well depth runs 230-400 feet. We should have all the water
we need for house, cottage, barn and gardens!
We've hauled
more loads of compost from the horse stables to spread over the fields. In the
meantime, seedlings are growing inside for planting after the last frost. We'll
make it to the 13th Annual
Piedmont Farm Tour next weekend, but need to make time to get the first
seedlings into the ground.
 Spring
growth is filling in and the pond in the back pasture is beautiful. We recently
discovered the remains of a partially-eaten large-mouth bass on the bank of the
pond, so we're assuming there are more where that one came from.
March 2008
Still
waiting on septic and well permits. The heirloom seed orders have arrived --
over 137 varieties, ranging from amaranth to zucchini. Found a good source of
aged horse manure and have begun hauling in loads to till into the soil.
 We
decided
against making the first hoop house out of PVC, and instead ordered a 16'x96'
hoop house from Atlas Greenhouse. The parts have arrived and construction
will begin as soon as we can get a dry weekend. Discovered the source of the
"peent" sound coming from the southern field at dusk. One or two
American Woodcock males chirping to attract the females. Listen to the sound here.
February 2008
The
first two beehives have been purchased with bees scheduled to arrive in April.
Began researching hoop house construction as a way to get an early
start on our seedlings. We also started tilling a 100'x100' area for vegetables,
which quickly made us aware of the differences between smaller backyard home
gardening and larger-scale farming. We've determined an old used tractor would
be a good thing.
January 2008
This
month saw the clearing of trees to make way for a farm gate entrance, a
bush-hogged front pasture and the first 450 feet of farm fencing installed. The
land is flush with bluebirds who seemed to appreciate the addition of bluebird
housing installed on fence posts.
We were also accepted into Orange County's farm enterprise incubator
program -- the PLANT (People Learning Agriculture Now for Tomorrow) at Breeze
program is dedicated to revitalizing agricultural activity in Orange County and
the Piedmont region through training on small-scale sustainable farming
techniques.
December 2007
We've purchased land! Now begins the long process of building the farm, a house
and cottage -- simple, low-energy natural homes that limit our fossil fuel use
as well as other resources. We'll soon be busy clearing fields, improving the
soil, planting crops, and building a barn. As the project progresses, we hope to
produce the bulk of our food, grown using natural practices, enabling us to limit our dependence on outside
sources, and to know where our food comes from. In time, we plan to grow enough to offer community supported agriculture (CSA)
to the surrounding community.
August 2006 - November 2007
Argosy Farm first aspired to be an intentional community centered around a farm,
but instead morphed into a smaller farmstead project after it became clear the
obstacles for the bigger undertaking were too great. We had plenty of interest
in the larger intentional community project, but found few were really willing
to commit to the farm concept, preferring instead to hire a resident farmer.
We'd seen examples in other communities where the "hired" farmer was overworked
and undervalued. Eventually, we came to understand that most farmsteaders tended
to be independent types not generally given to group endeavors. Thus, Argosy had
to transition in order to meet the goals we'd set for ourselves --
self-sufficiency, affordability, sustainability.
During this period, We spent nearly every free weekend searching for "Mayberry"
-- suitable land near a town that would offer small town ambiance, yet close
enough to a larger metro area with big town amenities. We knew the land had to
be affordable, have adequate water, provide a mix of fields and forest, offer
paved road frontage and good south-facing slopes for passive solar building.
Our search took
us through North Carolina, Virginia and even a brief jaunt to West Virginia. In
the end, we wound up right back where we'd started near Hillsborough, NC, on a
small but pretty 14 acre parcel very near one of the original 50 acre tracts
we'd considered early on in the process.
Hillsborough is
close to a number of universities, has a progressive local culture with good
levels of concern for environmental sustainability, offers access to local
farmers' markets, recreation, health care and off-farm jobs. It offers a long
growing season and reasonably short winters with minimal heating requirements.
And ultimately, it's where our hearts felt at ease.
1
We define farmsteading as a lifestyle of simple, agrarian
self-sufficiency.
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