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Flying
Cloud Farm, managed by Annie Louise and Isaiah Perkinson,
produces vegetables, fruits, and flowers for local markets. The
farm is located approximately twelve miles outside of Asheville
on route 74A in the last valley before the road climbs the mountain
to Henderson County. Annie is the eldest grandchild of Jamie and
Elspie Clarke, who managed Hickory Nut Gap Farm, which is adjacent
to Flying Cloud, for many years, as Elspie's parents did before
them. Isaiah and Annie have been farming the land for about eight
years, with an active CSA for four years. The land is rich bottom
land, which was used for hayfields for a long time before the
produce operation began taking over fields for veggies.
How
We Farm: Our farming practices rely on cover cropping, amending
the soil with OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) approved
minerals and fertilizers, annual soil testing, crop rotation,
beneficial insect habitat, and careful planning for insect and
weed issues. At this point the land is not certified organic,
although we follow the OMRI rules at all times. We have been certified
organic in the past, however, when the certification switched
from a North Carolina agency to the USDA, the cost increased substantially.
We realized that we are primarily direct marketing, giving us
immediate contact with the people who are eating our food. This
gives folks a chance to ask us any pressing questions, and visit
the farm if necessary. At this point we are doing virtually no
wholesale distribution of our produce, which would require us
to be certified.
Farm Raised Pork For Sale: We raise 10 pigs
annually on our farm to eat all our yummy vegetable scraps, root
up areas that need to be re-seeded, and provide companionship.
Yes, they are cute with great personalities. Our baby pigs come
from Warren Wilson College and are never treated with antibiotics
or growth hormones. They are raised outside with access to fresh
weeds, fresh air, and good mudholes. The pigs need to roll around
in the mud to cover their skin so they won’t get sunburnt!
We also feed them grain from the local feed and seed. The meat
is available by the cut at market, or for larger amounts and a
wholesale price from the farm.
We
sell our produce and flowers at several farmer's markets around
the Asheville area.
We grow a wide variety of flowers on the farm for beauty,
beneficial insect habitat, and to harvest and sell at the markets,
roadside stand, and to our CSA flower share members. The plantings
are carefully planned to have a variety of flowers in bloom from
mid-May until the first hard frost. Flowers are also available
by the bucket for special occasions, such as weddings, parties,
etc.
The price is $30 per bucket
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On Saturday mornings, we can be found from 7am to 12pm
at the North Asheville Farmer's Market, located at UNCA
Campus 1st Parking lot on the right of Weaver Blvd.
We can also be found on Saturday mornings from 8am to 12pm
at the French Broad Food Co-op Market located in the new
Buid it Naturally parking lot on Biltmore Avenue. At
this same location, the Wednesday Evening Downtown Market
operates every Wednesday from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm. *This
is also the pickup for our Asheville CSA members.
We will also be selling our farm goods on Saturdays in
2008 at the new Asheville City Market located on Charlotte
Street at the Public Works parking lot.
Email:
Info@FlyingCloudFarm.net
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