I have the opportunity to lease 5 acres of beautiful farmland on James Island.  Traditionally, James Island was full of tomato and dairy farms, and I'm proud to be a part of such rich history.  It's absolutely beautiful here and so are the people!

To the right are pics of the field in Summer, Winter and Fall before the first planting. The soil has been resting for over forty years, so it doesn't require much amending...just compost, fish emulsion and some biodynamic compost concoctions!  Full sun, lots of air circulation and well-drained soil.  Plus close proximity to my market and customers, so the oil barrel crunch won't kill me.  A gnarly nut grass had taken over the field, so the landowners did a controlled burn..wow,that felt good!  After some cooling and discing, I put the whole field in cover crop; for the first acre in production, the cover crop will act as green or brown mulch in between my rows. I'll continue to cover crop as the seasons change to increase my soil fertility and keep erosion and weeds down.

Back in the day, I hear that the most beautiful tomatoes and the sweetest canteloupe came out of this field. It also rained for twenty minutes every afternoon back then so no need for irrigation. Times have changed a bit!