“Find something you can do with your children.”
Michael Porterfield
Urban farming is not a new concept. Evidence points to the existence of urban agriculture in ancient cities, including – Paris, Rome, Peking and others…does Macchu Pichu ring a bell? We have also certainly read about elaborate urban gardens in mythical places and classical ones. The positive benefits are many, generating a fresh local food source and esthetics among the most obvious. Why and how did such a sensible idea vanish? Why and how to bring them back into the 21st century? What ever happened to those Victory gardens?
With these thoughts in mind we head to the Oakley neighborhood of Asheville, North Carolina where we have an appointment at Gladheart Farms. We arrive at the end of Lora Lane as directed and find three houses of varying styles plus an old barn, a couple of yurts, a trailer home, a wandering goat and the shiny silver frame of a green house in progress. And lots of people. This is not exactly what I had envisioned. Though I don’t know it yet, the next three hours will shift how I think about farms.
The soon -to- be green house is my only clue that this is a working farm. (OK, the goat too.) Though technically the farm is within Asheville’s city limits, this residential area feels more like suburbia. We meet owners Michael and Michelle Porterfield and their three children, Asah, Atarah and Hannah and begin our walk around the farm. At this point my nine year old takes off in the direction of the goat.
There are several men and children under the greenhouse frame readying the structure to receive its tender tenants. A few clusters of dirty snow remain as a reminder of why there is a “new” greenhouse being built at this unlikely moment. I soon learn this is greenhouse number two, same spot; new structure. Number one fell prey to the weight of the snow during the last big storm. I am getting a rapid education in farm risk management 101. And no, insurance did not cover the replacement costs, well over 10K.
A young man in his early thirties, Michael sports a dark beard and a tidy ponytail. A southerner by birth he first came to Asheville in 1998 after getting married, considered moving here but found real estate too expensive. He and Michelle eventually did come back and bought a home in Asheville’s Montford district. Now home is here on the farm. Two of his children dart about the farm as we talk and the third rests comfortably tucked into a sling on her mothers back.
Though it is a Sunday, here it is not a day of rest and there are many active hands. Michael confirms that they are a community and have comprised up to 100 people. Today it seems there are around 20 adults visible. He explains that Asheville is a good draw for interns and volunteers and that his farm’s proximity to downtown adds incentive to the recruitment. I know very little about farm business models but I cant help but think these extra hands help productivity. Michael reminds me that not all who come are skilled and many must be taught and consistently directed.
This does seem an unlikely location for a farm but as Michael explains that is exactly the point. Having purchased property originally intended for residential property development, Michael admits to having paid the asking price AND at a high moment in property prices.
His goal ”farm restoration” return the land to its former state, a farm. Though much effort has been focused in North Carolina on transitioning former tobacco fields into diversified farms, it takes a vision, tenacity and much patience to transform urban land into a profitable farm and fuel it with biodiesel. “Our state leads in farm loss, and our county leads the state. Buncombe County is the epicenter of farm loss.”
I ask Michael how he came to farming. “I thought you had to be born into being a farmer…being a farmer seemed unattainable.” Though he seems to have enjoyed a successful career marketing tea he experienced less personal satisfaction than financial rewards. Michael began looking for something else. A friend counseled him, “ Do something you can do with your children.” A small garden started with his son was the seed of this current endeavor. He became so immersed in their garden that he explains ”Gardening and growing things almost became an addiction.”
As we walk around the 7.5 acre property here (The Porterfields also lease 11 acres adjacent to the French Broad River from the city of Asheville, he believes they are the first to do so ) he explains the many challenges they encountered while pushing this project uphill. He readily admits to experiencing a “huge learning curve”. (Losing his entire greenhouse this winter certainly falls under that painful category). Still, he is upbeat in recounting his good fortunes. “This could not have happened elsewhere.” referencing Asheville and the food – centric culture that helped provide the necessary support and momentum to plod through the administrative hoops and become operational and certified organic very quickly. Within 2 years they were selling their produce. He acknowledges that “We were at the right place at the right time…farm land is vanishing, especially around places like Asheville.”
Michael’s frequent travel for his work in the tea business enabled him to garner a great deal of expert advice from random sources “ I am fairly driven, ask questions and react quickly.” Apparently he knew the right questions to ask.
He mentions the guidance and support offered by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, which he said makes farmer friends in other regions envious. Clearly his knowledge of distribution, sales and marketing have not hurt their farm.
In two years he has been able to sell all that they can produce on 15.5 acres. At present wholesaling their produce is the path they travel. Michael suggests this model may be frowned upon in certain farm circles, but he is a businessman first. “The wholesale market has been very welcoming to us. “
He explains that Gladheart Farms has modeled itself after the larger wholesalers in California and New York and he feels very confident in that choice. This model is different from that of many others in the Asheville region and he hopes to eventually move from wholesaling to selling CSA shares- -entirely skipping the more common tailgate market route. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, in which a share holder gets a weekly portion of the farm’s produce for a certain pre-established price for a specific number of weeks. A CSA share is the most efficient way to sell a farm’s goods and directly connect local farms with local families. 
Michael laughs while explaining that the farm business cycle is comprised roughly of earning money for six months and spending money for 6 months. “ This defies any business sense I am familiar with.” CSA’s, however are paid up front, providing a farmer with capital to sustain them in those pre-crop generating months. Gladheart’s CSA boxes include a diverse array of vegetables, some of which are too unusual or delicate for sales at conventional grocery stores; herbs; and flowers, as well as options for artisan bread and coffee.
Michael believes in sustainability and biodiesel. We walk to the site where used restaurant cooking oil is transformed into biodiesel fuel. Hearing him explain the the complex and time consuming process necessary to supply the farm with biodiesel, it becomes clear, producing biodiesel fuel is not for the tentative, it requires firm commitment. His fuel will heat the new greenhouse and fuel the farm equipment.
Michael invites us to stay and share a farm lunch with him. We sit at a picnic table and his 7 year old son Asah joins us as does my nine year old, muddy and smiling from discovering more goats in the barn. Micheal rattles off a list of the products they grow – a staggering number of greens, vegetables, ( hybrids and heirlooms) and cut flowers, many just for the CSA’s. Michael says they are especially proud of their selection of beets and asian greens.
I ask his son, who has been listening attentively to our conversation, ”What is your favorite thing from the farm ?” “ Black Seeded Simpson.” His father just smiles broadly. Children may be notoriously picky about green vegetables but given that the spontaneous answer came from a 7 year old, I know this must be tasty stuff. I don’t know if I have ever eaten a Black Seeded Simpson but you can bet as soon as spring rolls around, I will do so. The french have a saying “ La vérité sort de la bouche des enfants“. Truth springs from the mouths of children.
29 Lora Lane
Asheville, NC 28803
(828) 989-1089
- Alisa Hixson
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