This morning I was moved to say another heartfelt thank you to the many folks who help me make my little farm the special place that it is. When I developed my idea of home back in 2006 into an urban farm I had a huge undertaking ahead of me. Had I known every single step I would have to take to get it to where it is today, I might not have done it. I would have been too overwhelmed. But…little by little, day by day my little homestead has grown into something that makes me smile large.
Sweet Selma Farms, named for my great aunt Selma, is all of one acre of land in a small town called Historic College Park, in the great State of Georgia. Selma is the lady on the right standing out in front of our home place in Warren County, NC, with my great grandparents. She was well known in those parts, in those days, for being a mighty farmer and a mighty friend to the downtrodden and the hard working including the share croppers on her land.
My mini version is nothing compared to hers but is what is commonly referred to as an urban farm and it would be nothing more than a glorified garden if there weren’t so many totally cool things going on here that make it resemble more of a professional endeavor.
First there’s the house. Once known as the Hatchery, the building that comprises my home was once a bait and tackle shop in one unit and a cricket hatchery in the other. When I found the odd shaped building in the charming town where it sits, I didn’t see it’s potential for a residence. In fact it was available for storage only. It wasn’t long, though, before I saw 
the light and the potential of the place and made my move to turn it into my home. It took persuading the city council that this former commercial building could ever be turned into something handsome and residential, but after showing them that it was actually featured in National Geographic in the September 1053 issue for being a fine place to buy mail order crickets. That seemed to make all the difference and not long after I had myself a building permit.
Three years later, I found myself moving in to what became a nearly 4000 square foot home with 22 foot ceilings in the main wings, three bedrooms, three and a half baths and a huge kitchen perfect for teaching classes. The house has slowly evolved over the years with small improvements here and there, but for the most part it is still what my friends refer to as “the house that Jake built.” It’s been 10 years since that specia
l day and today when I was recapping what has been accomplished in just the last year, I actually got short of breath thinking about it.
On the farm we grow muscadine and other varietal grapes, peaches, pears, apples, blackberries, blueberries, figs, sage, basil, mint, tarragon, tomatoes, eggplant, asparagus, chard, collards, kale, okra, corn, garlic, lettuces, and soon, sweet potatoes and ginger.
For livestock, we went from having 40 to having 93 chickens. It’s enough to care for 40 but 93 seemed downright insane, but we needed that many to keep up with the demand for eggs at the breakfast we serve at Jake’s at The Irwin Street Market. They came from the local feed store, from friends who needed to downsize, from rescue pages and from being born right on the farm. I’ve been asked what I’ll do when a hen stops laying and I give the same answer every time. A hen is born with approximately 4000 eggs inside of her waiting to develop. During her life time she will lay most of them whole and ready to eat. The idea of any of them working that hard to then end up in a soup pot for broth may be the “farm way” but it is not my way and mine will live out their lives with my gratitude for their delicious production.
Next came two rescue peacocks, Hubert and Bertrand. Both were born with deformed feet and had w
e not taken them in they would likely have been put down. They are stunningly beautiful, they don’t eat much and they make great watch “dogs” for the flock by honking whenever they sense danger. They are loud but the chickens don’t mind them a bit and I think they make the farm more colorful literally and figuratively.
Next we brought in another kind of flying beauty…many thousands of honey bees. Our friend Teena Bare agreed to work with us to take care of them and their phenomenal honey and she also threw in a lot of priceless education. Along with Teena came Wil Miller and Mark Hebert who also raise bees and were willing to help her with harvests and general care for the hives. As someone who is allergic it has been very hard for me to stay away 
Then came Jim Tom (named for the famous moonshiner), a full grown tom turkey who had a propensity for chasing cars and then his owner’s boyfriend. We brought him down from Toccoa and soon found him not one, but tw
o girlfriends from teenage brothers in Senoia who raised a small flock for their 4H project.
Jim Tom is perhaps one of the most beautiful and regal birds I have ever seen and because of the love he got from Katie, his “mama,” he is a true gentleman. I admit that I swoon every time I see him and he seems to know it and shows off his tail feathers to let me know that he knows I am admiring him. I am hoping for he’ll charm his way into offspring with his ladies, Lily and Lulu in early Summer.
Nathan Strange, one of my advisors on the project, has been an inspiration from when I first shared with her that I wanted to farm the property, and I’ve bought plants from her, asked her about a thousand questions and learned more than I ever dreamed I could. Howard Berk and Todd Pittard came along to add their mushroom garden for their 2 FunGuys brand which is now booming in an area of the property that was otherwise obliterated. Howard has patiently taught me the right way to do things and when my home flooded at Christmas he was right there several days later to help m
e divert future rains to an area good and far from the house. Todd has helped me process meat birds and roosters and he has shown me a calm and peaceful way of being that I have found quite uncommon in this life.
There has always been a need for some kind of assembly/construction/repairs and each time I’ve been able to count on the expertise of Willie (Sullivan) and Grant (Kile). They are magicians with talents bar none, a sense of humor that helps me keep it in the road, and a can-do attitude that harkens back to yesteryear.
And then there is Jamia, who not only helped tame the gardens, but also my home with the many projects I have going on. Together Jamia and Chris an
d I have begun to see the fruits of our labor…even in this chilly, wintery part of the year and I cannot wait until Spring. Jamia has also branched out as a teacher at the Cooking School at Irwin Street with “Got Soul?” and so far every class she has taught has been a huge hit. Stay tuned for more news about this one…
This Spring when things warm up and the plants start poking their heads out of the ground…the asparagus, the basil, the mint…we’ll be offering classes on everything from Chicken Raising 101 to Cooking with Herbs to How to Grow Your Own Mushrooms. We’ll keep you posted so please keep an eye out for our class schedule.