Brambleberry Farm

About Brambleberry Farm

We began Brambleberry Farm in the fall of 2003 on land that we share with Esprí’s

parents in the beautiful hills of Southern Indiana. Our garden beds lie on old meadow land that has not been touched by plow or tiller for over 30 years. Instead of plowing up the sod using heavy machinery, we decided to create garden beds using no-till methods.

The roots of the meadow plants acted like small plows over the years and have created a soil that is loose enough to grow quality produce. We simply apply composted manure and hay, straw, or leaves to create a thick mulch over the beds. This mulch breaks down slowly over time and acts as a slow-release

fertilizer for the plants. It also serves as a tremendous weed-control, keeps moisture in the soil during drought, and wicks away excess water during heavy rains. This last feature allows us to plant our crops very early in the spring. And most importantly, it allows us to largely forgo the use of petroleum-based machinery such as tractors and tillers, which compact the garden soil over time. We never use synthetic pesticides or fertilizers on our gardens, and follow organic farming methods. We believe that food should be healthy and nutritious not only to the consumers, but also to the larger environment.

We welcome most birds and wildlife into our garden, as they have many roles to play in pest control and garden health. To control the few species that are more harm than help, we first encourage natural predators to keep their numbers down, and only if that is not working do we resort to simple biologically-based pesticides that will not affect the quality of food or environmental health.

Over the years we’ve slowly evolved our little eco-system to include pastured pigs and poultry, and the occasional goat or sheep comes to help out. We hope to soon add sheep as a permanent aspect of our system.