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Permaculture-based consulting, education and stock for today’s homesteader |
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Brambleberry Farm |
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Esprí and Darren Bender-Beauregard Paoli, IN 47454 Phone: 812.723.5259 |
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About Brambleberry Farm We began Brambleberry Farm in the fall of 2003 on land that Esprí’s parents generously share with us in the beautiful hills of southern Indiana. We started out as primarily a market garden and CSA, producing (non-certified) organic produce using no-till methods, and avoiding petroleum-based machinery such as tractors and tillers, which compact the garden soil over time. While we were supporting ourselves with annual produce production we were also developing a complex food forest of perennial fruit trees and berries, which became the propagation base for our current fruit, nut, and berry nursery. Since building our strawbale house on an adjacent area of the property we have begun developing new permaculture systems around the new house. Another young couple is taking over production from our old garden beds, and we are focusing our efforts on the systems around our new house as well as a new grass-fed beef operation on a neighbor’s property down the road, and our hand-crafted wooden kitchen utensil business. Our small fruit, nut, and berry nursery has become a major component of our farm and income. We feel like the success of organic cultivation practices is dependant on selecting appropriate plant varieties. We focus on searching out and propagating fruit and berry plants that are pest and disease resistant, and also adapted to regional conditions (soils, climate), in order to help our customers succeed in homesteading and organic production. Currently we are developing a 3.5 acre pasture by rotating different species of livestock through it to improve the soil with their grazing, manure, and trampling behaviors. In 2010 we planted mixed orchard rows running N-S on 60’ centers within this system to increase the yields of the given acreage once the trees mature. We have grazed sheep, pigs, chickens and geese in this system, but this year we are limiting the grazers to chickens. We felt this was necessary in order to free up time for the start-up needs of the new beef operation, and also to break parasite cycles on the pasture. We have tentative plans to graze sheep and/or geese again next year, and when the orchard starts bearing, we will put more hogs in the system to clean up the fruit drops. Education and support for homesteaders and market gardeners is a large part of our mission. We do this through affordable consulting services, internships, and tours.
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