Farmstead Field School

Artisan Cooking Demonstration - Enjoy a true farm-to-table experience with a member of the farm who knows the ingredients at theiressence. Join a Farmstead Artisan in an unforgettably delicious and informative cooking and wine activity. Whether it’s with the Butcher, Gardener or Preservationist,you will be sure to bring home the skills to gather and prepare a meal from freshest produce and meats. Add traditionally made cheeses, preserves and pickles,and the three course lunch becomes a visceral link to our proud agricultural traditions.

Farmstead Tasting Tour - Get an up close look at what puts the “farm” in Blackberry Farm. Join a Farmstead guide in a comprehensive tourof the working areas of the heirloom gardens and heritage livestock pasture, all the while learning the rich history of the farm and its environs. Youwill also visit the kennels where we breed and train our famous Lagotto Romagnolo dogs, as well as the truffle orchard. The tour will culminate in a tastingof Farmstead cheeses, meats, preserves and beer in our beautiful Barn wine cellar or other unforgettable location.

Garden With a Master - Join Master Gardener John Coykendall and the Garden staff for an interactive walking tour of our extensive heirloomvegetable, flower and herb gardens. Set in a fertile cove wedged between the Chilhowee and Smoky mountain ranges, our gardens are a wonderful source ofnaturally grown produce that is woven through each meal’s menu. During this unique experience, you will discover fun and interesting facts and tall talesabout all the historic varieties we grow, including time-tested methods of saving and growing our storied heirloom seed varieties. Enjoy a visit to ourGarden Shed, which is jam-packed with garden tools from the ages to learn the ways our Appalachian ancestors taught us to farm. Take home a bushel of farmwisdom, and maybe a special seed or two!

In our ever more connected lives it is quite easy to disconnect from the ideals of real food and real health. That is why it is important to rediscover an uncomplicated way of life; a life where things have been done before for many generations. Here at Blackberry, we have launched the Farmstead Field School, where as a guest of our storied property you have the opportunity to learn and be a part of what makes a farm a farm. We have organized a number of classes, workshops and demonstrations to allow a visceral look inside our world of creativity in natural farming and wholesome and clean nutrition. Activities run the gamut from the preservation of food to discovering a vast world of heirloom seeds and their rich history to bringing well-grown vegetables and herbs to the kitchens and crafting a delicious meal. Each season will bring new and unique classes that reflect the ever-changing output from the farm. And we have structured each experience to ensure a “ takeway” in the form of knowledge and recipes, whether you wish to grow a single radish or to feed an army. Our greatest resource on the Farmstead is the many decades of experience held by our farmers and artisans, and we invite you to dip into that well, so you can reconnect with a simpler and more balanced way of life.

Jeff Ross

Farmstead Educator