Burnsville, NC: Nicole DelCogliano, Green Toe Ground Biodynamic Farm

Friday we headed toward Celo, an artistic community about an hour away from Asheville. The Toe River runs through these mountains and we followed it to Nicole and Galen's biodynamic farm. As we pulled over onto the shoulder by their barn, lines of people walked down their drive with towels slung over their shoulders and coolers in tow. We have already heard about the swimming hole on the property, and I am so impressed that the people are so welcome to stream onto the property. Nicole and Galen seem to really welcome the community; a dying art when there's private property involved.

It's CSA pickup day so we talk to Nicole as she does the chores she needs to do. The farm is beautiful, there are kids running around, and I see a puppy being chased by a toddler. The plots are long rectangles bordered by the river, and a cow looks down contentedly on us from her hilly pasture. I feel like we are in the middle of nowhere, but there is an obvious community around them. Nicole and Galen have a thriving farm and lots of supporters.
Nicole summarizes the biodynamic concept and speaks of the difficulties of starting a new farm as a young couple. They have toyed with different ways of distributing their produce, and the CSA model seems to work best when up in the mountains, a fair drive from an urban center.

Nicole invited us to stick around to help stir a biodynamic tea that evening, but we are on our way to Hannh Levin's (a friend of our friend Jenna, and another incredible musician) cabin nearby.