Melvin's Gardens is a small sustainable farm in northern Franklin County. We originally purchased the property for our family of nine and now, with our children all grown, work the land like so many before us have done.
Our herb farm was established in 1994, partially as a way to increase our income and partially as something of a hobby. The soil here turned out to be as good today as it was back in the early 1900's when this land was part of a 3,000 acre tobacco plantation. Soon, the temptation to grow more than simply herbs became a goal to do so and our heads filled with dreams of all of the wonderful things we could do here.
The fifteen intervening years have brought a lot of changes to both our goals and our "little herb farm". Our hobby has turned into a passion as we've planted gardens and erected greenhouses, cleared away a lot of overgrowth on the property and, to our great surprise, turned into quite a busy and active business operation along the way.
Today, we grow a wide variety of produce and herbs along with favorite perennials, shrubs designed to be used in landscape design, and any other plant or hanging basket that catches our fancy that year. Our farm is roughly 20 acres which now include more than 7,000 square feet of greenhouses & coldframe as well as a one acre basil garden. Our newest addition is this year's Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA project where we grow an acre of veggies and tomatoes which are purchased by our community through season-long subscriptions.
Everything grown on our farm is raised under strict organic practices and we even blend our own organic soil. Absolutely no chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides or environmentally harmful treatments or additives are used on our products. Pulverized limestone, a sedimentary rock which is high in calcium & vital to plants is occasionally added to our soils to promote health and strong plant growth.
Our client-base now includes gardeners from all over the Triangle as well as chefs from roughly 70 of the region's best restaurants. These folks will tell you what they've known for years:
When only the very best will do,
discerning chefs and gardeners turn to
Melvin's Gardens
We invite you to watch us grow!
Melvin Manor
