Dozens of destinations open to the public during the ’24 fall tour
Whitney Burleson used to work in the software industry, sitting at a computer all day. Now, you’ll find her outside, where she loves to be, tending her crops and caring for the chickens.
Whitney Burleson uses a seeder to plant produce at her Neighbors Farm. Photo / Neighbors Farm
Burleson founded Neighbors Farm, located on a quarter acre of land in Northeast Tallahassee, where she lives with her husband, James, and their two children.
“I got tired of going to the grocery store and seeing a lack of good food,” Burleson said. “We’re able to have an impact on what we eat, not just for our families but for the neighbors and people around us. And we can teach people to do this.”
You can learn how Burleson transformed her front yard into a space devoted to growing produce at the 17th Annual Fall Farm Tour on Oct. 12 and 13.
About 45 destinations will be opening their doors to the public for free, giving visitors a chance to meet the people who produce food in our region. These sites include farms, ranches, groves, wineries, gardens, nurseries – even apiarys – in North Central Florida and South Central Georgia. About a third of the destinations are new to the tour.
“The focus and goal of the tour is for people to see active farms and sample products or produce” said Majken Peterzen, executive director of Millstone Institute for Preservation, which has been the Farm Tour host since 2016.
Millstone Institute of Preservation, the Farm Tour host. Photo / Tallahassee Table
Although Millstone Institute is the tour organizer, the Madison County Tourist Development Council and Johnston’s Old Fashioned Meat Market are the grand patrons of the 2024 Fall Farm Tour.
Oct. 12, incidentally, is National Farmers Day so what better way to celebrate both new farmers and those who have been working the land for generations.
“In general, I would say that small farms are one of the fastest growing industries in North Florida and South Georgia,” Peterzen said.
Many of the farms offer workshops, kids’ activities, free samples or products for sale, and most of all, a behind-the-scenes look at our agricultural world.
Christian and Drew Schmoe with their chickens on Schmoe Farm, a stop on the Farm Tour. Photo / Schmoe Farm
Here are some of the highlights:
- Schmoe Farm in Quitman, Ga. will be offering hay rides so you can see the farm’s chickens, turkeys and ducks. There will be other vendors and a mini farmers’ market. It’s at 1548 Greenville Hwy.
- You can watch cows being milked before noon (central time) at Marianna’s Cindale Farms and see where products are made. The creamery will be serving its homemade ice cream and coffee. The farm is at 3958 Old U.S. Road. The creamery is at 2884 Jefferson St.
- Crazy 8 Ranch & 4 Steps Rescue provides information about horses including how to care for them, how to approach them, their needs and behavior. On the tour, you can meet the ranch’s cows, goats and donkeys as well as their own ranch horses as well as their rescues. Free activities during the farm tour include painting ponies and ranch tours. It’s at 812 Sir Richard Road.
- Tallahassee’s Millstone Institute will be creating a sustainability/artisan village featuring demonstrations such as woodwork, basketry, making grits and pottery and a long list of vendors. The Millstone kitchen will be open as well. It’s at 6500 Old Millstone Plantation Rd.
- At Rocky Soil Family Farm, owned by Kiona and Chris Wagner, wander along with the chickens, visit the gardens, bakery and smokehouse. A master chef, Chris Wagner will be making dishes from ingredients out of the garden. Rocky Soil is at 3137 Waukeenah Hwy. in Monticello.
- At La Petite Ferme, run by first-generation farmers, kids can see chicks, poults and young rabbits. Visitors can purchase eggs and poultry and a small amount of baked goods will be available.
- Louise Divine and her husband Herman Holley, will be demonstrating how to make cane syrup at their 89-acre Turkey Hill Farm in Tallahassee. The farm also grows ginger, turmeric, roselle and satsumas and will have apples from Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge, Ga. There will be farm tours at 11 am., 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday. The cane syrup process begins in the morning (weather permitting).
Katie Harris, co-owner of Full Earth Farm, left, and Louise Divine, co-owner of Turkey Hill Farm, are two of the original founders of the Red Hills Small Farm Alliance. Photo provided
Divine, co-founder of the Red Hills Small Farm Alliance, said she got the idea for a farm tour when she and Holley saw one during a trip to North Carolina in 2006.
“We thought, ‘What a great idea,’ “ Divine said. She suggested the tour to New Leaf Market, which ran it for many years before the grocery store closed, and Millstone took it over.
“Every year, the tour gets bigger and bigger, growing organically,” Divine said. “It’s now much broader geographically but it’s remained true to its original purpose, which is to connect the community with their local food source.”
Moccasin Grove is a Tallahassee farm that easily connects to the community with its yearly pumpkin patch. The family farm will be open on Saturday and Sunday, offering five varieties of U-Pick pumpkins along with a corn maze and a corn pit for games.
Ryan Bass, owner of Moccasin Grove with wife Lizz, worked in construction for five or six years before going into farming. He works at Griffin Farms in Georgia as well as having his own farm.
Moccasin Grove also grows peaches, watermelon, sweet corn and their prime product, strawberries. “We have two acres of strawberries. We baby them during the winter until March when they can be picked.”
Navigate the corn maze at Moccasin Grove, a family farm owned by Ryan and Lizz Bass, here with their children, son Grady, and triplets Jordyn, Peyton and Hadley. Photo provided by Moccasin Grove
The farm is a way to create the best life for his son, age 2, and his triplet daughters, born on Mother’s Day, Bass said.
“Farming is something I always wanted to do,” he added.
Watching people enjoy the food they’ve grown “is rewarding in itself. ”
The farmers are happy to have visitors “come out and pick our brains.”
Whitney Burleson of Neighbors Farm is also interested in helping home gardeners during the farm tour.
“You can have direct access to people growing your food,” she said. “If you have a question about composting, just ask. Do you have trouble with something, just ask. Farmers are more than willing to share what they do and what they struggle with. You have open book access.”
Depending on the season, Burleson grows sweet potatoes, 10 varieties of tomatoes, broccoli, kale, lettuce, carrots, Swiss chard, collards, mustard greens and flowers. She also makes her own soap as well as sourdough bread and cookies, using eggs from their chickens.
Whitney Burleson, owner of Neighbors Farm in Northeast Tallahassee, with her husband James, daughter Mabry and son Wilder. Photo provided by Neighbors Farm
Burleson will be presenting workshops on “Tools & Techniques for the Home Gardener” at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday and “Walk the Garden with Whit” every hour from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Sunday. Her children will operate a lemonade stand, with boiled peanuts.
The Neighbors’ Farm tour has “more of a home gardener vibe than a people with a tractor vibe,” Burleson said. “Not everything is perfect and dreamy but we can show people what they can do in their front yard.”
Tips for the Tour
- First, read the Farm Tour booklet, a guide to all the destinations and their schedules. You can download the guide at https://tinyurl.com/vh3f92wk.
- For questions, contact [email protected] or call 850-294-3918 .
- Don’t bring pets but do carry suntan lotion, bug spray, water, a tote bag and cash in case the farm doesn’t take credit cards.
- Bring a cooler if you intend to buy meat or produce.
- Don’t feed farm animals without permission.
