Farm Photos of the Week

April 17, 2006

Photos and text by Debbie Roos, Agricultural Extension Agent.


Berries, Flowers, and 'Maters at Wild Hare Farm
Cedar Grove, NC

Leah Cook checks the strawberry crop

Farmer Leah Cook inspects her strawberry plants and hunts for ripening berries. Leah grows berries and a wide variety of vegetables and cut flowers, using sustainable practices that promote biodiversity and protect the environment. You can find Wild Hare Farm at the Carrboro Farmers' Market.

 

Tunnel of cut flowers at Wild Hare Farm

Flowers grown in the hoophouse glow brightly when viewed through the plastic from outside. The sides of the hoophouse have been raised for ventilation. Leah is an experienced and successful cut flower grower and serves as the Southeast Regional Director for the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. She also teaches a course on cut flower production for Central Carolina Community College's Sustainable Farming Program in Pittsboro.

 

Leah in one of her tunnels with flowers

This hoophouse contains Delphiniums, Freesias, and Ranunculus. Note the plastic support netting over the top of the crops which helps support the long flower stems as they grow.

 

Close-up of Ranunculus

These Ranunculus blooms almost look too perfect to be real!

 

Leah with tomato crop in tunnel

Leah checks on her tomato crop which had been protected with a row cover the previous night when the temperatures dipped around freezing outside.

 

 

 

This page last updated January 9, 2011.

 

North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Chatham County Center
P.O. Box 279, Pittsboro, NC 27312
919-542-8202

Website created and maintained by Debbie Roos, Agricultural Extension Agent.

URL: www.growingsmallfarms.org

North Carolina Cooperative Extension is an educational partnership helping people put research-based
knowledge to work for economic prosperity, environmental stewardship and an improved quality of life.