Rain Crow Farm is a small-scale vegetable farm located just outside downtown Jonesborough, TN. We have been growing as Rain Crow Farm since 2018, originally starting as an urban farm in Johnson City. When dear friends and CSA members reached out to us about buying their farm just outside of Jonesborough, a long time dream of ours came true and we were able to move onto 5 acres in 2023. We currently grow on just over an acre, rotating our vegetable crops with cover crops to build healthy soil and raise healthy, nutrient dense vegetables.
We originally started as a small-scale farm located in Johnson City, TN. On an urban lot (1/4 acre) we focused all of our farm practices on efficiency. We did not use tractors or any kind of tillage. As no-till farmers, we invested in the long-term soil health by adding compost and natural amendments. Choosing not to disrupt the soil allows us to build-up fertile and nutrient dense soil for our crops to grow in.
Since moving to a larger farm property we have gotten a small tractor to help break new ground and manage our cover crop rotations. With more space we have been able to move towards building our soil fertility on farm with the use of cover crops, with the goal of lower our overall input needs and closing the loop of the farm system. We are still committed to many of the same farming practices just scaled to a larger farm.
While we are not certified organic, we believe in organic farming and strive to go beyond certification. That means we do not use any herbicides, pesticides, treated seeds, or GMO seeds. We believe in creating healthy soil so our plants have good natural defenses against pests or weather damage. We use natural fertilizers, row cover, crop rotation, and compost teas to manage weeds and pests.