Welcome to the Growing Minds video archive! Our videos include virtual tours of local family farms to share with students, plus instructional videos for educators beginning to implement farm to school activities at their schools, including edible gardens, local food taste tests, and classroom cooking lessons.
Join eight year old junior farmer Lyra for a tour of her family’s farm in Haywood County, NC. Two Trees Farm (home of the Sustainabillies, aka Lyra and her parents Sara and Dustin) is a sustainable homestead focused on supporting a healthy, diverse ecosystem while also growing food.
From picking blueberries and tasting garden-grown lettuce, to polliwogging for tadpoles and digging for worms, Lyra shares with other kids what it’s like to live on a small farm in the Appalachian Mountains.
Ever wondered how apples are grown in Western North Carolina? Join Natalie, Rylie, and JJ–the junior farmers at TK Family Farm in Rutherfordton, NC–for a kid’s perspective on growing apples and living on a farm. Hear about how farmers like the Klimstra family help to take care of their land, along with how apples are planted, grown, and processed for sale. JJ also shares his favorite things to do on the farm, plus tips for buying apples at the family’s self-serve farm stand!
Join junior farmer Finley Sleight for a tour of his family’s farm in Western North Carolina. Ever wonder what radishes taste like? Fin will tell you, plus give you tips on what to make with them! Fin also explains how farming requires experimentation and perseverance, and shows off some of the crops his family grows for local farmers markets, including one of his favorite veggies, dino kale.
Kituwah is the Mother Town–or original home–of the Cherokee people. The Cherokee have a long agricultural history, with community at its core. In this Meet Your Farmer video, join three members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians–Ty Boyd, David Anderson, and Mike Crowe–to learn about the history of this sacred place. See how Ty, David, Mike and others continue to farm their ancestral land communally, growing crops like potatoes, curly mustard greens, collards, pumpkins, sweet corn, and blueberries.
Cabbage is the key ingredient in many Southern Appalachian dishes, like coleslaw. In our latest Meet Your Farmer video, see how cabbage is grown at Deal Family Farms, a multi-generational farm located in Franklin, NC. Meet some members of the Deal family, including farmer Joe and his teenage son, Braxton. Find out what vegetables cabbage is related to, learn about photosynthesis, and see the difference between an immature cabbage head and one that’s fully grown and ready to harvest.
Spend an afternoon with farmer Chue Lee and her daughter Ariel at Lee’s One Fortune Farm in McDowell County, North Carolina. The Lee’s grow many interesting crops on their family farm, including the purple sweet potatoes and bok choy (an Asian leafy green vegetable that is related to cabbage) seen in this video. They also grow Asian pears and persimmons, bitter melon, several varieties of rice, and more. The Lee’s sell their produce at farmers tailgate markets throughout Asheville. Learn more about the history of this family farm and the rice they grow.
Meet Loretta Ball, the farmer and floral designer at The Never Ending Flower Farm in Barnardsville, NC. Loretta runs the farm with help from her husband, mother, and two sons, Quinn and Ledger. Loretta’s farming roots go back to her family’s tobacco farm. She and her family also grew a vegetable garden for many years, which gradually transformed into the u-pick flower farm business they run today. Watch our interview with Loretta to learn more about her family’s farm and the beautiful flowers they grow there.
Meet Erin Greene, the farmer at Last Penny Farm Alpacas in Weaverville, NC, and her children, Jacob and Sadie. Learn about how Erin became a fiber farmer, find out what she enjoys about raising animals, and meet the adorable alpacas that call this farm home.
Meet Chris and Cullen Owen, farmers at Spinning Spider Creamery, an artisan goat dairy in Marshall, NC. Learn about why the Owen’s chose to become farmers, find out what they love most about farming, and learn about the cheese making process. Learn more about Spinning Spider Creamery. Find Growing Minds educational resources that compliment this video below.
Meet Anna Littman, one of the farmers at Ivy Creek Family Farm, a diversified vegetable farm in Barnardsville, NC. Learn about why Anna chose to become a farmer, find out what she loves most about farming, and see what veggies are cultivated on her farm.