An Old Tractor, Shiitakes, and a Rogue Goat

Joel Houser, the Executive Director of Crabtree Farm was kind enough to show us around and explain the urban farm’s programs.

We met escape artist goats, angry geese, and tiny seedlings; admired the vintage McCormick tractor; and learned about TasteBuds, a Crabtree project which maintains an ever expanding guide to local food. 

Crabtree has a clear mission and experiments to find the best way to reach its goals. We learned about shiitake growing logs, nurturing fig trees in a zone where they’re a stretch, and expanding the plant sale from one day to three. Chattanooga is lucky to have Crabtree, a place with a lot of energy for for trying new things, and learning season to season.