He remembers helping his grandfather in the garden while at the time wanting his own garden (he had ideas of doing things a dif- ferent way at 13 yrs. old) and his grandfather having a lot of problems with disease. Jeremy had read a lot about organic gardening methods and was eager to try them out but these new ways were not welcomed. So at 14 years of age, he finally branched out on his own and made a garden separately, imple- menting the natural, organic methods he had read about — per- maculture which is a more holistic manner of gardening, as well as making his own fertilizer. Needless to say, his garden was a success and his grandfather had to admit there was something to his methods. For Stesha and Jeremy, these intimate, daily connec- tions to the soil, wind, water, trees, plants, food and growing processes of food, ignited a passion for working with the earth, not just existing on the earth. Being inside for 8-10 or more hours a day at a desk in front of a computer was not their path. They are boldly forging into their future, which affects our future, and they are paving the way for the new farmers that could save NC Agri- culture.
Stesha and Jeremy are not just farmers, they are extremely
involved citizens who are active members of national organiza- tions (such as NAMA, North American Mushroom Assoc., NAHPA the North America Herbal Product Assoc., ABFFC , the Appalachian Beginning Forest Farming Coalition) and local Ag- riculture entities including chair of the Rockingham County Ag- ricultural Advisory Board and The Good Stewards of Rockingham County just to name a few. So what do Stesha and Jeremy farm? Not the tobacco that NC
is famous for, but new kinds of crops that are more sustainable, easier on the environment, some less expensive to cultivate. Their largest venture is forest farming, whether wild simulated or cul-
Upper Cervical Care restores structural integrity and proper neurologic function
tivated. Wild is foraging for plants, herbs, roots that grow in the wild, and wild simulated is planting in a natural setting and harvesting in a responsible manner so the plant can continue to reproduce or thrive.
Stesha and Jeremy have vast knowledge
about the subject of modern day forest farming (really ancient practices that we are realizing are more important than ever to return to) and shared that in the forest they can plant several “lay- ers” of plants that compliment one another. The lowest plant benefits from the next height plant that benefits from the next taller plant and so on. Among the fascinating
medicinal and
culinary “crops” they farm are: comfrey or knitbone used to heal burns, swelling, bruises and sprains; different types of mushrooms that they use in soups and sell to chefs, sunflowers, Jerusalem artichoke, elderberry for Stesha’s wildly popular and effective Elderberry Syrup Plus, ramps, ginseng (some roots can be 100 years old!), goldenseal, cohosh, bloodroot to name a few. Stesha and Jeremy also purchase the ever popular hemp from local hemp farmers to process into fantastic high quality CBD creams, oils and more. It seems like every other week another “amazing big pharma” pill is being taken off the market because its side effects are worse than the cure…we are not discounting modern medicine, not at all, but I am saying that there are natural cures available to us and they are the “old ways” of doing things. These plants and herbs have been used medicinally for thousands of years, in fact mod- ern pharmaceuticals are steeped in natural plant history. The art of knowing what plants can heal or ease pain or be eaten safely is making a comeback and thankfully, local Triad farmers like Stesha and Jeremy are on the forefront of this movement. Stesha and Jeremy have a lot of goals for their farm(s) - they
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Triad Upper Cervical Clinic M. Chad McIntyre, D.C. offers Orientation Classes at his office once per month
432A W. Mountain St., 22
NaturalTriad.com Kernersville 336.992.2536
www.TriadUpperCervical.com
have a home farm and rent around 200 acres nearby. They would like to open an Education Center to focus on demonstrating homesteading and replicating alternative crops. Instead of high volume clear cutting, high value intercropping. Also they are currently remodeling the VF building in downtown Stoneville as a retail shop to offer goods and food. They want to help Rocking- ham and neighboring counties revive the agriculture and econo- my through sustainable alternative farming. They see challenges for farming currently that there are many hemp farmers (I read one article that said there are 50 in Guilford County alone, NW Observer Aug. 15, 2019, Chris Burritt) but not enough diversity in processing. Hemp is not the magic replace- ment of tobacco that many thought it may be. Hemp is very ex- pensive to start up and the plants are complicated to grow. Then once you grow them you need processors locally that are using the hemp for a variety of uses, which is a whole other article. Jeremy also stressed the need for taking better care of the open land that remains, especially re-introducing prairies. Yes, prairies were a natural part of the landscape in NC once upon a time and we need them back, for the bees, for the butterflies, for the health of our ecosystem. He and Stesha plan to begin to bring back prairies on their farm by killing the non- native fescue that is established, then plant mullein (wonderful plant used for lung illnesses, blisters, flu and a myriad of other ailments), yarrow (used to control bleeding, help with pain and other remedies), milkweed and other native natural plants and flowers. Stesha and Jeremy are so knowledgeable about the overall health of the land they manage that it is much more than just plowing rows, planting seed, watering those seeds, weeding, controlling pests and harvesting…this is the new way of farming,
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