Goldfinch Gardens

Last Updated On: January 22nd, 2024 at 08:29AM MST

Contact information

Farm Address:
77 Paw Paw Hill Rd
Burnsville, North Carolina, 28714

Primary Contact: Cedar Johnson
Secondary Contact: Ben McCann

Primary Phone:
    Type: Cell
    Number: 828-284-1700
    Email: farmers@goldfinchgardens.com

Website: http://goldfinchgardens.com

Website: https://www.instagram.com/goldfinchgardens_celo

Internship information

General Farm Description: ***POSITION FILLED FOR 2024*** Goldfinch Gardens is a 2 acre production vegetable farm in Celo, in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. We've been farming for over 14 years. We grow specialty vegetables for our online CSA at www.goldfinchgardens.com. This is a "customer choice" CSA with most of our 150 customers being neighbors and residents of our small valley community. Using 3 hoop houses (2 of them moveable) and a passive solar propagation house, we are able to grow and market from year round. We also raise a home flock of laying hens. Our farm is 1/4 mile from the homestead where our house and the assistant farmer cabin is. We grow using intensive methods inspired by Elliot Coleman and JM Fortier. We do lots of experimenting with no-till methods and mostly use hand tools. Interesting practices you will learn will include growing greenhouse tomatoes, no-till veggie production, cover cropping, inter-cropping, seed starting, ginger and turmeric production, post-harvest handling with a sharp eye to quality, establishing beneficial insect plantings, moving greenhouses on wheels, taking down and setting up a caterpillar tunnel. Our farm is Certified Naturally Grown, a peer reviewed, small farm friendly alternative to Certified Organic. We work hard, but strive to prioritize quality of life. See photos of our farm at https://www.instagram.com/goldfinchgardens_celo A working interview is required.

CRAFT Member Farm? Yes

Internship Starts: 3/1/2024
Internship Ends: TBD
Number of Internship Available: 1
Application Deadline: until filled
Minimum Length of Stay: Full Season

Internship Details:

We are looking for an assistant farmer with experience on a no-till farm preferred. This position is for 24-28 hours a week, leaving time for off farm work. The assistant farmer will work closely with Cedar, our main farmer, but will be expected to work independently as well. The assistant farmer will be involved in bed prep, planting, harvest, wash/pack, volunteer supervision and general farm maintenance.

Educational Opportunities: As previous interns ourselves, we want to facilitate your continuing education. We will do our best to help you explore your areas of interest as well as covering all the basics. We are members of the regional CRAFT program that provides farm tours and potlucks with other farms in the area once a month. We aim to teach you both the day to day details of running a farm and the bigger picture how the farm and business of farming works. Cedar will work with you to help prepare you to one day manage your own farm. We have a regular crew of community work trade volunteers as well as a seasonal employee that will work along side interns.

Skills Desired: We seek motivated individuals who are especially interested in small scale commercial no-till production of vegetables. We don't sell at a farmers market, so weekends are free throughout the season, although we strongly encourage attendance at monthly CRAFT tours. Assistant farmer applicants need to be in good health and able to handle the summer heat as well as the cool rainy spring and autumn. Of course, good attitude is expected. A personal vehicle is required as we live in a rural area.

Meals: Unlimited vegetables and eggs when we have them. Meals are independent of our family, as the cabin has a kitchen. There is a food co-op within walking distance that interns can shop at.

Stipend: We provide a monthly stipend of $1000 plus a furnished straw bale cabin and as much produce as you can use. We withhold payroll taxes from the stipend. We have liability insurance on the farm that covers interns while they are here if there were to be an accident, but we strongly encourage having health insurance for obvious reasons.

Housing: A nice straw bale cabin with loft, bathroom, kitchen, water and electricity. Queen bed in loft, deck, very sunny and warm. Wi-fi in cabin, and limited cell phone reception. Due to the small size of the cabin, no dogs or children please. The cabin is well set up for a couple but would be a challenge for two people who were not accustomed to sharing a bed.

Preferred method of Contact: "Email, we will send an application"