Homestead Manor || A Day on the Farm!

Hey there friends! Today I’ve got a fun feature highlighting a local treasure known as Homestead Manor… I’ve teamed up with Rebecca from Sweet Ladi Jane to give you guys a behind-the-scenes tour of this amazing property, located a few miles down the road in Thompson’s Station. 

As both Rebecca and I are native Nashvillians, it was fun to talk about how Music City was when we were growing up and discuss how much has changed in our “small town”. 

When we reached out to Steven who runs the farm, we told him we were itching to get our hands dirty and to really play out the part in the day-to-day operations of Homestead Manor so as soon as we arrived, we got right to it. And no, don’t let us fool you, sure, we’re both girly girls, but we don’t mind a little work too! 

First up, Steven gave us a little tour of the property, complete with their greenhouse, open fields, special events barn, restaurant, gardens, and of course, my favorite, the brand new baby chicks coop! 
These new arrivals are just a few weeks old so of course they were teeny tiny in stature. Both Rebecca and I couldn’t wait to hold them, but then “the boss” put us to work, cleaning out their cage, changing out their food troughs, mixing in the new organic feed, and getting them back inside where it’s warm so they can grow grow grow… after all, they have a job to do! 

From there, we headed to the gardens where we harvested baby radishes and asparagus that goes right across the farm to the on-site restaurant… fresh AND farm-to-table with no middle man. I can’t lie, this absolutely changed my feelings towards this popular movement so many have rallied around and it gave me a new appreciation for just how much hard work, time, and patience goes into ethical, non-pesticide farming. And as we taste tested the final product, I assure you the difference was noticeable! I’m thinking our next visit might involve ways to incorporate these farm-fresh veggies into some springtime dishes. 

Our last job for this visit was to head into the greenhouse to turn over some of the baby green beds… they had harvested what they needed earlier in the day for the restaurant, so we responsible for weeding out the last of the crop, then put in fresh composted manure, and then filled the beds witha special blend of seeds to sprout new growth… told you we were working hard! 

Local friends… looking to grab some homegrown goods for yourself? Beginning in May, they host a weekly Farmer’s Market [which my mom attends all the time so she can tell you how good it is] where local farms and friends set up to offer all the best to you! 

And since we had SO much fun on our first visit, stay tuned as Rebecca and I will be going back to move the chicks, check out the solar panels for the greenhouse, and put our culinary skills to the task in the kitchen… 

Interested and want to learn more? You can visit Rebecca’s blog to check out her recap here. 

Images via Hunter Airheart || Instagram