Sun Run Farm - The Farm

After a couple of hard years in private education at a boarding school, we decided to take a year off as a young family. We needed to reconnect and recharge. In 2016, we decided to do an apprenticeship on a small farm in Middle Tennessee for 12 months. Now, you might be thinking, “Were you imagining that farm life would be easier than private education?”

The answer is no. We knew it would be challenging–and it was. However, we were able to do it together.

Our Beginning

Prior to this apprenticeship, I always had an interest in farming, and Andrea had a pact with her brother to ranch together if they weren’t married by 30. I can remember reading books like the Laura Ingalls Wilder series and learning about Thoreau and Walden. We both had an interest in working the land and being out of doors. It was natural for us to explore this idea of farming together.

By the end of the apprenticeship, I had found what made me feel God’s pleasure. I loved working hard and feeling again. After being stuck behind screens and walls, I was now in the elements. I could sense when the rain was coming. I could tell what season it was just by the sounds I was hearing. My comfort had been replaced by hardship that I could feel in my frozen fingers–and it energized me.

Andrea still has a profound appreciation for fresh garden produce, and seeing garden spaces be reclaimed and reordered brings her great satisfaction and joy. She has commented often, that after picking hundreds of strawberries, she is much more willing to pay the price of strawberries in the store now. She understands what goes into bringing that wonderful fruit to people’s tables.

Since our apprenticeship in 2016, we have often shared and sold produce to our family, friends, and neighbors. It is only natural that we would officially start a small enterprise in growing and selling produce. We grow because we love doing it, and even more than that, we love hearing people in the community tell us how tasty our produce is! There is a difference, and we hear about it often.

The Farm Name

You might be wondering where the farm name came from.

This may surprise you, but I love winter farming more than anything else. Each season has its challenge. However, the rewards of winter farming are also high. There is less weed pressure. Less watering is required. The pace is slower. The produce is sweeter. Every crop we grow in fall and winter is always the best tasting. Also, the competition is lower. Not many people farm or garden in the winter.

Back to the farm name. Our winter apprenticeship had an educational component to it. We read “The Winter Harvest Handbook” by Eliot Coleman. In that book, he describes how to grow fresh winter produce in unheated spaces! It truly is amazing what is possible. One phrase he used to describe the method was that it was a sun run system. I won’t bore you with the details, but I always thought that phrase was sticky.

Thus, the name for Sun Run Farm was born.

In reality, the farm is run by the sun all year long. The sun brings life to plants, animals, and humans alike. No sun, and there is no life.

There were other reasons we liked the name, however, that is where it came from.

In essence, our family thrives on growing goodness—for ourselves and for others. We are grateful for your support, which sustains us as we endeavor to deliver delicious, locally-grown produce with every harvest.

YOUR SOURCE OF SAFE, FRESH, AND TASTY PRODUCE!