Betty’s Bloomers farm was officially started  in the spring of 2004.  Owner and operator, Betty Thomas  grew up on a small vegetable farm on the coast of North Carolina so basically she has been “farming” to some extent all of her life.  When working in the corporate world, Betty would bring bedding plants to give to her fellow workers each spring.  Seeing how popular this event was, Betty decided to break away from the corporate world and become her own boss in the spring of 2005.  The farm is situated on 17 acres of land in Durham county, North Carolina.   The main garden consists of approximately one-half acre and is rotated yearly on a 3 – 4 year rotation to allow the use of cover crops to increase fertility of the soil.  The farm also has 1 small heated greenhouse to get a early start on seedlings for the spring and summer garden, and a larger unheated  green house which has been serving as an experimental land lab to hopefully extend seasons and to discourage deer visitors from some of their favorite crops.

The farm does not consist of monoculture rows: Betty’s philosophy is that the more diverse the garden is, the less insect pests.  Therefore, you will see rows that consist of a few vegetable plants, then a couple of herb plants followed by some flower plants.  The farm uses organically derived fertilizers such as fish emulsion and feather meal and uses leaf mulch on the crop rows to conserve moisture, block weeds and increase fertility.

The products from the farm are sold mainly at the Wake Forest Farmer’s Market:

www.wakeforestmarket.org , but orders can also be arranged by phone or email.