Our Apprenticeship Program
We understand that there is a tremendous amount to be learned from farming, so our apprenticeship is all about us sharing our farming knowledge with you, while you in return help us meet our production goals of growing for our CSA and tailgate market customers!
All positions have been field for our 2012 season! Please check back in July should a position become available.
We are in our ninth year of production and offer the following apprenticeship positions
NOTE: We provide $25 per week food allowance. We expect that the food allowance will be used for personal items and supplies for your breakfast and dinner that aren't available on the farm (In the core season there is plenty of food from the farm so your $25 goes far, but early spring you will need to budget the $25 carefully because you will be purchasing more from the grocery store.!)
Our Production
The majority of our production is in vegetables with about 4 acres in production; however, we are expanding our production of flowers and herbs both for spring plant sales and cut flowers in summer.
We grow about 200 different cultivars and are always looking at refining our production by adding or removing a cultivar. Our primary markets are a 40 member CSA and 2 tailgate markets.
What You Learn
Our apprenticeship will give you a first-hand knowledge of what it takes to run your own farm. Work is hard, with little monetary rewards, but a great satisfaction from working with the earth. You can expect long hours as our normal work week is Monday through Friday. We ask for only those in good physical shape to apply as you will find yourself hoeing in hot weather for long hours at at time, harvesting early in the morning in the rain or shine, bending over hand transplanting veggie starts to the field and doing whatever job is needed just to help keep a continuous production for the CSA and tailgate market. We require your help every other Saturday at our main market in Asheville and in return you will have off the following Wednesday afternoon for personal time. We may on occasion ask for help with a festival or at a special farmers market event but we would not make it a requirement.
You will gain experience with greenhouse production, planting, cultivating, irrigation systems, using farm equipment such as tractors and their implements, and tending to livestock (chickens, goats, horses). In addition, you will see the marketing and business aspect of farming by participating in tailgate markets, making deliveries to the CSA, and recordkeeping.
Our Work Week
Farm work is honest, hard work and days begin early in the morning. Our normal work day on harvest days, currently Tuesday and Friday, begins at 7 AM and ends around 5 PM. Non harvest days we begin at 8 AM and finishing up around 5:30 PM. Occasionally we need to work a little longer to complete a task for the day but we typically work between 45 and 50 hours per week. We also realize that there is a tremendous amount to learn about farming and being self sufficient and that we can all learn together. We are looking for individuals who are serious about learning how to farm and in return we take seriously our roles as educators.
Housing
We provide housing for our apprentices in an apartment constructed in the top floor of our barn complete with a full kitchen, bathroom and a private bedroom for each intern. The apartment includes a spare room with a stereo system and couch so that on your days off you can have the much needed rest from farming if you don't find yourself on a hike or rafting down our amazing rivers! Internet access is available for email and web surfing; however, we are unable to watch videos. Sorry but we do not have reception for TV shows!
Meals
As far as meals are concerned, we eat lunch as a group so we share the cooking and cleanup chores for lunch; however breakfast and dinner is the intern's responsibility to coordinate cooking and cleanup. This arrangement has worked well by keeping the group together during the workday while providing everyone their own time and space. We try to supply the majority of the produce from the farm but for those things that we don't have, like grains and personal items, we figure part of the stipend should cover that.
Keep In Mind
We have two riding horses which you are welcome to ride, however, they are not dead headed trail horses and you would probably need to be considered an "experienced rider" to feel comfortable on them. We are located in a fairly remote rural area which is an hour's drive from Asheville so you will need your own transportation and because of our remote area and the high cost of fuel, your options for driving into Asheville for social night life are limited. Lastly, we do ask for a commitment to work for the period of time agreed upon; however, if your circumstances were to change, we ask that you give us advance notice so that we can find a replacement.
Apply now for one of these Apprenticeship positions
We require that you complete our Job Application. Once we receive your completed application, either via postal service or electronically, we will be in touch with you to schedule a time to further discuss with you our apprenticeship!