Who’s Your Farmer? Brad Solomon of Old Thyme Farms (from TLV #154)

Name & Farm You Work For: Brad Solomon of Old Thyme Farms

Hometown: Signal Mountain, Tenn.

What brought you to the area? I came to start a farm.

How did you get started in agriculture? Planting gardens with my Grandad.

What is a typical work day like? Wake up about 5, check the emails, post to Facebook, hit the fields or the barn by 630 or 7. Work all day planting, weeding, watering, taking care of the pigs. Usually finish around 630 7 in the evening. I have a lot to look after, with 2 greenhouses, 47 hogs, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 17 or 18,000 row-feet of vegetable.

What do you do on a rainy day? Work in the greenhouse and then try to spend some extra time with my three-year-old daughter.

What’s the best thing about working on your farm? Our soil is unbelievable.

What are you most proud of this year so far? Cucumbers in March, and tomatoes and squash in April. We’ve probably delivered close to 1300 lbs. of food this year for our CSA members, not including restaurants.

What are you most looking forward to this season? Eating all the delicious produce that myself and my fellow farmers here grow locally.

What’s your favorite vegetable? Anything out of my garden.

What’s your favorite insect? Earthworms.

What’s your favorite music to listen to while digging in the ground? A little Merle haggard or old school bluegrass.

Ever dug up (or found) anything strange / interesting / valuable? An arrowhead.

Name an uncommon vegetable that people should try: Malabar spinach.

Tell us one thing about farming that most people probably don’t know: You don’t get many days off.

Is there anything you’d like to see change about the way food is consumed in our community? More fresh local produce and locally produced meats.

Name one piece of equipment you could not live without: My iPhone.

Tell us one thing you’ve learned that you didn’t know when you first started farming: Timing is everything!

What is the best meal you’ve ever eaten? Every time that I look at my plate, and everything on it is from my farm.

Old Thyme Farms is still offering summer CSA shares and always natural pasture-raised pork. For more information, find them online on Facebook, or www.oldthymefarms.com.

This article was published in The Local Voice #154 (April 19-May 3, 2012)…Click here to download the PDF of issue #154.