The Vineyard

An exciting life begins and thrives on dreams, and making them come true. What would Terrapin Springs Farm be without some active farming? In prior times the farm was home to tobacco fields, gardens, and fruit trees — all of which withered over time as Joanne’s parents were no longer able to tend to active farming. In the past few years the farm has produced hay for the neighbor but not much else. That is changing.

Our vision is to look past the new white fence that now borders the west pasture, and to see rows upon rows of vineyard with table and wine grapes, and a small orchard of fruit trees. The vision started to become a reality in April 2014 when we planted the first 640 grape vines, 40 fruit trees, and lots of berries and figs.

Vineyard Viewed from the Arbor

A Someday Dream

For now, it’s just our experimental vineyard on 1.8 acres. The first year was disappointing as the bugs took over and consumed the greenery while we were in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, an accident with herbicides, and two years of premature budding followed by hard freezes has set back our dreams.

We did take advantage of the growing season to plant gardens and enjoyed harvesting enough to supply the neighborhood with tomatoes, melons and other vegetables.

Joanne is Our Chief Gardener

Cherry Tomatoes

While gardening sounds like fun; it is lots of work: planting, fertilizing, weeding (constantly) and harvesting (daily). But of course, we (and the neighborhood) enjoy the bounty from Joanne’s hard work.

Joanne’s Vegetable Cart – Compliments of Don’s Workshop