BUGTUSSLE RD.
Over the course of this blog nothing will likely be referenced quite as much as our time spent at Bugtussle. It's where we interned, where we met, where we fell in love, and where we'll be calling frequently for advice when our own plants revolt. We owe a lot to our experience there, most notably each other, so you can bet that farm will come up a lot in future posts. There's something ineffably special about Bugtussle, beyond just the amazing name. Located about 75 miles northeast of Nashville, Bugtussle is 170 acres of verdant, lush and uninhibited life, the kind of place that if you stood in the wrong spot for too long nature would gladly envelope you. Of that 170 acres, about 2 - 3 acres are garden, 60 acres pasture and the rest is a mossy, wet forest. They don't apply chemicals––be it pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers––in their practices, nor do they use labels such as organic or biodynamic––though they employ philosophies from each. They're simply Bugtussle. A photographer friend of ours, Tim Harris, made this excellent video a couple years back that both Hannah and I remember watching before applying to the farm. Something about the way Eric talks about their land and their CSA members let's you know what kind of farmer he is. At the time, it let me know that he's exactly the kind of farmer I wanted to work for. I remember the late, great natural wine importer Joe Dressner once acknowledging that he didn't need to taste a wine to know if it was good; he just had to talk to the winemaker. Hannah and I didn't need to taste Bugtussle's food to know we wanted to work for Eric and Cher, we just had to meet the people that grew it*. Watch this wonderful video about Bugtussle.*Full disclosure, however, their sweet potatoes are otherworldly, and definitely did not hurt the decision.