Meet the Farmers
We are passionate about sourcing the best ingredients that we can find. We allow the season's bounty to guide us in creating our dishes. It's no secret that when you start with fresh, seasonal and quality ingredients it is simple to elevate them and create something magnificent. None of this could be achieved without our Talented, Knowledgeable, and Resourceful Farmers. We are truly blessed and humbled by their hardwork and dedication.
Chas & Mandy Kilgore
Short Creek Homestead, est. 2022
Albertville, AL
Philanthropist
Established in 2022, Short Creek Homestead is lovingly run by Chas and Mandy Kilgore, alongside their four children: Ben, Jaycee, Finely, and Sawyer. Their farm is a flourishing landscape of edible flowers, microgreens, lettuces, forested pork, pastured chicken, sprouts, herbs, farm-fresh eggs, fresh-cut flowers, and seasonal vegetables. With a deep commitment to family, sustainability, and nourishing their community, the Kilgores have created a farm that grows more than food, it cultivates connection.
Kelley Bentley-Ash
Swimming Buck Farm
Horton, AL
Designer, Artist, Certified Herbalist
Kelley Bentley Ash wears many creative hats: third-generation farmer, successful folk artist, herbalist, and mother of three. With a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from Georgia Southern University, Kelley co-owns Hovel Design Studio with her husband, Mark Ash, and is the visionary behind Sweet Gravy Studio — a beloved folk art brand featured in Country Living, Houzz, The Walking Dead, and Paula Deen Magazine, among others. Drawing on her artistic sensibilities and training under renowned herbalist Darryl Patton, Kelley has reimagined her Northeast Alabama land into Swimming Buck Farm — a regenerative homestead centered on herbal wellness, sustainability, and creativity.
Daniel & Stacy Tabb
Ironspring Orchard & Farm
Crossville, Alabama
Ironspring Orchard & Farm is 29 acres on beautiful Sand Mountain, owned and worked by Daniel and Stacy Tabb. Daniel is a US Navy disabled veteran, retired mapmaker, and Appalachian-style broom maker. Stacy is a professional artist, specializing in printmaking and ceramics.
Our aim is to grow heirlooms and unusual varieties that cannot be found in grocery stores. We source seeds from multiple seed banks and conservationists, including Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello farm, to produce rare varieties of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, pumpkins, beans, potatoes, onions, and more. We grow a dozen specimen fig varieties, table grapes, blackberries, and rabbiteye blueberries. Our fruit orchard includes heirloom Southern varieties of pears, plums, and apples. Our herbal and tea garden includes dozens of varieties of culinary herbs, edible flowers, and roots. Our multiple nut orchards include chestnuts, black walnuts, and hazelnuts. We are expanding our peony plantings this fall, and will offer dozens of varieties, along with a selection of perennial and annual cut flowers.
