Furman Farm

The Furman Farm is a working garden on a 1/4 acre plot adjacent to the Cliffs Cottage on campus. The garden provides the campus community with an environment in which students, faculty, and staff can study, research, and practice small-scale food production. The garden will strengthen physical, mental, and spiritual connections to the land through the practice of sustainable, organic agriculture.

History

Ground was broken for the farm in winter 2007 when the old tennis courts behind Bell-Tower Housing (now the Greenbelt Community) were broken up in preparation for the construction of the Cliffs Cottage. The first plants were in the ground by late spring 2008, mostly from seeds started in the beautiful antique greenhouses at White Oaks (about 1.5 miles from campus). About 80 varieties of vegetables, herbs, and flowers were grown. The Furman Farm focus is "Heirlooms and Herbs for the Home Garden".

The Randy Blackwell Farm Stand

The Randy Blackwell Farm Stand will be open this summer from 6-8:30PM on Thursday nights. The Farm Stand will sell the vegetables and herbs harvested from the Furman Farm, many of which are hard-to-find heirloom varieties. In addition, visitors will have an opportunity to purchase student artwork. The efforts of the Furman Farm are to contribute to the education and research opportunities of the Furman University campus community on sustainable homegrowing opportunities and all of the activities they involve, while being resourceful with campus materials and contributing to the overall sustainability of Furman University. All proceeds from the Stand go to the Farm, which is largely based on student volunteer efforts.

The produce that will be available this week includes:

Yellow crookneck squash, Black beauty zucchini, Cocozelle italian zucchini, Yamato cucumber, Green bell pepper, Blue lake beans, tomatoes, Red russian kale, True siberian kale, lettuce: Waldman's, Oakleaf, Rouge d'Hiver, garlic, some fresh herbs, and basil plants.

Student Walker Jernigan will be our featured artist. Students who work in the garden (including our Furman Garden Student Assistant Manager Anna Strick) and the Center for Sustainability and our Campus Farm and Composting Manager (Bruce Adams) will be on site to answer questions. Please bring your own bags. See you there!

If you are interested in volunteering or having a tour of the garden, email sustainability@furman.edu.

Click here for information on the Furman in the Garden (FIG) student group.

Click here for Food and Agriculture Resources.