Our roots stretch back to 1991, when we left the coastal city of Wilmington for a small rural town in central North Carolina called Bonlee to start our family and (though we didn’t know it at the time) our farm. In the early days, our work revolved around running a hardware store. When we first grew tomatoes to sell in the store, we didn’t realize how that one small greenhouse would flourish into a family-run farm, which was officially established in 1993.
Over the years, one greenhouse grew into four, spanning 7,100 square feet across our 32-acre property. Between the greenhouses, our farm is dotted with several large garden plots and surrounded by woodland to fuel our furnace. Ray chops the wood that heats the greenhouses, which requires about 15 cords of wood each year to maintain a comfortable temperature for our plants. We also raise free-range egg-laying hens, a small herd of sheep, two hives of honey bees, a couple of working cats, and our sweet dog, Lacey.
Thirty years after our founding, we feel deeply rooted in our history, community, and traditions. We also look forward to our future and welcome the next thirty years for Bonlee Grown Farm.
