Living the Dream at Burge Organic Farm

Monday, June 23, 2014

What comes to mind when you imagine an organic farm? Long rows of plump organic veggies and fruit ripe for pickin’, orchards with budding blueberries, fields of tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and herbs lined with big, beautiful trees, children laughing as you pick just ripened blackberries, birds are chirping, the sun is shining, farm hands hard at work harvesting the freshest vegetables and sorting through just picked strawberries. Well, you just imagined Burge Organic Farm in Mansfield, GA. We are still convinced they set all this up…

Cory Mosser, manager of Burge, has such a great story. He was on track to become a lawyer after college and decided to take some time off before starting law school to hike the Appalachian Trail. He quickly realized that working in an office would not be his calling.

Cory first learned to farm while staying and working with farmers he encountered as he hiked the AT. In exchange for a place to stay he would help out around the farms as he trekked along the 2,200 miles of trail. Cory discovered he had a knack for farm work. The people he met and the skills he acquired along the way inspired him to make a go at it. Fast-forward to now and he is managing Burge Organic Farm, a 16-acre farm located on the property of Burge Plantation, where he lives with his wife Sarah and their 3 beautiful girls. Living the dream!

Visiting the farm in person, you’ll think you are actually dreaming. The plantation sits on 1,000 acres of historic land that’s been in the Burge family since 1809. It’s rolling fields and woodlands seem to go on forever. We were lead through a few of the fields with wide eyes and open mouths, for sampling all the fresh veggies and fruit Cory was so kind to let us try! It took some convincing to get Danielle out of the strawberry patch.

Cory specializes in open-pollinated heirloom varieties of produce, which allows them to save their own seed and create varieties that are unique to Burge. Their heirloom tomatoes are on the way and Sungold’s are on the menu this season. As well as, gigabyte cukes (mini cucumbers, yes they are as cute as they sound), potatoes, blueberries, basil, elephant garlic, wild plums, and the list goes on. Not one to shy away from a challenging crop, Cory has tried growing more unique produce like pomegranates, kiwis and juju berries. Although the late frost this year claimed most of them, he hasn’t given up and looks forward to planting next year. As he says, “We grow unconventional produce unconventionally.” Along with unique plants, Cory and his team are also focusing a bit more on growing flowers. As if the farm couldn’t get any prettier.

Burge works with various restaurants in the area, has an organic CSA program and you can find Cory and the entire Burge farming family at Morningside and Peachtree Road Farmers Markets on Saturday mornings! We had a wonderful time visiting Burge and hope we’ll be invited back sometime soon! Thanks again Cory!