About
About us
After growing our first crop of super-hot peppers, we were hooked. We made hot jams, hot sauces, dried peppers, pickled peppers, salsas, and enjoyed our first pepper harvest all winter long. We shared all of this with our friends and got them hooked, too! We knew we had to expand and bring the crazy love for these tasty, painful vegetables to everyone!
Sustainability
We believe growing tasty food well doesn’t have to impact the environment. At Blue Ridge Pepper Patch, we strive to reduce negative effects on the environment in multiple ways:
- Water collection and water-saving irrigation methods
- Reusing nursery pots when available, and take-back of nursery pots for reuse
- Sowing seedlings in biodegradable trays
- Utilizing natural compost instead of chemical fertilizers as often as possible
- Refraining from harsh chemical pesticides and only using options approved for organic production
- Using mechanical methods such as barriers and good ol' elbow grease for weed control, instead of herbicides
- Utilizing recycled paper for shipping and handling as often as possible
Supporting our community and our world
Each season, we select a charity to highlight and pledge a portion of that season's profits to. While we were aware of the loss of America's farmland to development, and the movement of farm ownership from family to corporate farms, this problem became even more visible to us after moving to more rural North Carolina to start farming our own land. Generational farmers struggle to compete with the pricing offered by large corporations and legislation that tips the scales to benefit corporate farms; younger farmers wishing to start farming may not know where to begin. This year, a portion of our revenue will be donated to two organizations. Farmer's Legal Action Group is a nationwide non profit to help small and family farmers navigate legal issues. It can be difficult for small farmers to compete with corporate farms like Tyson and Kellogg who have large retainers for high-end legal firms; having access to legal advice and representation can help balance the scales. The Veterans Farm of North Carolina is a state-based non profit that operates a working farm to help veterans who wish to start a career in farming get hands-on education and support to get started successfully. We hope you will take the time to learn about these organizations and consider making a donation.
Previous charities:
In memory of our Vega: Southern Siberian Rescue, AKC Hemangiosarcoma Research Initiative.
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