Photo by Libby Gamble Photography
On a Personal Note: Sarah Decker
By Jim Murphy
Sarah Decker calls herself a farmer, but in her world, farming entails much more than planting seeds and picking crops. “Farmer” Sarah could add webmaster, blogger, social media manager, event planner, photographer, and teacher to her job description. She is a one-woman conglomerate for whom multitasking is a way of life.
Sarah accomplishes her many goals alongside her husband, Morgan, and they both work 12-hour days, seven days a week. They own Root Bottom Farm in Marshall, which covers just under three cultivated acres, and, yes, she says they make a comfortable living off that small patch of land.
“We grow strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries,” says Sarah, rattling off the crops in a rapid-fire burst. “We have 54 fruit trees and 19 nut trees. Garlic is one of our big crops. Right now we have 8,000 bulbs in the ground. We have carrots, potatoes, beets, a lot of greens, lettuce, and kale. We also specialize in microgreens.”
But a variety of products does not necessarily translate into a profitable enterprise. Sarah does not hesitate to elaborate, starting with the garlic. “We keep the largest bulbs to seed next year’s crop. The mid-sized bulbs we sell on the Internet and at farmer’s markets. The small bulbs I turn into garlic butter.” She explains that she works at a certified kitchen in Marshall. “I do all the added-value products there. The garlic butter, pesto, and six varieties of low-sugar jams.”
Their main sales venues are the Internet, two weekly farmers’ markets, and a community supported agriculture subscription network. Customers receive a weekly CSA box of fresh organic food over the 20-week growing season at a cost of $500 a year.
Other income streams require a bit of creativity. Sitting at the back of their property, overlooking a running stream is a very little house. “It’s only 120 square feet,” she says. “I designed it, and we built the deck over the stream. We list it on Airbnb. We also rent space for cheap camping sites.”
Sarah coordinates at least three farm-to-table dinners at Root Bottom every summer. They routinely sell out, and this year they’re adding a fourth dinner as a fundraiser for a local school. Called Pedal to Plate, the event on September 18 involves a 35-mile bike ride that will visit six local farms and end with dinner at Root Bottom.
Sarah takes on a bewildering array of duties, but she is quick to share the credit. “Morgan and I are a dynamic duo. Our farm’s success is 100 percent because of our strong relationship and love for each other.”
Sarah and Morgan have established their multiple revenue streams in only five years. “When I first saw this property, I said, ‘No way.’ Because it was such a dump.” She shakes her head at the memory and points across a neatly planted field. “There were four singlewide trailers over there. The place was full of garbage. Every building on the property was full of junk. We ended up taking 85 truckloads of trash to the landfill. We had to take up ten layers of linoleum in the kitchen and pretty much gut our hundred-year-old cabin. The whole first year made us think maybe this was a mistake.”
But beneath all the junk was a silver lining. “Where can you find five-and-a-half flat acres in Madison County,” she asks. “We’re really fortunate that it was such a dump because that’s the only way we could afford it. We’re lucky that we found it, but were also lucky that we had the energy to fix it.”
Ah, yes. Energy. “For our honeymoon, we biked from here to Key West,” she says. “Once you get past Georgia it’s easy.” They have also biked the entire Blue Ridge Parkway, and every winter, after they shut down for the season, they go to Utah to ski. “The farming is a lot easier here, but the skiing is not the same,” she says. Their trips to Utah represent a return to the beginning of their relationship. Armed with a masters degree in photography, Sarah and was teaching in a high school in Utah when she volunteered on a farm where Morgan was working. Love blossomed amid the rutabagas. Sarah had lived in Asheville years earlier, and she convinced him to check it out.
For Sarah, starting Root Bottom was a life-changing decision. “If you had asked me ten years ago if I would be a farmer in Madison County, I would have been like, ‘Why would I be a farmer in Madison County? That’s crazy.’ But now I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Warming to the topic, she tries to explain the satisfaction she gets from the farm. “I’ve always been an outdoorsy person. I really like being self-employed and I really like working with my husband.” She pauses, looking for a way to express private feelings. “Everything I put into it gives back to me. You plant a seed, you see something grow. There’s something kind of magical in that.”
Jim Murphy is a retired television news reporter and former copy editor for the Los Angeles Times. He can be reached at jimurph41@gmail.com.
