Goodness Grove Inspection

Our inspection this week takes us to Goodness Grove, located in southeast Raleigh.

One thing we can always count on with our visits to Goodness Grove is a conversation that opens ours minds a bit wider. Whether that’s talking about some new farming method Rhylon has read about, learning about their wild pre-farming past, or digging into how their journey across the globe shows up on Dain’s art.

Rhylon and Dain moved to the US from Korea a few years back. They traded their late night lives working in the bustling music and club world for the early morning solitude of farm life. It was a drastic transition that took some time to adjust to.

As we walked through their budding fig trees with Dain, we asked her how that transition has shown up in her art. She explained that many of her pieces feature birds, a representation of her regular migration over the years. Whether that be to England for university, touring around Asia, or ultimately settling here in the US.

After hearing that, it brought a new perspective to her art. It made us look harder and notice that those birds are almost always contrasted with flowers or trees…perhaps a representation of the roots they have planted (both figuratively and actually) in their work as farmers?

Over the last three seasons, those roots have grown deeper. The trees they’ve planted are bearing fruit. The soil they’ve nurtured is full of life. And the regular needs of the farm have grounded these seasonal migrators longer than they’re used to.

The trade off is a farm that has grown tremendously in a very short period. Fields of lush green lettuce, vibrant garlic stalks shooting tall, and a brand new high tunnel filled with tomatoes plants preparing to climb the just-hung trellising.

As we ask if the high tunnel means we’ll see them in the fall months, one thing is clear – even if they can now grow in the colder months, these birds will always need at least a little time to fly south for winter…It’s just in their nature.