Nestled behind a cove in eastern Wilkes County, right off the curvy, scenic Clingman Road between the main highways of 268 and 421, you’ll find a family farm that is quickly becoming a destination site. For Wilkes County natives Dillon and DeAnna Prevette, New Castle Farm has been a way to bring something they love to their home community, and a great place to raise their young children as well.
How did you decide to start a strawberry farm on your land in Clingman?
It was a combination of things really. I was looking to start a business that gave me more flexibility than my career in teaching. And while Dillon and I were living in the eastern part of North Carolina, for school and work, we loved visiting all the different u-pick farms out there. I fell in love with agri-tourism, and there wasn’t anyone in Wilkes County with a u-pick strawberry farm, so we just decided to give it a try.
What surprised you most when you first started?
It was eye opening to me just how much this is a year-round process. While we’re still in the middle of picking berries in spring, we’re already planning and ordering the plants for the next season!
The first year we did this I didn’t realize how early we needed to order, so when we got to it we had to make do with what varieties were still available. That ended up being a good thing because we had a few different ones and we were able to see which ones work best, both in our climate but also for the public to pick.
What is one of the biggest challenges of strawberry farming?
Sourcing the plants has been quite an adventure. It seems like there’s always something different going on that affects the plants or the supply source. Last year a bunch of rain came through the part of Canada that is a major supplier of strawberry plugs for the U.S. Plugs are little plants like you would get in a tray from a garden center. That had a lot of farmers, including us, scrambling to find a different source. I ended up finding a grower in California. But they offered cut offs instead of plugs. They’re just shoots rubber banded together, with no leaves. I wasn’t sure how it would work when we planted last October, but it’s been great this spring!
What is your favorite aspect of the farm?
I love that we’re able to connect people to where their food comes from. With my background in education, I just love conducting field trips here and teaching about the plants and our environment. But it’s not just the kids, even adults are sometimes seeing for the first time where their food comes from, that it doesn’t just appear on a grocery store shelf.
What’s your advice for people coming out to pick strawberries at the farm?
Red is best. That’s all you need to know. People think that you can pick a berry and it will ripen later, like how a cantaloupe will get sweeter when it’s left out a day or two. But that’s not how it works with strawberries, they’re as sweet as they will get the minute you pick it off the plant.
Then when you get home with all those strawberries, resist the urge to wash them. It will only make them spoil faster. Store them in glass containers with a plastic lid and don’t wash or cap them until you’re ready to eat them.
You’re a photographer as well. Do you have any tips for people wanting to take pictures in amongst the strawberries?
If you’re trying to get that cute shot of your kids, don’t have them facing the sun. All you’ll get is squinting. I like candid shots the best, so just snap a lot of pictures. Take hundreds, and you’re sure to get a great one. My advice is to just enjoy yourself and try to capture the moment.
Plan Your Visit
New Castle Farms is open to the public for strawberry picking until there are no more strawberries to pick! Follow them on Instagram (new.castle.farm) or Facebook for the most up to date information.
Hours of operation:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 2:30-5:30
Saturday: 9:00-1:00