Eden’s Harvest at Death Farm Permaculture
Located a short 20 minute drive from downtown Chattanooga sits this serene 20 acre farm. When looking for places to stay near Chattanooga, I knew I wanted to choose somewhere that engulfed you in nature, all while being a short distance from all kinds of activities. Little did I know, this Hipcamp accommodation was an entire event of its own. Hosted by Taylor and Emily, this farm was started just a few years ago and originally was purchased just for the land. However, in the cards for them was a promising future so much more than they had originally planned. Now, just a few years later their farm functions as a hip-camp glamping site, a permaculture paradise, a functioning farm, tons of public educational courses, and even the occasional rave. This farm truly has it all and is the perfect spot for you if you’re looking to get away from your phone for a few days and back to the fundamentals of what life should be all about.
Where do you stay?
Once you’ve booked your stay here, the incredible hosts do all they can to make your stay as seamless as possible. Our check in day, Taylor reached out to send us an address that made it easier to find, as well as incredibly helpful directions, and even let us know that their farm dog ,Talia, would kindly greet us when we got there. Once you pull in to the driveway you’re able to drive right up to the yurt itself which made me feel so much better about carrying our stuff from the car. The yurt is tucked away on the corner of the property so there was plenty of privacy while we also felt secluded enough that we felt safe at night time. The yurt itself was an incredibly spacious heavenly dome. When we arrived we found the tent closed and eagerly wanted to get inside to get our stuff put away. I will say the only downside to our stay at all was the tent was so incredibly hot during the day time hours that we couldn’t spend much time there while the sun was out. However we did bring an extra fan that was pretty large and were able to stay very comfortable throughout the night. The hosts think of everything and provide you with plenty of things to make you comfy inside. The ground of the tent is beautifully covered with rugs throughout, a lovely decorated table sits at the corner of the tent and sitting a-top is a lamp, some tea cups, and even a little game. In the front left side of the tent there is an incredible standing fireplace with a vent stretching through the top of the ceiling. They provide you with fire wood already as well as a lighter. Unfortunately, it was too hot for us to use since we came in the Summer, but the if you came in the fall I have no doubt this would be one of your highlights. On the other side of the huge bell tent, sits a full size Japanese mattress with tons of gorgeous old quilts, these made it incredibly comfy and had the perfect camping feel. We did choose to bring another blow up mattress as well since there were 2 of us, it was a queen size mattress and easily fit in the back area of the tent. I would say you could sleep 4 people in here comfortably. To make your camping experience even better you have access to electricity, as the hosts have a multi plug generator source in the tent, so we were able to charge our phones, run the fans at night, and even have cozy fairy lights on as well. The whole stay was so cozy and the hosts have done a wonderful job thinking of al of your needs.
Death Farm Tour
Our kind hosts greeted us shortly after we arrived and unpacked. Taylor and Emily were both so pleasant to talk to and were very happy to answer any of our questions. They gave us a number to call if we had any questions and even let us know one of them would be around to give us a tour if we would like. We took Taylor up on that offer on our last day there. Right off the bat Taylor showed us their Worm Castings that were in a large ,cared for, container elevated off the ground. These castings were thriving and work as an organic fertilizer while having nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, micronutrients, and beneficial bacteria.
We then headed over to the large bunny house. There were so many bunnies running around, and the hosts even informed us that they created an underground habitat for them to have their babies and stay out of the heat in the Summer. A fun fact that I learned is that bunnies will actually self abort their babies if they feel like they do not have a safe place to have them!
Heading up the hill Taylor showed us how they crafted terraces leading down some of their hills to catch water run off and using it as a natural water source that the nearby plants could tap in to if needed. This led us to their famous pond. The blood pond. At first we thought we had entered a sacrifice area and were ready to run, kidding. kinda…but in all seriousness the properties pond was blood red and pretty creepy to the eye if not given any background. However Taylor let us know that a long time ago the pond was named this after the Battle at Chickamauga and was said to be stained red from “the blood of the fallen soldiers” however it is tinted red due to algae, (and now a little bit of food coloring to add to the plot) we loved this!
At the top of the farms hill there is an area for some planted crops such as corn and beans that the owners donate and use for other things as well. A few steps away is another beautiful pond, this one green in color, and a little easier on the eyes. It was surrounded by delicious blackberries that the hosts often pick and use for things like homemade blackberry jam! (Check out the camps outside store for tons of homemade goodies) This pond also happens to be home to a very large snapping turtle, and the picture perfect spot for both sunrise and sunset. Throughout the property there were so many birdhouses covering many of the areas. after asking why so many, Taylor informed us that they try to bring in Swallows so that the birds will eat the majority of their mosquitos. I had no idea this was a thing but quickly believed him as I only had 1 singular bite the whole camping trip and we were outside all day.
Lastly, Taylor and his family also graciously hosts foster puppies that are available for adoption so please make sure to see all the little love bugs during your stay!
What makes this place unique?
Before going on our trip I had no idea what to expect and couldn’t have imagined all of the hard work put in to this place. It’s rare to find hosts that are so kind and so eager to show you around with no complaint. You could easily see how passionate Taylor was about what it takes to make this place thrive and talks about the future. I haven’t been to many places before that are as laid back as our stay here. I couldn’t have asked for more kind or knowledgeable hosts. This spot is so perfectly located near everything we wanted to do and was the perfect safe haven after a long day in the sun. This farm also offers the cutest outdoor store with things that are locally made by them. There was homemade apple butter, salves, and even elderberry syrup! Even if the hosts aren’t nearby they have a Venmo where you can pay online.
The icing on the cake for us was absolutely the farm animals. There were chickens, bunnies, dogs, ducks, and my personal favorite, pigs! (who double as escape artists). Both mornings of our stay we woke up early to the roosters crowing and were happily met by stepping out of our tent to find the cutest pig I have ever seen that ran directly towards us and just wanted to be pet. He even followed me around on my morning walk around the farm. The animals were more active in the morning while it was cooler so I definitely would not miss this part of the day!
How to book
I booked my stay through HipCamp. This app is very similar to Airbnb but is more ideal for camping. You can download it, put in what area you’re looked to stay near, and there pops up everything in that area. To book this lovely farm stay you’ll type into the search bar “Yurt with Farm Views @ Chickamauga Battlefield.” The booking process is extremely quick and easy. Afterwards, your hosts will message you with anything you need to know. Don’t be afraid to ask any questions, Taylor was so quick to respond to anything I asked before and during our stay. Any time we messaged asking questions we were met always with a kind response within minutes.
Tips on Your Stay & Activities Nearby:
I would abolsoutely recommend staying in the early cooler season such as April or late September/early October. This will ensure maximum comfortability in your yurt as well as plenty of things to do outside during these seasons as well. I do recommend bringing an extra fan if you are someone who needs it cool to sleep better. We also brought some things to wash off with outside since there was no way to shower. However there was a very clean outhouse (compost style) that was close to the yurt and had functioning lights at night time (lifesaver). Either way you cannot go wrong with a stay here. It really helped our trip feel as nature driven as possible. I couldn’t have had a better experience with our hosts, and the farm itself is something you need to see for yourself in person.
Things Nearby:
- Soddy Daisy Creek – this crystal clear creek offers a huge swimming hole to jump rope in to, a beach area, diving rocks, and plenty of separated spots for swimming access. I cannot explain enough how beautiful the water was here, you could see your toes while swimming! A must go.
- North Chick Blue Hole – This is a Chatt local favorite. It’s crystal clear water offers extremely unique swimming conditions, a hike across the creek, and eventually leads you to the coolest swimming hole with an enormous (and famous) jumping rock, with many incredibly peaceful spots to swim.
- Sunset Rock – last but not least the most incredible (and most popular) spots to see the sunset. Views directly on top of the mountain. Truly breathtaking. Keep in mind parking is VERY limited, literally like 10 spots, so come early.
Now go book & enjoy your glamping!
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