Quail Thicket is a microgreen producer that sits on 1.5 acres of undulating, old cotton field land in Forest City. The farm is a gardener’s paradise. Inside there’s a two table microgreens setup. Outside, the house is encircled by perennial flower gardens and a massive hosta collection. Last but not least, the farm utilizes four raised beds and two 6’ x 8’ greenhouses for starting transplants and cuttings.
Quail Thicket is owned and operated by Teri St. John. Teri St. John is a retired title agent who grew up in rural Massachusetts. She grew up helping her father in their family vegetable garden and canning beans, tomatoes, and peaches with her mother.
Lucky for Rutherford County, the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree! 15 years ago she completed a Sustainable Gardening course hosted by the County Extension office and never looked back!
Quail Thicket’s specialty is microgreens. If you aren’t familiar with microgreens, they are young seedlings of edible plants that are harvested after their first leaves appear. Teri St. John’s interest in microgreens was sparked by her neighbor, a talented chef. After hearing this chef sing the praises of microgreens, she researched what she knew only as a “garnish used by fancy restaurants”. After learning about the health benefits of microgreens (most varieties have 4x the nutrition as full-grown vegetables), she decided to grow her own.
Starting off with a single growing table and grow light, she was able to produce enough for herself and her friends. She has now expanded to two grow tables with four grow lights and made the decision to turn her hobby into a business. Her expanded microgreens setup allows her to experiment with new varieties and routinely bring 10+ varieties to market.
Quail Thicket brings the following microgreen varieties to market: amaranth, arugula, basil, beets, cress, spring spicy mix, pea shoots, red Rambo radish, Swiss Chard and her signature mix, Salad Confetti. She rotates the following specialty varieties; wasabi, cilantro, dill, fennel, scallion, and nasturtium.
Her microgreens are harvested the day before the market; you can’t get any fresher at the big box stores! She sells affordable clamshells of microgreens allowing customers to find their favorite flavors. If you are unsure of what to get, she also offers free samples!
In addition to microgreens, Quail Thicket offers 12 different colors of perennial mum cuttings in the spring. Teri is passionate about bookend floral displays and treating mums as the perennial plant that they are. Few nurseries in our area offer spring mum cuttings that you set out in your gardens, which grow to large plants by fall. This approach to landscape selection is much more sustainable and allows you to plan your fall display in spring rather than being subjected to little round pots of dull mums that are sold beside pumpkins.
To learn more about Quail Thicket, visit the Rutherford County Farmers Market or email Teri at teri@quailthicket.com.
