Harrisiana, the place of Harris, is a modern 61 acre homestead located in East Tennessee where we employ regenerative ranching for registered purebred Scottish Highland cattle and St. Croix hair sheep. We also raise Cornish Cross meat birds in a moving coop, and layer chickens semi-free ranging in a 1,000sqft protected run, and honeybees in horizontal Layens’ hives. A 3/4 acre in-ground outdoor garden and 20x40ft raised bed greenhouse are managed from a she-shed with sprout house. Electrical power to the homestead is managed by a hybrid inverter, controlling grid, 13kW PV and 20kWh battery power. We provide land and animal management advice for those seeking to establish their own modern homestead, so come join us.
Hollar’d Ground is the production center of our fruits and vegetables. In a constantly evolving cycle of selection and planting, most of the produce consumed on the homestead comes from the garden. Through study and experience we have designed the indoor and outdoor areas of the garden to enhance efficiency, in easing the process for rotational planting, watering and maintenance, and harvesting from both in-ground and raised beds. One aspect of this design is the use of two 4x4ft fences separated by 4ft to create a protected chicken run around the outdoor garden, to control pests and provide them the proximity to garden operations to benefit from plant scraps.
We are a regenerative homestead with St. Croix sheep raised on grass. We believe animals are healtiest in a natural environment so we feed no grains, nor use any medicines on our animals. Each year we have ewes, rams, and lambs for sale.
Our Scottish Highland cattle are registered with American Highland Cattle Association and are raised on rotational grazing with no grains and as minimal medicines as may be mandated. Our bull is of recent Scottish lineage, making him unique in the U.S. and our cows have been selected to complement his genetics. Most years we have calves for sale.
A play on words, us living in the holler and the sanctity of hallowed ground, the flexibility of having indoor and outdoor areas is critical to managing production. Increased temperatures means early planting in both areas, and utilizing our gravity fed in-ground rainwater irrigation system. In addition to our own needs, we do direct-sales of vegetable products each season.