Welcome To Red Bay Farm - A Suburban Tree Farm

Welcome to Red Bay Farm
Red Bay Farm is a small 46 acre family
owned natural area and working
suburban tree farm in Swansboro, NC.
Our goal is to help people from around
the world by providing information on
forestry, gardening and green living.

Red Bay Farm is a real working tree
farm. We will be doing experiments and
studying the income potential of various
gardening, forestry and agroforestry
concepts. We will post and share our
experiences on this website for the
benefit of other landowners and the
general public.

Currently we are experimenting with
different vegetable garden types and
what we call a Backyard Food
Production Complex...to grow food all
year round. We also have an
experiment underway growing
mushrooms on logs and stumps using
different methods of inoculation.

Quick Red Bay Farm History
Red Bay Farm was once owned by
Russell Family heirs and called the
"Little Plantation". The Russell family
owned Palo Alta one of the two large
plantations in Onslow county.

1987-1995
The three parcels that comprise the farm
were purchased

1995
Red Bay Farm was logged

2007 - Met with North Carolina Forest
Stewardship program manager to help
construct a forest management plan for
Red Bay Farm. The resulting 10 year
plan provides detailed actions we need to
take over the next ten years to maximize
timber production and wildlife
habitat.

What is a Red Bay? It's a tree

Red bay trees extend from

Virginia

Louisiana

on the

coastal plain. A

member of

the laurel

(Lauraceae)

family,

it is closely

related to

swamp

bays

and silk bays. Also

the

Lauraceae family

are: 1.

pondspice

(Litsea

aestivalis);

avocados;

sassafras;

and 4.

pondberry or

southern

spicebush

(Lindera

melissifolia), a

federally

endangered

species.

Red bays have limited

commercial

use.

The

wood

sometimes used

cabinetry and

boat

building

and

the

trees are

occasionally

used in

landscaping.

The seeds of red bay

are

eaten

turkeys, quail, deer,

songbirds

and bears.

Leaves

are

used

Southern

cooking to flavor

gumbos.

use the leaves

all the time when I

cook)

Red bays are host plants to three

butterflies:

palamedes, Schaus

and

spicebush swallowtails.

The

palamedes is

obligate to the

red

bay as

the

eggs are laid

on the

leaves and the

emerging

caterpillar

eats the

leaves

Carbon Offsetting

Why buy a carbon credit in some far off land?

Yes,

may

be exotic to

buy

arbon

credits

provided

by planting

trees

the

tropics

but

the

CO2

absorbed

in your

local area is

different that

the

CO2

absorbed

that

tropical forest.

Go out and support your local farmers,

landowners,

nature

preserves

and

sanctuaries. Spend the

money at

the

farmers

market, help a farmer

build a

fence,

donate

time to the bird

sanctuary...

you will

have an

impact!

Preserving our northern forests is

important.

Did

you know that

many

birds

migrate from

South

America

and

Central

America to

raise

their

young in

orth

America

? That park,

that

farm, that

wooded

lot is

important. Do

something

preserve

it!

Garden Photos

Want to take a virtual ecological tour of the White Oak River? Check
out our local places to visit page and click on the White Oak River
link to take the free no advertisements tour.

Informative Links (updated 16 April)

Norman's

Nursery

Visit the

nursery

and

check out his

Old Time

Plants,

Pond Plants and

much more!

Mother Earth News