May 29, 2008 issue
Farm Profile: Zydeco Moon Farm Rises in the High Country 
Story by Celeste von Mangan
Sally Thiel was not born into farming. Nor did she marry a farmer. Despite these minor details, she and her husband Joe have been full-fledged organic farmers for the past three years and the proud owners of Zydeco Moon Farm and Cabins, situated on the banks of Helton Creek in Ashe County. A native of Louisiana, Sally became a farmer after she retired from the state and she and Joe moved to the mountains of North Carolina, a region they first fell in love with when they visited the High Country in 1996.
“I was looking for something to do after I retired,” said Sally. “Someone mentioned that Richard Boylan from the agricultural extension office was teaching a class on organic farming to help farmers become certified. I attended the class, and in 2006 we started our first crops on about one acre of land.”
The one acre has now expanded to three additional acres, and the couple is growing and harvesting vegetable crops, including asparagus, sugar snap beans, snow peas, beets, spinach, leeks, bell peppers, summer and winter squash, fingerling potatoes and all varieties of lettuce.
“Our biggest crop are tomatoes—heirloom varieties,” said Sally. “We have people who stay on the farm in the cabins and they pick them. We also sell our produce at the Watauga Farmers’ Market and to the New River Organic Growers.”
With guest farms growing in popularity, the Thiels built two cabins on their 61-acre Zydeco Moon Farm, and visitors have their choice of the Harvest Moon cabin or the Blue Moon cabin. The pair chose the unusual name of Zydeco Moon to honor Zydeco dancing—a type of music and dance originating in Louisiana.
“Zydeco is a French Cajun word,” said Sally. “We used to dance the Zydeco; we had to use Zydeco in some way. The moon part just sounded good. We learned later on that Zydeco also means green beans, so we are going to try and have green beans available.”
So what is the hardest part of being a new farmer? For the Thiels, plowing proved to be the most challenging aspect of their new venture.
“Do you make a big square or how do you start to plow the field?” said Sally. “I got a book on plowing and I’m reading the book to Joe and he’s plowing. Well, we ended up with a big valley in our field.”
The Thiels shelved the plowing book and sought the help of seasoned local farmers; they eventually learned to plow their field properly.
After plowing, insects were the other big challenge.
“Learning about all the different kinds of bugs was hard,” said Sally. “Bugs were never my interest. In organics, so much depends on what kind of beneficial insects you are trying to attract and you have to know what insecticide to use.”
Only one other farm in Ashe County is certified organic, and the Thiels would like to see that change.
“We need more growers in the area,” said Sally, “and we’d like to keep the organics we grow on the mountain.”
Sally and Joe partnered with New River Organic Growers, a local group of organic farmers, to purchase a refrigerator truck. The truck is part of their plan to try to get more local food into Ashe, Watauga and Avery counties and to be able to transport more food to local restaurants and stores.
“The delivery point has always been a problem,” said Sally. “We’ve hired a marketer to help us sell.”
Meanwhile, the Thiels are moving onward and upward with their farming future and are very content with their retirement career.
“We love what we do,” said Sally. “We enjoy our customers at the farmers’ market and we enjoy people coming back week after week.”
For more information about Zydeco Moon Farm and Cabins, call 336-384-2546 or click to www.zydecomoon.com.
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