Long-time advocate and follower of Barbara Damrosch and Elliot Coleman, David Kibbe fulfilled a dream by creating an “in-town” farmlet on less than an acre of land. Camden Garden Club asked him about this year’s expectations of his three-year-old, Old Souls Farm. His "spread" will be the highlighted tour on July 17, from 1 to 4, at the Camden Garden Club Expo.

Q- How do you manage the preparation for the Expo?

A- I am making steady progress almost every day with plantings and weeding, and in general, trying to make the property more inviting for visitors who will be coming within the month. 

Q- After only three years, what do you have growing on the farmlet this season?

A- In line with the themes of the Club’s Garden Expo, and in line with my own mission and goals, I am focusing my work on the “edible” garden tasks.  Almost all my summer crops are in the ground and (always depending on the weather) should be thriving by mid-July.  This includes tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, lettuces and kale, pumpkins and other winter squashes, potatoes, zucchini and yellow squash, radishes, sweet potatoes, and some spices like cilantro and basil.  The peach crop looks abundant, and I hope that the trees will have completely recovered from their peach leaf curl fungus by mid-July.  Apples and pears are scarce this year, but the trees are very healthy and green.  Raspberry, goji berry, chokeberry, elderberry, blackberry, grape, and kiwi vines are exuberant this year.

Compost work goes on almost daily. 

Q- You have created a wonderful mix of perennials, some mixed with herbs and vegetables and some in island clusters. What can visitors anticipate seening on July 17?

A- The dahlias are in the ground and some plants are a foot high or higher, so we might have some blossoms by mid-July.  I have planted over 50 native and non-native flowering perennials around the place, and have a couple containers going with flowering plants. My zinnia seeds are just coming up out of the ground, but may have some blossoms in a month’s time.  Natives like butterfly milkweed, baptisia, liatris, yarrow, lobelia, and several others like monarda and spotted bee balm appear to be going very strong this season.

Q- What is in the fenced in area toward the front of the house?

A- All my fruit trees outside the Garden/Orchard (the fence-in area in front) have been weeded at the base, and the bases covered with mature wood chips.

Q- Is this lovely building a hen house? How do you protect the chicks from foxes?

A- I’ve gone from 3 mature hens to 10 with the addition of 7 very healthy Black AustralOrp chicks, now 15 weeks old.  A lot more watering, feeding and cleaning up to do, on a daily basis, but the egg production should be much increased by mid-July. In the evening, they cluster under the hen house and are locked behind a protective gate. It took a few days to train them to go in for the night but they were surprisingly compliant. 

Q- How are the bees doing? It looks like a bee spa on the hillside!

A- The new bee colony is thriving.  I’ve moved the topbar hive, their home, over to the south nearer the line of arbor vitae trees, so to be further away from visitors. There is more of a farm than a decorative garden look for tour day but something for visitors who are interested in incorporating a potential self-sufficient farm on less than an acre.

David’s permacultural practices include bioswales, hugelkultur, meadows, and active composting. For more photo check Social Media.

Tickets are available at camdengardenclub.org/shop/2025-garden-expo-edible-gardens-bountiful-tables