PLANTING Sweet Memories

Tucked away on the Alabama-Georgia state line you’ll find the Angel Farm venue and Rocky Hollow Pumpkin Patch,

“Increasingly” may be the operative word. Kent Dyer’s vision for the future includes additional acreage and crops over the next five years.

Although the address says Cave Spring, most of the property is across a creek in Cherokee County. “Our business is in Alabama,” Kaye said.

Kent and Kaye Dyer acquired the 92-acre site that had been in Kaye’s family for decades through an auction several years ago. After determining the Rocky Hollow soil was not conducive to raising cattle, they decided to try their hand at a special events venue/agri-tourism farm.

The couple planted 17,000 strawberry plants in the first year. They were worried that they might be unable to sell all those berries. “We had unbelievably sweet berries,” Kent said. “Word got out so fast about how sweet the large berries were, and we could have sold a lot more berries.” In the fall of 2022, they decided to put in 21,000 plants.

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Before the winter was over, the couple learned what most family farmers know all too well. Weather and wildlife can create havoc. The severe cold right before Christmas and a more than healthy deer population have hurt the berry crop this year. “I don’t know that we really had an idea of what we were getting into,” Kaye said. “I actually call it out adventure.”

She is a retired special education teacher, and Kent is a retired computer science businessman. Kent has consulted with Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources personnel in an attempt to mitigate the deer issue in the future. He’s also decided to include other crops, including sweet corn, blackberries, and apple, to diversify the farm.

Each summer, they also plant about ten acres of pumpkins on the farm to have a fall crop. Some of the pumpkins have weighed in more than 175 pounds, and one day the wagon people used to haul out their pumpkins broke under the weight of several really large ones.

The farm is open seasonally, from mid-April through late May and then again in late September and October.

One of the highlights for Kaye is the opportunity to host field trips for children, particularly those with special needs. “We want the activities to be sensoryoriented,” Kaye said. They could accommodate as many as 200 children a day. In addition to the farm crops and animals, the venue also offers four short zip lines and a sled run during the winter. “I think I counted up 17 different activities that we have available for the children,” Kaye said.

“The field trips and farm education are very important to us,” Kent said. Kaye said lessons can be sent to teachers in advance to help promote STEM and STEAM activities. The couple is also adding Earth Day-themed programming to their curriculum for students.

In addition to the field trips and classroom learning, students in the Future Farmers of America program at several local high schools help as guides during special farm tours.

The wedding barn is also a special addition to the farm. The venue has been hosting between 15 and 20 weddings a year, special corporate events, and even a few proms. They even had some spring days where they hosted tours of the farm right up until time for people to start arriving for a wedding. “You change hats (and clothes) real quick at the end of the day,” Kent said. Some of the student employees would guide farm visitors out a different exit as wedding parties were starting to arrive.

Kent and Kaye quickly agree that the farm is much more work than they realized, but Kaye says it’s good work. “It’s very rewarding. We love meeting people,” Kaye said. “I like the family atmosphere because that is something that has always been very important to me.”

For more information visit www.facebook.com/RockyHollowPumpkinPatch and www.facebook.com/AngelFarmVenue. 336 Rocky Hollow Road, Cave Spring, GA.