Our organic farm is fully operational and stands
as a valuable educational resource for the community.

Big Barn
Aullwood's big barn is built in the bank barn style used here by German heritage farmers in the 1800s. The beams inside are held together by wooden pegs. Huge trees were cut to make the wood frame. The longest is as long as a 6 story building; you can imagine how big that tulip tree was in life. Upstairs we store grain, hay and equipment. Downstairs are stalls where some animals live. Out back are the paddocks, little fenced yards where other animals live.

Rabbit House
Rabbits are grown for meat, for fur and for use as pets.
Their droppings are piled into a big bin in back to compost into rich fertilzer.

Chicken Coop
Egg production is a primary goal here. You might also see chicks being raised as fryers (to eat). Each chicken lays about twenty eggs each month. Look for chickens (from southeast Asia) and Guinea fowl (from Africa). All farm animals come from wild stock somewhere back in time.

Organic Garden
Mulch, compost and rotation make success likely. Hand picking of pest insects and very judicious use of organic pesticides help too. We love to grow heritage varieties. At the turn of the last century you could find hundreds of tomato vaireties. Now you would be lucky to find two dozen.

Orchard and Bee Yard
Our few fruit trees and bee hives are a natural combination. Even in winter while the trees rest, the bees are active in the hives (huddled together in a constantly changing mass keeping each other warm). In warm weather scouts go out to find flowers. From spring to fall the activity is frenetic.

Sugar Bush
In the early part of the last century some sugar maples were spared the axe. They make up the elders of our current woods. In late January or in February we tap the trees and make sryup over wood fires.

Sheep Barn
This more recently built barn is angled to fit the lay of the land. In spring little stalls hold ewes and their lambs. Go quietly, they may be sleeping.

Farm Yard
The large yard between the barns often teems with life. Apple Fest takes place in this area. School groups spread out and picnic when the weather is right. A nice tour can be taken by simply walking around the edge of the farmyard.

Sheep Pasture
Close cropped lawns are typical here. Our sheep leave shaggy patches of thistle. In late fall look for colored patches on the rumps of the ewes. The ram wears a harness with dye so we can see who is bred. Look for the results in spring. Sheep shearing usually takes place in late spring.

Farm Pond
Muddy and over-nutrified it may be, but it is a source of life to many turtles, frogs, dragonflies as well as ducks and sheep.

Herb Garden
Greenview Garden Club has kept this lovely little herb collection active for over thirty years. Look for native herbs and herbs from overseas. Sit a while and watch the sundial's shadow change.

Turkeys
The turkeys that go to market are young. The turkeys you see at Aullwod are old. We won't be eating them. We like to have them around for many reasons including the fact that they are the only common native North American farm animal.

Pastures
In Aullwood's two big pastures cattle idle the hours slowly chewing their cuds. The Belgian draft horses run through in the evening shaking the glacial till beneath their huge hooves. Killdeer reside, meadowlarks vist, bobolinks may even pass by in the big pastures.

Crop Fields
A short walk from the main farm building will let you see the crop fields. Admittedly they may be more interesting when someting is growing. There is always something happening. In winter look for horned larks scavenging. Listen for their bell-like calls. Watch for new plants in spring. Study the maturing fruits in summer. Look for harvest in the fall. Help with haying on any hot summer or fall day.

At the farm you can learn a lot about the way energy is used.


• Solar energy stored in the crops is clear, isn't it? You and I run on solar energy brought to us by this pathway.
• The windmill can be seen spinning and pumping up water. The sun drives the weather.
• Down below the little wetland in the sheep pasture is a gravity driven water ram which pumps water. Most of the water
  flows by but a little is pumped up above the source!
• The spring house is a simple way to use the buffering power of the soil and the thermal mass of ground water to stay
  cool in summer.
• In the Thomas Building (the office, giftshop and classroom building), we use an earth coupled heat pump (ground loop heat pump) to take heat from the ground in winter and dump heat in the ground in summer. We save a thousand dollars a year this way.
• A solar water heater sits on top of the Thomas Building. All Ohio is good solar water territory.
  Much of the rest of the world is, too.