Kaluna Farm Retreat is nestled in the creek hollers and bottom lands of the North Georgia Blue Ridge foothills. The 92 acre retreat is primarily forested land with the heart of the farm being a mosaic of fields, orchards, and a magical mountain spring at the center. The Jones/Gartrell/Fricks family has homesteaded and stewarded this land for the past seven generations. The original settlers were John and Mary (Gartrell) Fricks, known by the family as the plant people. Then several generations of moon shining bachelors tended the valley.
They were followed up by Tim Gartrell who also grew some illicit organic crops. Ben’s grandpa, Chigger took over after the raid, and used the land as a junkyard and woodlot. In the mid 90’s Ben began cleaning up the junkyard. As a young man, Ben remembered visiting his Uncle Tim’s homestead farm, and was inspired by the magic he felt as a child at the Old House in the woods. So, the great cleanup began, and plants and crops were once again, reintroduced to the Old Fricks place. Ben and Meghan are raising their free range organic children in this temperate paradise.
Love for the land is seen and felt everywhere at Kaluna. The good life is one of service to a place and the Earth. As responsible stewards of this land, the KFR family works hard to make choices that lead to abundant life for our relations. By using regenerative farming techniques we have increased the soil fertility and planted many perennial species that feed us and the ever increasing wildlife that depends on this farm for life.
KFR is a complex ecosystem of relationships with benefits. As such, the farm consciously makes decisions on what products it uses and imports onto the farm. Kaluna Farm takes pride in being chemical free in its agricultural practices. Please help the farm by also making conscious decisions about what you bring and leave on the land. Bring your water containers and drink from the spring or the filtered well water, leave the plastic at home, and buy local quality produce when in season from the farm’s offerings.
Welcome to Kaluna Farm Retreat
Arrive to reset. Leave grounded and inspired.
The rentals at Kaluna are as eclectic as the past inhabitants. The first rental is known as the Bamboo Roost, it is a heartwood pine efficiency above the bathhouse. It was Ben’s first new build on the farm replacing the old outhouse as the only bathroom. It has a cozy warm feel from the pine, and is currently hidden behind a wall of bamboo. The wooden yurt was our second rental to be developed and was built 6 years ago on a south-facing knoll overlooking the farm bottoms. It is oriented to receive warm sun rays to the south in the winter and it is shaded by the forest overhead in the summer. It is extremely efficient and has nice privacy in the woods.
The pre-civil war Cherokee built log cabin is our third option. It is our most authentic and historic offering. It has been cobbled together with other logs from the log corn crib that used to sit beside it. The cabin is homey and takes guests back to simpler times. And the last rental is our newly built treehouse. It started out as a play place for the kids, but quickly became another sought after rental. Its floors were built from a recycled lake deck and has a reclaimed slide, set of windows and siding. It is nested by a spring fed creek and forested hill. Peace and magic radiate from the upper floor bedroom, the spring babbles to your dreams.