Bellyfull Plants Nursery
Black Mountain, NC
Location:
Black Mountain, NC
Total Acres:
68 Acres leased 3.5 acred owned
Agroforestry Acres:
2.5 Acres
Year Established:
2021
Introduction
Bellyfull Plants Nursery is a small family farmstead based in the Blueridge mountains, between Bat Cave and Black Mountain, North Carolina. We grow all perennial trees, shrubs, vines, herbs and roots that are all edible or medicinal. Our family has followed permaculture principles (since 2002) which originate from indigenous practices and focus on soil health and plants that thrive in this bioregion and other close by regions. We enjoy raising a small flock of ducks and chickens for their eggs and manure, making soil from our compost, using our own fertility plan mixed with local materials like DirtCraft's pro-base, which consists of aged pine bark fines and composted peanut hulls (great for forest plants especially). We occasionally sell some fruit and vegetables and eggs seasonally, but plants are our main focus for now.
Due to our location being half an hour from any nearby town, and road quality issues moreso after Hurricane Helene, we most often bring our plants to the Black Mountain Tailgate market, Garren Creek Tailgate market in Fairview, and Asheville area festivals and special events:
Asheville Herb Fest
Growing in the Mountains
NC Arboretum Spring and Fall plant sales
Black Mountain Garden sale
Montreat LandCare and Arbor Day Festival
Sassafras Moon Herb Festival
Harvest Fest at WNC Farmers Market
and our beloved Southeastern Permaculture Gathering in Lenoir.
We DO PLAN TO HAVE A FARMSTAND at the top of our road by 2027 with eggs, produce and of course, our potted perennials!
Main Agroforestry Species
See plant list on website:
TREES:
Figs (Ficus carica)- Celeste, Brunswick, Brown Turkey, Olympian, LSU Purple, LSU Strawberry, Chicago Hardy, Black Mission
Mulberry (Morus rubra) Illinois Everbearing, Hicks Everbearing
Sweet Birch (Betula lenta)
Chestnut (Castanea) DUNSTAN (American-Chinese hybrid)
Chasteberry tree (Vitex agnus-castus)
Paw Paw (Asimina triloba)
American Plum (mixed thicket)
American Persimmon
SHRUBS:
American Elder (Sambucus Canadensis)
Goumi berry pronounced "Goo-mE" (Elaeagnus multiflora)
Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa)
Cramp Bark/ Snowball (Viburnum opulus- opulus) European
HERBS:
Yellow Root (Xanthorhiza simplicissima)
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)
Sochan/ Green-headed coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
Creeping Thyme (Thymus praecox)
Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica)
Lavender (Lavendula)
Horsetail (Equisetum)
Garden Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans)
Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Narrowleaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
Spearmint (Mentha spicata)
Chocolate mint (Mentha × piperita f. citrata)
Self Heal/ Heal-All (Prunella vulgaris)
Rue (Ruta graveolens)
VINES:
🌿Black Raspberry/Black caps (Rubus occidentalis)
🌿Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)
🌿Tropical Kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa)
🌿Hardy Kiwi (Actinidia arguta)
🌿Jiaogulan/ "Southern Ginseng" (Gynostemma pentaphyllum)
🌿Muscadine Grape (Vitis rotundifolia)
TREES:
Figs (Ficus carica)- Celeste, Brunswick, Brown Turkey, Olympian, LSU Purple, LSU Strawberry, Chicago Hardy, Black Mission
Mulberry (Morus rubra) Illinois Everbearing, Hicks Everbearing
Sweet Birch (Betula lenta)
Chestnut (Castanea) DUNSTAN (American-Chinese hybrid)
Chasteberry tree (Vitex agnus-castus)
Paw Paw (Asimina triloba)
American Plum (mixed thicket)
American Persimmon
SHRUBS:
American Elder (Sambucus Canadensis)
Goumi berry pronounced "Goo-mE" (Elaeagnus multiflora)
Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa)
Cramp Bark/ Snowball (Viburnum opulus- opulus) European
HERBS:
Yellow Root (Xanthorhiza simplicissima)
Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus)
Sochan/ Green-headed coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
Creeping Thyme (Thymus praecox)
Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica)
Lavender (Lavendula)
Horsetail (Equisetum)
Garden Nettle (Urtica dioica)
Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans)
Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Narrowleaf Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
Spearmint (Mentha spicata)
Chocolate mint (Mentha × piperita f. citrata)
Self Heal/ Heal-All (Prunella vulgaris)
Rue (Ruta graveolens)
VINES:
🌿Black Raspberry/Black caps (Rubus occidentalis)
🌿Red Raspberry (Rubus idaeus)
🌿Tropical Kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa)
🌿Hardy Kiwi (Actinidia arguta)
🌿Jiaogulan/ "Southern Ginseng" (Gynostemma pentaphyllum)
🌿Muscadine Grape (Vitis rotundifolia)
Not available but on the land and we're working on it and may have available in the coming years.
Figs: Violette de Bordeaux, fignomenal
European Elder (Sambucus Nigra)
Blueberries (multiple varieties)
Sweetleaf/ Horse Sugar (Symplocos tinctoria)
Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)
Tea Camellia (Camellia sinensis)
Carolina Allspice (Calycanthus floridus)
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Wild Native Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
Asian Pear (Pyrus pyrifolia)
North Star Cherry (Prunus cerasus)
Slippery Elm (Ulmus)
Black Haw (Viburnum prunifolium)
American plum (Prunus americana)
American Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)
Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)
Linden/Tilia/Basswood (Tilia cordata and Tilia platyphyllos)
Pawpaws (Asimina triloba)
Hazelnut (Corylus)
Hawthorn (Crataegus)
Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)
Holy basil/ Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum)
Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)
Ginger (Zingiber officinale)
Tumeric (Curcuma)
Black Tumeric (Curcuma caesia)
Shiso (Perilla frutescens)
Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)
Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa)
Snapdragons (Antirrhinum)
Contact Information
Main Contact:
Peggy Kaase Malone
Phone
Email:
Website:
Social Link
Social Link
Site Visitors
No- Tailgate Markets and plant events only. Farmstand coming soon
Nursery or Planting Stock Provider Information
Agroforestry System Design
We use swales to hold water and prevent run-off or erosion by letting it go back into the soil. We have started the beginnings of a rotational pasture for the ducks and chickens, and planted shrubs that both benefit from the manure, but also provide shade, fodder and protection from predators for them.
We are starting to plant and propagate woodland medicinals and look forward to increasing the population in this region again since they have been severely poached. With this effort, we are also seeing the significance of protecting watersheds by planting more yellowroot and other wild natives to help hold soil and prevent erosion while sustainably propagating them.
Though we have a lot of plants native to Western North Carolina, we also have some that do well here that are not native, but produce food or medicine. Our goal is to start more food forests in the area and also encourage other residents and businesses to plant food perennials that can support the communities of Western North Carolina to help prevent food deserts and tap the potential and fact that this is a good place to grow food, lessening the dependence on the vulnerable supply chain coming across the nation.
Personal or Collective Experiences
We have learned learned a lot along the way while implementing agroforestry. The benefits is seeing how the dynamics between plants and animals (including people) shift depending on weather, positioning of planting, supply of water and crops, wild life and domestic animal populations fluctuating and soil health. We find ducks are much easier to raise than chickens, though others find the opposite. The silvopasture seems key to raising poultry and we look forward to strengthening our system more and preventing soil impact by rotating pastures soon. The birds all have a large area for their flock size, but we want to figure out a way to make it healthier for the soil and trees and shrubs that are currently there. Most are doing fairly well, but there has been some impact in key areas after 18 years on this site.
There are many benefits we have from forest farming, including seeing the plants through the seasons and all the stages. Making medicine is a big reward and paying closer attention to wildlife that interacts with the plants and areas that we have tended.
For the most part, our biggest challenge is not having enough hands and people power to keep on top of all the systems, so we are a bit slower than we hope for with production, but at the same time, remain patient with what is feasible work-wise.
March 16, 2026 at 5:36:23 PM