Beginning
[Spring 2018]
We had planned to start small: a few heads of lettuce and some simple crops to get our hands and feet dirty. Then Karly and I met a pair of strangers, friends of friends, who suggested that we attempt our growing business on their land. There was a lot of space. Our new friends introduced us to some of their friends, and by June we had a delivery roster of 20 customers. Later that month, Silas was born, and by July we could set up our market tent in under thirty minutes, even with the baby in tow. We added a weekend market in a town we’d never heard of. Just like that, we had a bootstrapping business.
Our mission is simple: make neighbors.
The Progress
Our little hill has its challenges. Temperatures are frequently as much as five degrees hotter or colder—depending on the misery du jour. There’s wind. The soil had been overworked prior to our arrival. We’ve imported or grown the organic matter that exists in our soil now. It has taken us longer to build productivity than we anticipated, but we are seeing results.
In 2022, we began practicing JADAM, an organic Korean method of growing that allows us to make all our own inputs inexpensively. We cultivate microbes like a lab in the spring, and we collect materials to make liquid fertilizer all season long. We make plant-based insecticide with a short half-life that complies with the standards for organic production. This winter we’ll make our own fungicide.
As our literal and figurative toolkits improve, so does our soil, and as our soil grows, so do our yields. As our yields increase, so does our roster of patrons.
Moving Forward
Our proudest work
is the small community of rabid supporters who cheer for us weekly and support us annually. We think of our business as part of the service industry—that’s our background. We think food and its responsible production can help to hold communities together. You might say our work is political or even religious. And we wouldn’t argue with you. We’re always willing to meet new neighbors.