Rehabilitating a property that was as dilapidated as our little “homestead” is not cheap! Right when we moved in we had to start taking down old dead and dying trees (mostly invasive Siberian elms)—not cheap in a suburban environment with structures around. We spent over $20k in tree removal alone, not to mention the countless hours we spent pulling and hand treating for invasives and dangerous weeds like poison hemlock. Truly, the first two years our growing space was small just so we could keep up with all the invasive plants around! But slowly as they dwindled, we could start replacing them with native keystone plants like oaks, chokecherries, American plums, goldenrod, milkweed, yarrow, and dozens of other species, which surround our main “production” field and help provide habitat. That production field allows us to sell produce and cut flowers as well as host on-farm workshops to help us finance all of these updates, and our community is so incredible and supportive! The ecosystem repays us with built-in predators for pest resistance from birds and beneficial insects, bountiful yields with the help of lots of native pollinators, and absolutely stunning beauty. Over the years I’ve dove into things like cover cropping for mulch (vs using plastic mulches like other organic growers), soil blocking to eliminate plastic seed trays, and lots of other experiments in the regenerative space like getting sheep. Stay tuned for updates on our next project. We are ramping up to tackle things at our home farm in Minnesota next!
#farm #homestead #garden #regenerative #explore