The Farm

Our farm is located on 75 acres in the beautiful mountains of the Laurel Highlands in Pennsylvania. We absolutely love where we live and understand that there will be others after us. We want to ensure that the bounty and beauty of this land will be plentiful for generations to come. Which is why we take the stewardship of our property very seriously. We use sustainable and beyond organic methods on our farm to grow our vegetables, raise our animals, and care for the land that we love so much.

Our Growing Methods

Beyond Organic: beyond organic includes a level of awareness and knowledge based on true health and wellness. It is not based off a list of requirements that are bought into. We believe in taking a long hard look at the food systems around us and educating yourself to know what practices are right and true, and which ones are detrimental to your health, environment, and community. Beyond organic includes: no antibiotics, no hormones, and no vaccines, being kind to all animals in every stage of life, practicing sustainable land and soil management, always practicing Non-GMO, and being pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, and chemical fertilizer free. We participate in practices that are a bit more labor intensive such as using black plastic mulch, natural compost, as well as the use of beneficial insects to grow happy plants. For soil conservation we utilize Nitrogen-fixing cover crops to maintain healthy soil on our land. As well as crop rotations and natural soil amendments to ensure that we do not leach the land of all its nutrients during growing seasons.

Future Projects

We are always looking forward to the future and the challenges it will bring with it. We are constantly researching and learning new lessons from our successes and failures. From mistakes comes growth and we are all about growth at the farm! In the next year we are planning to build a Passive Active Solar Green House. This newest project harnesses the power of the sun to maintain a climate where we can grow crops year-round in a controlled environment. We are so excited at the possibility to grow food in the winter and maintain healthy crops in uncertain growing conditions. We have utilized raised garden beds are very interested in trying out Hugelkultur. Hugelkultur is a type of raised garden bed that utilizes decaying wood as a nutrient base for the plants. Since we have this resource in large amounts in the surrounding woods, as well as large amounts of biomass and hay we look forward to trying our hand at this new style.

Conservation

Even though we are constantly planning for our next move on the farm we are always thinking about our impact on the land and environment. As we grow we will continue to participate in practices that have positive impacts on the land. We will make sure we always set aside land that is beneficial to native species and the always important pollinators. One of my favorite creatures growing up was the Monarch butterfly. As kids we spent countless hours looking for eggs on milkweed, watching caterpillars grow, watching beautiful green chrysalises, and squealing with joy if we saw one flutter by. Even as adult I still call my mom almost every time I spot a Monarch butterfly. This love has never gone away. Though sadly much of the Monarch's habitat has. I have dedicated acres of our land to be completely left alone as a place where Milkweed, Queen Anne's lace, Clover, and hundreds of other wild flowers bloom, creating a paradise for Monarchs, other butterflies, bees, and countless other creatures. I encourage YOU to let milkweed and native flowers and grasses bloom!

The Hiking Herd

For me the biggest reason I do everything I do is for the animals. I love all creatures, I always have, I always will. My parents never turned away any animal I showed up with whether it was a bunny, a cat, kitten, gerbil, snake, turtle, or dog. When I graduated and showed up with my first dog, Ruca, my mom told me that for me taking care of animals was like breathing, I needed to do it to survive. That stuck with me. I feel like I am my most true self when I'm surrounded by animals. Thankfully that is most of the time now. I am dedicated to giving all the animals in my care the best possible life, and a big part of that to me is access to space to move around and explore. My chickens are free range, the cats come and go as they please. I take my horse on trail rides and even will hand walk him to new areas to explore and graze. Even the dogs are constantly running wherever they please. I wanted to include the goats in our adventures as well, so I started bringing them with me on my daily walks in the woods. They love it and so do I. I have gone on hikes where I was with 3 dogs, 4 goats, a cat, and a chicken. I am dedicating my life to taking care of animals. I can only hope that over the years I will add to my herd and give more animals the life they deserve.