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“The journey that this couple has had together is more than just starting a farm. It’s hard to read this and not want to jettison to the country and make your own story ” – Amazon customer review
Each and every day, more and more people from every walk of life want to simplify and de-clutter their lives, perhaps grow their first garden, preserve their own food, or raise a few chickens for their own eggs. They want to eat healthier, cut out preservatives – and learn to be responsible for their own food and life choices. The problem – they don’t know where to begin. This book is the place!
In 2010, seeking a way to become responsible for the food on their table and to simplify the typical life of 2 full time professionals balancing careers and a blended family of four children, Jim and Mary Competti set out to create Old World Garden Farms.
Their goals were simple. To build the farm with recycled materials when possible, grow food without the use of chemicals or pesticides, and create the entire venture with zero debt. And most importantly – to have FUN doing it! This book is their story of just how they accomplished that dream!
The Growing Simple Story…
Jim and Mary Competti grew up playing outdoors, tending their families’ gardens and helping make dinner from scratch with ingredients they’d picked just hours before. But as adults, with four kids heavily involved in extracurricular activities and their own busy professional careers, those slower, simpler family moments seemed harder to come by.
So in 2010, the couple took a chance on a three-acre tract of land in central Ohio, just an hour east of Columbus. Within a few weeks, the field that was once an overgrown thicket of small trees, thick brush and messy poison ivy was transformed into the beginnings of a working homestead designed to feed their family – and their souls.
Today, the little farm that they dubbed “Old World Garden Farms” – is a self-sustaining entity that provides nearly 75 percent of the family’s food, without the use of chemicals or pesticides. In addition to their vegetable beds, the family also raises chickens, keeps bees, and maintains a fledgling orchard and vineyard.
And everything – including the barn, chicken coop and compost bins – was created using reclaimed and recycled materials.
About The Authors…
Jim and Mary Competti are the co-owners of Old World Garden Farms, the website oldworldgardenfarms.com, and co-authors of the book Growing Simple.
In early 2012, they created the website oldworldgardenfarms.com to document the entire process for others looking to do the same. The website has grown in just 3 short years to over 16,000,000 visitors and 125,000 followers from over 223 countries around the globe.
In addition to their work at the farm, Mary holds a degree from The Ohio State University and works as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist. Jim is a graduate of Ohio Northern University and is a Marketing Director for a regional firm based out of Charlotte, North Carolina