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The History Of The Farm

Our new "old" barn - built from two old barns, one of which was my Dad's.

Our new “old” barn – built from two old barns, one of which was my Dad’s.

The Chicken Coop

Willie – The Farm’s Tractor

View Of The Barn Patio From The Upper Pergola Area

The View From Above The Garden

Some Of Our Pepper Harvest

Our 12′ Barn Table – built from old barn rafters and wood

The Upper Pergola

On September 4th, 2010, on a beautiful Friday evening – the little roar of a walk behind sickle bar mower came to life on an overgrown 3 acre property – and began what Mary and I call our dream, Old World Garden Farms.

It took us that entire weekend to get the land cleared, and for the remainder of that fall and winter, we began to plan our little farm.

Our History

We both came from great families who gardened, and both have fond childhood memories of working alongside our parents in the garden and kitchen. We remember homegrown meals, and great winter dishes made from the food we grew and canned in the summer. We both loved it, and strive to once again create a household that embraces those values responsibly. Simply put – to do things the best way possible for us and the land.  Nothing more – and nothing less

We built our first “farm building” in the early spring of 2011  – our chicken coop.  We made the coop from recycled shipping crates and pallets – and it became home to our 9 newly hatched hens.   Those 9 chicks grew into our “girls” – who now provide our family and friends with farm fresh eggs each day.  Later that spring the garden space was created and planted – and using our raised row, no-till system – we  harvested over 2000 lbs of produce the very first year.

From there on out – we just continue to work at the dream – building the farm one recycled project at a time.  We built our compost bin system from recycled pallets, installed our garden pergola and patio with reclaimed brick, and completed our biggest project to date – the building of our farm’s barn from two old recycled barns.

We are committed to a more simple approach to life and the farm, conserving the resources we consume, and being responsible for the food we eat.  In 2012, we added a rain water reclamation system to the barn using recycled water totes, planted a small vineyard and orchard – and doubled the size of our garden.  Our  long-term dream is to put a  house on the property, perhaps a little winery – and a little cabin for a bed and breakfast.  But more than anything else…to always have fun in what we do.

We have tried to incorporate simplicity and responsibility into every facet of “The Farm” – following 4 simple guidelines.

1. To build a completely sustainable farm with zero debt.
2.  To be responsible for the majority of the food we eat through growing, canning and preserving.
3. To re-use salvaged and recycled materials wherever and whenever in our buildings and projects on the farm.
4. To make it beautiful, and have fun doing it.

You can follow along each week with us by signing up to follow the blog via email in the right hand column, “like” us here on Facebook, or follow us here on Twitter.

Jim and Mary