We are moving the farm – and we couldn’t be more excited!
For us, it is truly going to be an adventure of a lifetime. And one that we are anxious to begin in earnest over the next few weeks as we embark on a project to not only grow the farm and expand our test gardens, but create a unique and special place to host garden classes, events and more.
The Need For A Move…
Over the last few years, it had become all too obvious that we were running out of room on our current 2.5 acre farm. As our family of gardening, cooking and DIY websites continued to grow and expand, so did the need for more test gardens and areas to support our projects.
And with a small barn and little parking, it was always an adventure to host a garden class or event. In fact, although we always felt bad, we often had to turn down requests simply due to our limited size.
Unfortunately, with homes on all sides of our current farm, adding more land was simply never going to be an option. And then a little something special happened last fall.
The Perfect Space To Call Home – Moving The Farm
Last fall, we found a 20 acre parcel of land that we simply fell in love with. With rolling hills, wooded trails and wide open pasture area, we thought it would be the perfect little get-away space to camp and enjoy the great outdoors. (See : Creating An Ultimate Get-Away Space)
The only problem was, the more we went there, the more we fell in love with it. In fact, whenever we drove on to the property, there was simply an amazing feeling of peace that settled over both of us.
The more we went there, the more we wanted to stay there. And it wasn’t long before we started discussing the possibilities of moving our entire farm. And for two people that love to take on new adventures – it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take a giant leap of faith!
Moving The Farm
Moving a farm certainly isn’t an easy undertaking. For one, there are many things that simply can’t move. Like the barn, the house, and of course – the garden!
Over the past three months, we have been feverishly working on setting up the new farm. In addition to putting up a few cabins on the property, we have also started the process of laying out space for the new gardens and growing areas.
It will of course take most of the entire year to transition everything into place. Our hope is to have the farm mostly operational by the spring of 2022. And then be able to hit the ground running by 2023.
The Plan – Moving The Farm
We have some ambitious and exciting goals for the space over the next few years. Luckily, the property already had an existing barn that we could work with. We are expanding that currently into an event space and to be the centerpiece of a courtyard area.
We are also building back many of the spaces we loved most about our current farm – like the central fire pit, pizza oven, and small cabin living spaces.
Even more exciting will be creating a combination timber frame lodge & home next spring that can host garden classes and events on a larger scale. For us, being able to connect and talk gardening is our first love. And what better place to do that than on the very farm where we grow and write all about it.
And yes – for those that are wondering, our large painted mural sign will be making the journey too! It will be hung in the main barn to tie in the old farm to the new for many years to come.
Our Future
As for us, we are simply going to keep on doing what we love – building, creating, writing and having fun. One exciting side note to moving the farm this summer is that it also gives us a bit of downtime to finish visiting all 50 states while things are in transition.
If all goes to plan – the 11 remaining on our list will all get crossed off as well by the end of the year – making 2021 quite an amazing and fun year for sure. Here is to moving the farm, new adventures, and living life every day! Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.
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