Our mini-farm/-ranch lives in Northeastern Oklahoma, in planting Zone 7a. As I said in the About section, I’m a lifelong gardener and an environmentalist since I can remember.

Personally, I love gardening because it’s like designing outdoors and with a living, evolving canvas. Watching sprouts come up, grow leaves, and eventually bloom and propagate- it’s pure nature magic. 🙂

And gardening is not only fun and creative, but therapeutic! I feel relaxed after even the hardest of tasks outside. Going into the garden is like entering meditation (except I’m way more practiced at gardening 😉) and always provides me with a kind of decompression. Mindlessly pulling weeds, watering, and all of the other repetitive tasks out there- it all works to make me feel better! Gardening is therapy with double benefits- beauty and peace!!

Shortly before we moved to the farm, I started cooking, and looking at the sources of our food, etc., and the environmental impact of these. And, when I say I did a thing, it typically means I did it obsessively and to an extreme. That’s just how I roll! 🙂

While I was reading Caroline Myss’ book Sacred Contracts, I was inspired to make choices that match my values. Feeling like I could do more for the green cause, I started buying only organic groceries and other household products and researching more ways to go greener.

To The Farm

I read a quote during my research that said something like, “The most eco-friendly choice of materials is what’s already there.” So, every choice we made in renovating this farmhouse was driven by the environmental impact of our options. We re-purposed cabinetry from someone else’s kitchen remodel, used reclaimed wood in both structure and decor, and chose to polish the slab for concrete floors. Now, for the green stuff. 🙂

Our Garden

We knew we wanted to do everything in a sustainable fashion, keeping in mind the soil health, type of seeds, and a natural, yet user-friendly, design. Because of my history with back pain, raised beds and containers are helpful where possible, as is a potting table my honey made for me. 🙂

Farming also just feels like harder work than gardening. Therefore, growing food, specifically, rewards me with a huge sense of accomplishment and bonus: I’m providing my family with a clean, healthy diet I feel great about!

• 

• 

The farming started while we still lived in the city, with backyard tomatoes and bell peppers. Let me tell you, homegrown tomatoes from Oklahoma are amazing. They’re a completely different food and so much better than any I’ve bought in a grocery store.  It gets you thinking, “What if I grew my own______________ (everything!)?” 🙂

• 

• 

So Far

We have succeeded with (& plan to continue) growing all of these fruits and veggies:

More Land

In 2020, we purchased some acreage connected to our current land.  We now have a beautiful pond, a cool old barn, and about a city block of blackberry bushes growing wild!  Free food (okay, not free free) and YUM! I can’t wait to see how many we can harvest each summer and all of the yummy things we’ll make with them!

• 

• 

• 

• 

Whole Food

Knowing it’s clean, whole food gives me peace of mind for both what we’re giving our daughters, and what we’re giving the land. Creating wholesome meals for my family actually feeds ME. I get to create, and indulge in my love of all things health, whole, and natural. And, if I grew any of the ingredients, it’s that much more rewarding.

Imagine an entire meal made in your own “backyard.” This is the stuff dreams are made of.  Okay, my nerd is showing again. 🙂