Homesteading is a lifestyle that has many benefits. It allows you to live in a more self-sufficient way, while allowing you to connect with nature and become more sustainable.
Homesteading can also be a great way to teach your kids the value of self-sufficiency and independence. However, it is important to ensure your homestead is safe for your family.
Have you always dreamed of having a lush garden with a bountiful harvest in your backyard, but you don’t have the time, skills, or energy? Now you can have your tomatoes and eat them, too, thanks to the area company Homefront Farmers.
Not only can they design a beautiful vegetable garden and construct it for you on-site; they can also prune, weed, harvest, and care for it throughout the season.
“We have built over 650 gardens to date and maintained about 250 client gardens weekly from April through November,” says Marissa Perri, director of sales and marketing at Homefront Farmers. “We view ourselves as an upscale homesteading company, since we also tap maple trees, do beekeeping, grow mushrooms, build composters, and chicken runs. We love helping families learn how to make their land as fruitful as possible, using sustainable homesteading methods.”
An example of the keyhole garden design the company is known for.
They can build gardens throughout the winter, so there is never a bad time to reach out. And no garden is too big or too small, according to Perri. They can tailor the layout to fit your property size and family needs.
If you already have a garden on your property, that’s okay too. They will plant the produce you want and tend it throughout the season. For garden planting and maintenance, this usually takes place from early April through mid-May, to get all the spring and summer crops in. They will also plant the right crops during the hotter summer months into fall. “We are actively managing succession plantings, so our clients have a steady stream of lettuces and other crops that are hard to grow in the summer heat,” says Perri. “Toward the end of summer, we do a big fall planting of peas, lettuces, spinach, baby greens, carrots, and more, so our clients’ gardens are still producing abundantly in a season when most people have already put their gardens to bed.”
If you have a desire to get your hands dirty but need a bit of help with the planning, they have that covered too.
The process starts off with a comprehensive virtual consultation with the master gardener to discuss what produce you want to grow for the season. A garden blueprint is then finalized, and the team plants seeds, weeds, thins, prunes, and trellises all season long. They are certified organic through Bay State, which has extremely rigorous standards, and use only organic integrated management approaches to deal with plant disease and garden insects.
“Growing food for people is an incredibly intimate experience, and we don’t take that responsibility and privilege lightly.”
—Marissa Perri
They grow only organic certified varieties that you can’t find in nurseries or big-box stores. “We grow all of Dan Barber’s (of Blue Hill at Stone Barns) varieties, which are always a fan favorite,” says Perri. “We do this because we love the varieties, tastes, and textures but also the uniqueness fosters engagement and curiosity for the children in the families we service.”
One of the founding employees of Homefront Farmers, Miranda Gould now serves as director of client operations.
If you decide to go the maintenance route, each client is generally assigned one homestead manager for the season. They will send recap emails following each visit to share everything they have done, crops they have harvested, what might be coming up, and some of their favorite recipes for the produce picked right from your garden.
“Growing food for people is an incredibly intimate experience, and we don’t take that responsibility and privilege lightly,” says Perri.
Homefront Farmers
203.470.3655
homefrontfarmers.com
Related: Shop for Fresh Fruits and Veggies at Westchester’s Farmers’ Markets
Source: westchestermagazine.com
