It’s official!
I am excited to officially announce the formation of our 501c3 nonprofit, Homegrown Ministries! This has been a dream of mine for the last few years and I am so proud to get it up and running. I went from teaching elementary school, to holistic health coaching to regenerative farming and now I do a little bit of all these jobs together as a mom to three young boys on our micro-farm here in Encinitas.
Our farm is home to many chickens, goats, a mini horse, kittens, the best livestock guardian pup, garden beds, fruit trees, and bee hives. The journey to creating our little homestead has been anything but smooth and we have learned so much along the way.
Our nonprofit, Homegrown Ministries, was born out of a desire to share the lessons that I have learned over the last two decades about holistic health, farming and reconnecting with the rhythms of nature. For our first two and half years here on the farm, we went through a lot of learning with hard earned wisdom.
Most of our fruit trees and garden beds were eaten and destroyed by ground squirrels and rodents, I could not keep a plant alive for more than a few days before it was eaten. Larger predators like owls, coyotes, bob cats and raccoons killed nearly 40 of our chickens and 5 of our cats. We also have learned how to navigate egg bound hens, massive mite infestations and a serious respiratory illness that hit our flock of hens.
We never grew up with animals or with land growing trees and gardens and have had come to learn that regenerating a farm and coming back into harmony with nature takes time and a whole lot of patience. We now know a whole lot more about raising animals, how to streamline the feeding and watering process and how to optimally fortify our enclosures.
The most important lesson so far may be the unparalleled value of an amazing livestock guardian dog. Since we adopted our dog Annie, a 2 year old Antolian- Shepard, we haven’t lost a single hen.
I have also learned a whole lot about gardening, soil health and natural pest control. I now have far larger harvests and spend way less time fighting with nature. The more we can work WITH nature, the better. We have dreams and plans for continued planting, bees and soil regeneration.
Along with our farm, I love sharing the gift of homemade sourdough and am proud to say that I have taught nearly 100 local women how to make their own organic, 3 ingredient sourdough bread. Knowing that a little bit of my starter is all over San Diego is pretty amazing.
I also support families with online and in person garden consulting where we work with your unique growing conditions and food preferences to create a personalized planting and maintenance guide. My monthly garden membership makes keeping up with your garden simple and easy. I provide the resources and support so that you know exactly what to plant when and what and how to harvest and prune.
I am so excited to launch this work and will keep you in the loop as we continue to grow our farm and offer more opportunities for other families to learn alongside us. Sending blessing and homegrown health from our family to yours.
Kristina
