Who are we?

I am often asked who we are and about our background.  I (Tony) grew up on the west side of Cincinnati.  I spent weeks in the summer on a family farm.  This was a typical small farm in central Indiana growing grain and raising livestock.  The time spent on the farm molded me into who I am today.  By the time I was 20 years old, I was living in the country and have not looked back.  I started to garden in the 1980's and by the mid to late 1990's, I found myself growing only open pollinated crops and vegetables, most of which were heirlooms.  I found the flavor unsurpassed and many open pollinated crops did very well for me.  I passed the Master gardener exam in 2002 but due to our very busy schedule, I was not able to continue with this program.  Mary grew up on a small farm in Clermont County, Ohio and has been involved in various farm operations all her life.  Mary has extensive greenhouse experience.  I remember shortly after we met in 2003, I mentioned to her that I grew a tomato from Black Mountain, Kentucky.  She looked at me and said "that's where our family is from".  Once she tasted a Black Mountain Pink tomato, she was hooked on heirlooms.  "That's what I remember a tomato tasting like growing up!"

We moved to our little farm in the fall of 2007.  The property was overgrown and the over 100 year old barn was neglected but had good bones. By the spring of 2008, our small greenhouse was up and various garden plots were tilled.  We both work full time off the farm and work the farm in the evenings and weekends.  For two years we sold heirloom produce at the Anderson Farmers market and we enjoyed this time but it took too many valuable hours from the farm.  We specialize in Appalachian family heirlooms and various Eastern Native American crops.  We grow out what we can with our limited time and offer the resulting genetic treasures for others to enjoy.  We are not a big seed company - we are a rare genetic preservation farm that produces a very limited amount of surplus.  Available items will change from year to year as we cycle items in and out thru our gardens.  Some items are available every year while others may be on a 3 year grow out cycle as we have space.

It's a passion, it's a lifestyle.  Grow what you eat, eat what you grow.  You will never regret it.

-Tony