The Farm

My wife said "She saw a farm house that needed saving" and so began another great adventure.  

The farm house and farm was part of a land grant to Captain John Stevenson as payment for Revolutionary War deeds and was still owned by his descendants at the time of our purchase.  The house was built in the 1860’s and is a Federal  style mason farmhouse we are still restoring in Canal Winchester.

All animals on the farm are the same breeds you would have seen at the turn of the century and we grow many heirloom vegetables and herbs. We have raised  turkeys, ducks, chickens, pheasants, goats, and of course the mandatory farm dogs & cats

We follow sustainable, organic and natural methods as much as possible. To that end we not only take from the farm but we give back to the farm. We strive to compost all food scrap on the farm to nurture the soil. All waste vegetable oil is reclaimed and used for fuel, we currently have two farm trucks running on the used vegetable oil!

I would eventually like to set up a small greenhouse and do some worm composting with the restaurant scraps and feed the poultry the worms in the winter!

Our long range plan on the farm is to start the following the practice of permaculture and have a bigger variety and levels of fruit, nut, and vegetable crops that are perennials and naturalized throughout the   farm fields, woodlands, and pasture. This will enable us to have a more naturalized approach and provide continuous nourishment for the animals. we plan to augmenting this with self seeding annuals and increasing our herb production to include edible flowers for helping things look good on the farm and your plate.

When I finish the pasture fencing and fix the animal shelters we will be bringing new baby animals to the farm. I will try to relocate as many of the heritage fruit trees that we have along the road since they will all be cut down by a road widening project.                                                                                               (infuriating since there is nothing on the other side of the road!)

In the past we have donated growing space to Four Seasons City farm for production.

We have partnered with the Metro Parks Trails program, We have donated a key piece of land that allowed them to connect parks and communities with 165 miles of interconnecting trails along the central Ohio rivers and creeks. Metro Parks has finished the trail and has the bridge up on our section of property which is now a part of the longest section of continuous trail in Columbus. Starting in Reynoldsburg The Trail goes thru Black Lick Woods, Pickerington Ponds, and Three Creeks Metro parks and connects to the Alum Creek Trail which goes all the way to Sunbury and beyond. We are relocating the pasture for the animals to within three feet of the trails! 

Planning to add signage so everyone on the trail knows when they are on our farm and to watch out for errant animals. One of the biggest projects is just making it look better and less cluttered with project parts and pieces picked up and not just all over the place! (you all know what I am talking about)

Dream, plan, do! Of course the doing it is the hardest part, everyone always asks when!

My answer is the snail seems to be beating me in the race,  I have a very dull chisel and huge blocks of granite. I guess I will just keep chipping away.

Kent Peters  -  Proprietor