“…the true measure of agriculture is not the sophistication of its equipment, the size of
its income, or even the statistics of its productivity but the good health of the land.” ~Wendell Berry

We don’t come from a long line of farmers. We aren’t working land that has been in our family for generations. Until November of 2021 Florida was home and our growing experience was limited to coaxing grass to survive in the sweltering heat of the south and some small raised beds. With the first bud of a cucumber blossom, the crisp colors of bell peppers, and a bounty of jalapenos we became enchanted with the idea of growing things we could eat. Visits from bumblebees and butterflies on garden flowers solidified the desire to have a green thumb.

When we moved to Louisiana our only thought was to maybe replicate what we knew. With the exception of eggplant. Even though we grew it in abundance we were accidental growers - we bought a mislabeled seedling of the purple and white fruit. Literally no one in our family ate it. We were giving it away as fast as we could and it was a prolific crop. It was both exciting and comical to reap such a bountiful harvest.

Spring of 2022 arrived and our first thought was to add some curb appeal to the driveway of our new home. We quickly learned our first gardening lesson. Southwestern Louisiana dirt is nothing like Florida dirt. We were going to need to think about this gardening business.

So when the opportunity to acquire more acreage presented itself we thought we were just making a financial investment, something we could resell and make a profit from. Turns out we were making an investment of a different sort altogether. We started having conversations that began with, “What if we kept it?” “How can we use this to build a different life for ourselves, our family and our community than we have ever imagined?” “How can we work this land and be more self sufficient?”

We started daydreaming. We made a pact that every idea was on the table and open for discussion, no matter how big or small. The first idea to take root was a flower farm. Something we could cultivate that would be good for the environment as well as our long term plans. And of course if you are going to grow flowers you have to also raise chickens for their eggs, right? And if you are going to raise chickens for eggs why not go ahead and raise some meat birds? And if you are going to raise meat birds why not add a couple of cows and a few pigs? The Commonplace Farm was born.

We are in early stages yet and most of this little farm is still in our heads, but we have learned to not despise the day of small beginnings. Our hope, our goal, is that God will bless the work of our hands and we will in turn bless our family and friends and community in ever widening circles.

“What gain has the worker from his toil?  I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.  He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.  I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;  also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.”

~Ecclesiastes 3:9-13