Ten thoughts for ten years

A decade ago, we were building our house and I was heavily pregnant with Hana.

In celebration, for the next ten weeks, I’m going to be reflecting on what we’ve learned from our first decade on the farm. I’ll roughly structure it to one thought per week.

As we move into our next decade, our systems for food productions are robust and resilient. We hope we can keep improving these systems while exploring new ways to be helpful to others.

We’ll keep helping others grow through workshops, showing others our systems, and teaching organisations what closed-loop, small scale urban farming can do for a community.

We’ll also be tentatively exploring what an NPO/NGO might look like for our homestead. To start this brainstorming work, I’ll be exploring some ideas in a few Friday emails. These will NOT be requests for money, rather I’m hoping that articulating a more precise vision may draw together an engaged board of directors to begin the journey with us.

Here are the thoughts to expect from the ten week series:

1. Slow and steady - because there is no finish line. Everything takes time, and when you give things sufficient time, they become beautiful. Small consistent actions create abundance.

2. Small is beautiful. You don't need a huge plot to create something meaningful. Do what you can afford - there'll be plenty of room for exploration and growth starting from where you are right now.

3. Values over idealism. Lean into what matters most to you, but don't drive your family crazy with idealism that doesn't match your reality. Connection trumps perfection.

4. Stay open to change. Allow life to shift your trajectory, while remaining true to your core values. Have plans, but alter them as you learn new things.

5. You're part of something bigger. Connect with your community, your city, your world. Isolation breeds perfectionism; community creates resilience. When you're imagining your home, think about how you will interact with other people, and give time to that process.

6. Learn about plant needs. Learning about water, weather, and what plants need teaches us deeper questions about what sustains all of us.

7. Focus on the soil, the foundation of all growth. Have a plan for soil building.

8. Embrace ecological cycles, and include animals if you can. Life, death, animals, seasons - managing space for the benefit of all who live in it becomes a practice in stewardship.

9. Health is complex. It's more than just eating homegrown food. Pay attention to all dimensions including community health- sometimes perfectionism becomes its own kind of illness.

10. Nothing has every answer. But growing teaches you to ask good questions, because you cannot blame your struggles on external circumstances.

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