Years and years ago, we were both working outside the home. We worked crazy long hours, sandwiched in between ridiculous commutes. I had always had a goal of one day working for myself, and building a business I could pass along to my children. I never knew it would be something I loved doing and was so passionate about.
After moving to Denver, Colorado, I began perfecting my breeding and growing skills. Many seasons later filled with blood, sweat and tears, I had gotten to a crossroads. It was time to go big or keep doing the same thing year after year. I began looking into off-grid properties, trying to find one that would suit our needs. A farm was exactly what we had talked about building up and turning into our business. With the real estate market in the area being so hot, we were able to sell our home and walk away with a nice profit. I knew if we waited long, the chances of that changing were extremely high. We viewed a few properties, and got a real feel for what off-grid life looked like. This is when reality set in for my wife, and she saw how much work we had ahead.
We pulled the trigger and then things got real. Going from city life nearly your whole life to completely off-grid is quite an adjustment. Going from nearly 1,000 square feet to under 600 would be hard for one person. Add a pregnant wife and two small boys, and you’ve got one hell of an adventure. No electricity or running water. Plywood floors. One tiny propane heater. Almost all of our things had to go into storage. The beginning was really hard. We couldn’t even shower or do laundry in our own home.
Fast forward a few months and I got the place quite a bit more comfortable. We now had solar and wind power, running water, a tub, a functional washer, and real flooring in half the home. Still, life was pretty tough having everyone sleeping in the same room, sharing one bathroom with no shower, and not having a dryer or dishwasher. (We did end up caving on the dishwasher. It was so worth it.)
Then it was time to start getting things in line for the season. We decided on where to plant on our land, and registered with the state. Then came time to find the clones and get them strong enough to handle the wild weather we get dealt. Since my wife was super pregnant at this point, the only help I had was from my brother. He came down on his days off and we cut and rooted the clones. We also had to figure out the best yet affordable way to protect the field from the wind. We get gusts up to 40 mph just on an average day, so a storm can bring over 100 mph. We got our wind fencing put up. Holy back breaking post pounding. Then the compost was delivered, and we scheduled the hole augering extravaganza.
The boys “helped” remove some of the bigger rocks from the field. By “helped”, I mean they moved two before getting distracted by their trucks, and then disappearing. Cue more back breaking in the form of planting all the clones. I had my brother here to help with some of that. My Father in law came down on his vacation and helped plant, too.
Then we waited while nature fueled what would hopefully be a successful crop. There were many rough days where all we could do was hope the hail didn’t get big enough and the winds didn’t get strong enough to wipe out our dreams. Harvest was absolutely brutal, but my brother, Father in law and I got it done.
We’re still living in that same tiny 600 square foot cabin. Except now there are five of us. Still trying to build a better future for ourselves and our boys. We share this with you to show everything we’ve sacrificed and all the hardships we’ve endured, (and are still enduring) in order to produce the highest quality CBD oil. We aren’t rich…. very far from it. We’re just a small family farm giving everything we’ve got trying to make our dreams a reality.
I realized I haven’t updated this page in a long time, and lots has changed!! In 2018, we poured a concrete slab for our 1,500 square foot addition. Slowly, we built the walls, added a roof, framed our bedroom and bathroom (thank the Lord). We built a huge greenhouse that has allowed us to grow a ton of hot weather produce like tomatoes and cucumbers. Each year, we’ve planted more and more produce to sell locally and feed our family. In 2019, we added the last baby boy. That makes six of us. Then the world went crazy, and building materials skyrocketed. The addition had to be put on hold, so we’re living in a construction zone with four kids and plywood walls indefinitely. This spring (2022), we had hurricane force winds that ripped the double layer of film right off the big hoop house. What a gut punch that was, both emotionally and financially. I don’t know about you, but we sure want things to calm down. It sure would be nice to get back to basics.