Ohana Farm and Market

One of my dreams is to grow 100% of the produce that we consume or sell -- It would be a difficult, but exciting goal!  A practical strategy to work toward this goal would be to simplify our diet and quit eating whatever we don't grow ourselves. This way, if we really want to eat sweet potatoes, we have to learn how to grow them.  If we want to eat our own apples, we have to figure out what kind of apple will actually grow here. In the meantime, peaches grow here easily, so we can just eat more peaches. Later on, whenever we fill out our orchard to make a food forest, we'll need to figure out what kind of ground cover and medium height bushes will grow here too.  At the same time, there are some things that simply cannot stay outside all year here.  Anything made for a tropical or moderate climate, such as medjool dates or bananas, need shelter from the harsh temperature swings here in central Texas. During my first winter here ... the temperate was 70° F (21° C) on ...

We recently watched a documentary called "The Hermit of Treig" about a hermit in Scotland who has lived by himself for 40 years before opening up his life to be interviewed.  He had become very proficient at feeding and housing himself.  But I couldn't help noticing that he still wasn't 100% independent from other people at any point in his life.  He still needed supplies -- clothing, equipment, material, etc.  His dependence on the outside world become especially obvious after age started to catch up with him. So what does "Sustainability" mean? For myself, in years past, this has meant I worked one job, paid my bills, and didn't have to worry about much else. If I was hungry, I'd go to the grocery store or to some casual dining place such as Chipotle. If a pipe broke, I would call the plumber.   However, this has changed drastically over the past few years. Now my idea of sustainability is growing as much grass as possible and other foraging materi...

Goldenrod proliferates along the roads and anywhere it is allowed to grow here in central Texas. It tends to thrive at about the same as Ragweed and, interestingly, acts as a counter effect to the famous allergy causing weed.  Ironically, Ragweed is commonly mistaken for Goldenrod, so watch out! Be sure to look closely at some online examples of flower close-ups to make sure you're getting what you think you're getting. The easiest way to take advantage of the medicinal qualities of Goldenrod is to process it into a tincture.  A tincture is a concentrated extraction of an herb or plant, made mostly of alcohol (the extracting agent). Right now we are freeze drying a large amount of Goldenrod, and I also transplanted a bunch of it in the yard.  It's a perennial so hopefully it will come back strong next season, and we can harvest it right here on the property next time.

One of the biggest take-aways from Jordan Rubin's book, The Maker's Diet , is that we can control the number one most important factor for our health: our diet . When we are younger we seem to get away with making unhealthy decisions.  As long as we are moderately active, we can consume almost anything without becoming overweight or sick.  Alcohol and smoking don't have such a dramatic effect when we are younger. We can get by with quite a bit of sleep deprivation as well. Why? Because younger bodies are able to adapt to hostile treatment while still staying mostly functional.   But our bodies remember different kinds of stressors ... and dietary stress is a big one.  You have probably heard of the word "inflammation" in reference to health and wellness.  Honestly, to this day, the word still seems vague to me.  I still have to pause for a minute and try to remember what it means or why it matters.   But you can think of inflammation as a kin...

Up until a few years ago, I believed that anything other than over-the-counter pharmaceuticals was "quack medicine." At the same time, I didn't think to question why I constantly struggled with persistent coughs, upper respiratory infections, and all the other symptoms that come along with seasonal cold and flu. My only gameplan was to buy Dayquil/Nyquil and Delsym (cough syrup) in bulk, and keep consuming it forever.  Thankfully, Lizzy (my wife) has steered me patiently toward a more holistic way of thinking, so I've been able to escape this cycle.  Elderberry syrup in particular has been a game changer for me.  Instead of just suppressing the cough or masking other cold/flu symptoms, it strengthens the immune system so I can actually recover from the cold and flu, and the associated symptoms (upper respiratory infections, sniffles, sore throat, etc.) And does so surprisingly fast, as long as I get out ahead of it.    Elderberry syrup has been used for centuri...

The time has come for us to re-make our garden into something even more special, and hopefully more functional as well.  Our friend, Rianna (Insta, @warmhoneytoast ), has helped us with the re-imagining part so we have an awesome looking roadmap already.  Our goal is to create a rejuvenating destination that balances both function and beauty.  Lots of herbs and fresh veggies, but also just a really nice place to sit and collect oneself. First Step : Transplant all the plants that we want to keep into pots.  Below is some of the carnage so far.  You'll see lots of Yarrow and Comfrey in particular, since those very useful plants self propagate.  What a pleasant surprise!  Just few more transplants, and then we'll be ready to clear out the raised beds, and measure out the new garden / destination.  We're excited!