Micro Farm
Micro farm, sometimes also called urban farming or modern homesteading, uses land efficiently for sustainable living. Our love for micro farming stems from many challenges our family has faced. Neil was paralyzed, and his first wife Willow suffered from a rare, degenerative neurological disorder. As part of his rehab, Neil was encouraged to decrease inflammation with clean eating, and physical labor is the best kind of therapy, which means Neil can walk and manage his daily pain levels. As for Willow, she grew up on ranches, and working with animals calmed her nervous system in ways that confounded her doctors. Though she passed away in 2014, her final days were spent cuddling with baby chicks and spending time with her family.
When Kathryn came into the picture, she was working in the fast-paced world of politics, but she also come from a long line of master gardeners. Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, her family would listen to baseball games on the radio while weeding their vegetable garden growing in the little strip of land beside their home. In her twenties, Kathryn always had an herb box or consider garden growing in whatever apartment window got enough sunlight. When there wasn’t enough light, she started growing plants under sun lamps in terrariums and tanks.
Some pretty severe food allergies and sensitivities have also made clean food production a necessity. Neil ended up in the ER after a severe allergy attack, and though he has long suspected food allergies, we found out for sure that he is allergic to wheat, corn, soy, peanuts, walnuts and scallops. Kathryn developed lactose intolerance in her early twenties and is sensitivities to corn, soy, and cruciferous vegetables, and has an allergy to ginger of all things. Having her gallbladder out in 2012 also didn’t help with my dietary restrictions.