Our 130th Real Farmer Care recipient is Kirah Zoellner of Elderflower Farms @elderflowerfarms in Lutz, FL.
Kirah writes, “Hi! My name is Kirah, and I and my beautifully mixed family are Elderflower Farms. We are a budding organic-practice family farm in Florida.
The concept for our family farm began with our hopes and dreams to be self-sustaining, and zero waste, and to be able to share our love for all things green with our community. But it was the pandemic that formed the spark which shifted us from blueprints to reality. So, in the summer of 2020, we got to work installing irrigation, and two 4’x16’ raised beds. These two beds are our primary training grounds. They are where we’re learning the ins and outs of organic farming while we work towards preparing the rest of our property for our growth: We’re cultivating a growing fruit orchard, and are planning out medicinal herb gardens, berry patches, cut flower beds, and native, bird/pollinator-friendly landscaping. And, if all goes to plan, we’ll add chickens, bees, goats, and even a donkey or two over time. Exciting stuff! Happy times. But those two beds were also a kind of saving grace for me in particular.
Our daughter was six months old when we broke ground on our farming journey, so I was six months deep into what became a year long journey through heavy postpartum depression, in the isolation of lock-down, while being rocked with every wave of racial violence and tension...reliving past personal and community hurts, and being devastated by the news of new ones. Listen. Growing our garden has been life-saving...literally. And I hope one day - when we open to the public - that Elderflower Farms is a life-giving, quiet place of rest for our community. But also a beacon of hope. Because our life-loving, imperfect, beautifully mixed family is a thing. Against the odds, against the status quo. We’re out here, and we’re thriving! Follow along with us on our journey @elderflowerfarms “
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