Earth Tender Farm, The Beginnings
On our property after we got married
For the entirety of our nine year relationship we’ve been talking about wanting our own farm and constructing a naturally built home together. A few years ago we were getting discouraged about it ever happening so we sat down and wrote out what exactly we were looking for and the farm name came to us, Earth Tender Farm. We hoped that writing it all out and bringing our fullest intention to it would help make it a reality.
After increasingly high prices kept us out of the market and feeling low on our prospects we went to Northern New York to visit friends. Just for fun we decided to look around to see what land might be for sale in an area we heard good things about and knew had farmland within the Adirondack Park, where Sarah was born and raised. We were surprised to find a real estate listing that checked all of our boxes and then some, posted that very day. On a whim we made some calls and visited the property.
First time visiting our property in July 2023
The grass was waist high with wildflowers blooming. As we walked the land we noticed some of our favorite plant friends among the field, red clover, birds foot trefoil, yarrow, and black raspberry. As we ventured into the forest we were surprised to find another plant of interest poking up from the moist earth, Indian Ghost Pipe, a strange but beautiful specimen, a scally plant without chlorophyll shaped like a tobacco pipe. We walked down to the big brook and explored as much as we could. As we exited the woods a black butterfly flew out in front, as if to say welcome my friends. When we got back to the car and faced the open field one last time we felt we had found the place we were to call home and the land we had always dreamed of building a life-long relationship with.
The creek at the back of our property
It wasn’t perfect. We knew the soil was heavy in clay. The entrance sat at a potentially hazardous curve in the road. And a neighboring property was a golf course, a sport we don’t play, and we wondered about having to listen to the endless sound of manicuring mowing machines.
The property is 11.24 acres with roughly 3.25 acres cleared. It has three creeks of varying sizes. Two that are small on the west and east side and a bouldery mountain brook that’s big enough to wade in that emptying our lands runoff into Lake Champlain. The property is on the edge of town, just far enough to feel secluded, but close enough to walk to the coffee shop, a market, the public beach, and to have meaningful relationships with neighbors.
Aerial view of our property, surrounding neighbors, Lake Champlain, and Vermont Mountains in distance
Fast forward to now, we’ve been designing a straw bale home with our architect Sigi Koko for the last year and a half and slowly mapping out our small farm. We’ve camped on the land, and eventually moved up to the area and have been going through the steps to start our build this Spring. We’re estimating that our build will take about two years to complete. We’re planning to do about 70% of the build ourselves to save cost, but it will take more time. We will also be hosting workshops led by our architect for those who want to learn natural building techniques and enjoy the beauty of the Adirondacks.
This is just the beginning for us and we look forward to sharing the story of Earth Tender Farm with you. Stay tuned.
Sarah & Jason
Right before we left the property the first time