About

Both Doug and I have always felt a calling towards nature and a life of self-sustainability. I (Steph) grew up in a small town in Massachusetts working on farms, participating in 4H, and riding horses. Doug grew up in North Florida spending every waking hour hunting, fishing, and working on his uncle’s tree farm. We met in college in Eastern North Carolina, and it has been history ever since. As soon as we got our first apartment together, we started a potted garden on our small concrete slab, and we even made a compost bin under the outdoor staircase that probably drove our neighbors crazy. With each move and change in apartment housing, we pushed the limits and grew as many vegetables and herbs as we could cram into our backyard and porch space as possible. Finally, in January 2016, we purchased what would become our beloved Elder Oaks Farm. What began as an empty six acres with only a tiny chicken coop has turned into the addition of around 40 chickens, the completion of multiple chicken coop renovations, the construction of a goat barn to house four goats and a livestock guardian dog, the creation of a large enclosed garden space, and the addition of honeybees.

We are both very passionate about living off of and giving back to the land as much as possible. This includes biodynamic gardening to grow our own food, raising chickens for eggs, keeping honeybees, utilizing compost, and hunting wild game. We have formed a deeply rooted relationship with our small piece of this Earth, and we are so excited to share the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of our hobby farming journey with you. We are so glad you are here.