3 Tomato Plants

And how they changed our lives for the better

When I was prompted to begin my newsletter journey through Substack I thought back to the root of my endeavors in the last decade and how they correlate.

My lifestyle, farming journey, farm to face skincare brand, natural dyeing, motherhood journey, love for cooking, etc.

Looking at all of this, I realized it is a life rooted in living alongside and a part of nature, with the earth as my compass.

“Can I make this from scratch” is a question I oftentimes ask, which leads me down the endless roads of exploration and experimentation.

My partner, River, and I bought 3 tomato plants at the Arcata Farmers Market 11 years ago that impacted our lives forever.

It was these 3 productive tomato plants that begged a question of us we had never dreamt or asked before, “should we start gardening/farming?” We happily moved from one plant to the next plucking tomato after tomato, popping the fruit into our mouths and moaning with sheer delight.

We had been bitten by the gardening bug, and if I’m not mistaken I think it happens to a lot of people by way of a sun warmed cherry tomato from the garden.

Safe to say, it can change your life.

We lived in a small town just outside of Arcata. The fog and the collllld would sink down into the valley but burn off by about 11am providing us with the most gorgeous sunny weather that the neighboring coastal towns weren’t as fortunate to get as often. And to our luck, this sunshine made it a really great place to grow vegetables, fruits, and flowers.

Living on this piece of property was the first time in my life I had been introduced to living on land. And wow, was it different.

I grew up in a suburban neighborhood in Huntington Beach. Our neighbors were a stones throw away. People all around us hustling and bustling, just living their lives.

Fast forward 20ish years and I’m living on land for the first time and experiencing really living among nature for the first time. (I had so many firsts here: hearing the startling sound of a fox cry, seeing a bear or a mountain lion, a bee swarm, and so much more!)

This year marks 10 years of farming.

Starting from scratch at that sweet first garden plot of our gracious neighbors’ land. We’ve had goats, cats, a pig, chickens, ducks, dogs. We’ve sold cayenne powder made from homegrown cayenne peppers. We tried flower farming and sold bouquets at our farmers market stand. We tried selling vegetable to restaurants. We sold gorgeous marigold garlands. We’ve done a little floral collecting and designing for weddings.

We’ve had a million and one ideas about anything along the lines of farming. And about 8 years ago we made a big move from that first piece of land to a beautiful verrrrry rural community that we now call home, on what we feel is the most beautiful property in the world. We have our beautiful 2.5 year old son Eden in tow.

River has a thriving vegetable farm and vegetable stand, Happy Hearts Farm, at our local Humboldt County Farmers’ Markets. While I tend to my Farm to Face Skincare + Botanically Dyed Goods at Root Rise Farm + Apothecary.

A farm begs of you to continue shifting, morphing, growing, pivoting and I know that is why we keep doing it.

It keeps us on our toes, asking questions and experimenting. Our personal life ebbs and flows alongside the ever changing season/year the farm is in. It’s a cyclical way of living, a way of living I treasure and feel grateful for.

I’m so glad you’re here, I’m excited to share things from scratch. It feels real nice to have a space to write.

:) xo,

Jess