A 1-acre off-grid farming homestead on a steep hillside in rural Vermont gardens over $250,000 worth of food each season. Heidi and Evan started with nothing and hand built Small Axe Farm, a remarkable no-till organic market farm growing over 40 different crops with only hand tools, solar electricity, and no tractors, chemicals, or fossil fuel powered equipment.
What began as their personal homestead on unfavorably steep land has grown into their livelihood as their hand built farm can bring in over $13,000 per week thanks to their farming prowess, and some interesting techniques they’ve chose to adopt to make their 1 acre hillside farm thrive.
In this film full of inspiration and practical insight, learn how Heidi and Evan make their farm work, and how they made their dreams into a reality on Small Axe Farm.
*Bonus: Candid conversation at the end of the video sharing vital insights about the keys for the success of their farm.
A big thank you to Heidi and Evan for their openness and willingness to share their thoughts, and ideas in this video so that people can learn from this successes on the farm. _________________
00:00-01:14 Introduction 01:15 - 01:59 Why they choose to farm small 02:00 - 02:57 How they bought their land 02:58 - 03:39 Shifting from Homesteading to Farming For Income 03:40 - 05:31 Paper pot transplanting - A key to the farms success 05:32 - 06:50 No till farming 06:51 - 08:21 Farm washing and packing system 08:22 - 09:39 Farm buildings overview 09:40 - 11:00 Off grid solar power system overview 11:01 - 13:35 Off grid root cellar and heater overview 13:36 - 15:46 Garden Tour 15:47 - 17:40 The secret to reducing insect pressure on the farm 17:41 - 20:20 Upper field tour and importance of hoop houses on the farm 20:21 - 21:49 Harvesting food for lunch and cooking a meal 21:50 - 24:26 Touring the farmhouse 24:27 - 31:17 An open discussion about the success of the farm
