Flourish Farms – Our Journey

Two years ago, my wife Lyndsey and I stood on a rugged, overgrown piece of land—just over 6 acres of wild beauty—and dreamed about what it could become. We didn’t have all the answers, but we had a vision: to build our dream home, raise our family close to nature, and create a homestead where we could live more intentionally. I will never forget finding this deal through a connection and taking Lyndsey to see it the next day. She thought to herself, “what is my husband getting me into” but all of that changed when she walked our future homestead property. This land captured our hearts, and we had no idea what it was going to become. We have not started home construction at this time but are getting things in order for that every day! Lyndsey, Wells, Luke, and I enjoy spending as much time camping on the homestead as possible until we can reside here full time.

What began as a dream has now become our sanctuary. Our spot that we can get away too and be grounded.

We’ve poured countless hours into this land. Building a driveway and taking 15 feet off the top of our hill to open up a building site that gives us amazing views. Clearing brush, carving out trails, building garden beds, planting trees, and constructing spaces that bring life to our vision. We’ve raised chickens, built a greenhouse, planted raspberries and fruit trees, and most recently, finished our barn. Every project has demanded hard work. Real, back-breaking effort. But the reward has been in the progress, the transformation, and the satisfaction of knowing it’s all been done with our own hands.

Through it all, one of the most meaningful parts of this journey has been raising our two boys here. We’re building more than a homestead. We’re building a life that teaches them the value of hard work, resilience, and connection to the earth. Out here, they learn by doing. Whether they’re gathering eggs, hauling wood, helping plant a new tree, or just exploring barefoot in the grass. They’re growing up with dirt under their nails and fresh air in their lungs. My favorite thing is to see my boys covered in wild berry juice and dirt after a day on the homestead. Watching them grab snacks right out of the garden, and learning how to clean fish, wild game, and prepare it for meals. This has been a place that allows all of that to come to fruition.

We want them to see the beauty of nature not as a place to visit, but as a way of life. We want them to understand where food comes from. How to care for animals, and how to work together as a family toward something bigger than ourselves.

That’s why we started Flourish Farms—not just to document our journey, but to invite others to join in. Homesteading isn’t always easy. It’s sweaty, muddy, exhausting work. But it’s honest work, and it’s deeply rewarding. And the more we learn, the more we want to share. To help others take steps toward self-sufficiency, simplicity, and a deeper connection with the land.

We’re so glad you’re here. Whether you’re just starting out or simply curious about this way of life. We hope our story inspires you to dream big, dig deep, and grow something meaningful.

Spring/Summer Camping Meal Ideas

Lyndsey and I spend a lot of time camping on our acreage. When it comes to camping meals, we try and keep it simple and easy! it can get easy to rely on processed foods while camping, we have fallen victim to that. With some simple prep work though you can turn camping mealtime into a healthy fulfilling meal. I am going to list some of our favorite ‘s for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

Breakfast Ideas

  1. Overnight Oats
    • Ingredients: Rolled oats, almond milk, chia seeds, honey, fresh berries.
    • Prep Work: Mix oats, almond milk, chia seeds, and honey in a jar. Refrigerate overnight. Add fresh berries in the morning. We like to utilize our Mulberry tree’s for fresh fruit!
    • Tip: Prepare individual jars for easy grab-and-go breakfasts.
  2. Veggie Omelette
    • Ingredients: Eggs, bell peppers, onions, spinach, cheese.
    • Prep Work: Chop veggies ahead of time and store them in a container. Beat eggs and store in a separate container.
    • Tip: Use a portable stove or campfire to cook the omelets.
    • One of our favorite things to do in the morning is go collect our own eggs from the coop and incorporate them into our breakfast!

Lunch Ideas

  1. Chef’s Salad
    • Ingredients: Ice burg lettuce, Cheese, some cut up lunch meats, and dressing of your choice.
    • Prep Work: Chop lettuce ahead of time, and get your portions correct so you can just mix together when it is time.
    • Tip: Keep the salad in a cooler to maintain freshness.
  2. Turkey Wraps
    • Ingredients: Whole wheat tortillas, turkey slices, avocado, lettuce, hummus.
    • Prep Work: Slice avocado and prepare lettuce ahead of time. Assemble wraps at the campsite.
    • Tip: Wraps are easy to customize with your favorite ingredients.

Dinner Ideas

  1. Grilled Veggie and Meat Skewers
    • Ingredients: Bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, herbs. Venison Steaks, or Beef of choice.
    • Prep Work: Chop veggies and marinate meat and veggies in olive oil and herbs. Skewer veggies and meat and store in a container.
    • Tip: Grill over a campfire or portable grill for a smoky flavor.
  2. Foil Packet Chicken
    • Ingredients: Chicken breasts, potatoes, carrots, olive oil, garlic, rosemary.
    • Prep Work: Chop potatoes and carrots. Season chicken with olive oil, garlic, and rosemary. Assemble foil packets with chicken and veggies.
    • Tip: Cook packets over a campfire or portable grill for a hassle-free meal.
    • These are a Family Favorite!!!

Snack Ideas

  1. Trail Mix
    • Ingredients: Nuts, dried fruit, dark chocolate chips.
    • Prep Work: Mix all ingredients in a container.
    • Tip: Portion into individual bags for easy snacking.
  2. Fruit and Nut Bars
    • Ingredients: Dates, almonds, oats, honey.
    • Prep Work: Blend dates, almonds, oats, and honey. Press into a baking dish and refrigerate. Cut into bars.
    • Tip: Store bars in a cooler, or camper fridge to keep fresh.

Prep Work Tips

  • Plan Ahead: Create a meal plan for your camping trip and make a shopping list.
  • Pre-Cook: Cook grains, chop veggies, and marinate proteins ahead of time to save time at the campsite. We don’t love this step but have learned it is crucial to save time!
  • Pack Smart: Use airtight containers and resealable bags to keep food fresh and organized.
  • Stay Cool: Use a cooler with ice packs to keep perishable items fresh.

With these easy and healthy camping meal ideas, you’ll be ready to enjoy delicious food while exploring the great outdoors. Happy camping!

Planting Cool Season Crops

whether you are a first-time gardener, or experienced gardener it is important to know when the best times are to get your crops into the ground. Here at Flourish Farms, we follow the April 15th for cool season crops, and May 15th for warm season crops rule. This is what my parents have always done, and it has worked well for us over the last couple of years. Lyndsey and I recently had our garden beds tilled up, and are getting our onion bulbs, potatoes, and seeds ready to plant on the 15th. This is a fun time of year for many gardeners, and outdoor enthusiasts. The weather is starting to turn, and the days are growing longer.

Cold-Hardy

At Flourish Farms we choose to look for seed packets that are listed as “Cold and Hardy” when considering what to plant for cool season crops. It is important to remember that if you are planting on April 15th you need to monitor the frost potential. A lot of cool season crops can handle light frost, but if a hard frost is on the forecast, then you may need to use frost covers on your garden. Some of our favorite Cold-Hardy vegetables to plant include.

  • Carrots
  • Potatoes
  • Onions
  • Pea’s
  • Lettuce
  • Cabbage
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Garlic
  • Red Onions
  • Asparagus

Conclusion

Spring is an exciting time after being cooped up all winter long. If you are thinking about trying out a garden for the first time, just take the leap! Lyndsey and I are still learning everyday about gardening. It is part of the fun, there is so much to learn, and many people to learn from. We want to teach as many people as we can, while always continuing to learn ourselves. Gardening can be hard work, but it is also very rewarding. When you can sit down at night and prepare a meal that you know you started from seed, and raised to harvest is when it makes it worth it! We hope that we can inspire people to take the first step, that is what we did and have not looked back.

Barn/Building Update

At the beginning of the year, Lyndsey and I sat down and created our vision board for this year’s upcoming busy season. We have been attacking that checklist so far with finishing our greenhouse, getting our garden plans ready, and starting on our outbuilding/barn. Last weekend we had some help out at the homestead to get most of our pole building put up. We are so fortunate to have people around us that can jump in and make quick work of things. One of my customers linked me up with a couple Amish workers that did most of the construction, I was the grunt running around getting them what they needed. The building structure only took about 4 hours to put up, and now we just have to put steel on it. We are excited to add this additional space to our homestead.

It will be an area that we can work, store tools/equipment and build off of for future use. We have plans to expand our livestock on the homestead in the future, and this will be a place that we can branch off of for more animal housing.

Chicken Update

Branching off of the building update, we can now open up the entire smaller shed we have currently for the entire chicken coop. This will allow us to easily expand our laying stock which we are doing today! Lyndsey is picking up another eight chickens for our flock, having this larger space for them is crucial. I will make sure to update once we have names picked out for all the new ones. Our coop will be revamped and allow more space and easier egg gathering.

Seedling/Garden Update

Lyndsey and I had to replant our seedlings, life got crazy, and we may or may not have forgotten to turn the heat light off….

We have started more seedlings that are all starting to germinate now and hope to start hardening them off and moving them into our new greenhouse soon. Our gardens are going to be tilled this week, and we are super excited for warmer temperatures coming! One thing we are learning through this journey is not to bite off more than we can chew. It feels like everything is chaos right now, but sometimes that is the fun of it. Our boys have been troopers, and love being out in nature with us. Watching them learn a long with us has been very rewarding. I look forward to sharing more updates as our progress continues!

Flourish Farms Farmstand Ideas & Plan


Have any of you ever thought about building a farmstand to share your produce, eggs, bakes goods, and lots more with your local community? Lyndsey and I have been seeing a lot of farmstand ideas and have come up with a plan for Flourish Farms to start its own farmstand starting Spring of 2025. Farmstands can be simple in structure with just a few items, or they can be intricate and complex with power, water, and temperature control. They can be as simple, or elegant as the owner wants, and Lyndsey and I’s main goal is to serve our local community with fresh produce, eggs, and bakes goods out of our farmstand.

Plan

Now that the construction on our greenhouse is complete, the plan is to start construction on the farmstand. The weather looks great to allow a quick build, our farmstand is going to be quite simple as well which will aid in the process. We acquired some antique steel sheets that will look great on our farmstand. We plan to make it small enough that we can move it around easily if we need too. I have had a knack for constructing things out of pallets, they are usually cheap and easy to build with. Lyndsey bakes a lot of sour dough bread and other goods that we will sell out of the farmstand along with our garden produce, fresh eggs, salsa, and vanilla extract. If anyone has any other ideas, please reach out to us and let us know what you would like to see in the farmstand! Farmstand social media pages have inspired us to pursue this journey I have attached some links to our favorites at the end of the blog.

Execution

Our main goal for this farmstand is to serve our local community with whole foods and treats that the entire family can enjoy. If this is something you are interested in, please reach out to us for information on how we learned about it. We are still learning ourselves, and group learning is the best! Once the farmstand is built we plan to have it at our property just outside of town and make it a self-serve style kind of farmstand. People can take what they want and leave money in a box or Venmo us. We will bake multiple times a week for the farmstand and try to always have new and improved items available. Also, a farmstand is a great way to have some extra supplemental income. The input cost is fairly low, but the time is the most expensive part! Lyndsey and I dedicate a lot of time to our garden, animals, and preserving/cooking. We have learned to love the work that goes into making our homestead a homestand. Our family bonds in nature, and our son Wells has grown up getting dirty, caring for animals, and learning how to be self-sufficient. I will try and update this blog with posts as our farmstand starts being constructed, as always stay tuned for more updates and opportunities to grow with us!!

Farmstand Resources

https://www.facebook.com/share/12GJxyGzH3s/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

https://www.facebook.com/share/15r875Vj3K/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

https://www.facebook.com/share/1DTG9fy3tA/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Our Favorite laying hen “Lareta” enjoying some, time in the greenhouse.

DIY Greenhouse Build

Lyndsey and I have been inspired by my Dad and Step Mother to build our own greenhouse. The last couple of years we have really gotten into gardening, and learning all about how to grow the best crop we can, persevere that crop, and be able to use it throughout the year in various ways. This greenhouse will allow us to get our plants that we start as seeds potted up, and continue to thrive early on before being transplanted to our garden. It will also allow us to extend our growing season for certain plants, and possible be able to winter certain plants as well. We are excited to take you guys on this journey of learning about greenhouse growing as it seems dynamic in Iowa’s climate.

I built this Greenhouse on pallets with skids so that it can be moved if need be. We hunted windows and a sliding door down on marketplace, and framed it up with lumber from a local hardware store. The most expensive part is the clear greenhouse panels, other than that following a similar plan can get you into a cost friendly greenhouse. Most places will give away pallets.

This will be a learning curve, and we look forward to getting to know more about ways to extend our growing season with our new greenhouse. I will post pictures of the completed project under the photos section in the top menu of the website when it is completely finished.

Winter Chicken Maintenance

Chickens are some of the most resilient animals to exist. They don’t require a whole lot of maintenance, and they can be free rangers and scavengers for their required food intake. 

The Winter months can be a challenge in Iowa because of the snow cover, and the frigid temperatures that winter brings. Here at Flourish Farms, we have a few tips that have proven to work well for us in maintaining the health of our Chickens over the winter months. 

Shelter

  • Shelter is key. Chickens have a heart that beats around 3-400 BPM, this allows them to keep a healthy core temperature even in below 0 temps. It is important to make sure that your coop has no major drafting and allows an area for your chickens to get out of the elements and huddle together. Chickens prune their own feathers and tend to become puffier during the winter months with more pin feathers to allow for more warmth. If they do not have proper shelter, this could hinder their ability to maintain the proper self-care.
  • Choosing the correct bedding for the winter months can also be crucial for maintaining healthy chickens. At Flourish Farms we like to use a mix bedding of sawdust for compaction, and chip bedding for volume. We do not have a heat source in our coop, so we utilize turning the bedding over every other week to generate its own decomposition heat. In the warm months bedding needs to be changed and discarded to compost outside of the coop, during the Winter months this decomposition can actually help heat the coop without causing a major mess.

Food/Water

  • Daily water is key to the health of your flock. Flourish Farms is planning to bring electricity onto our property this spring, but the last couple of years that we have had chickens on our property one of the major chores has been daily water in the freezing months. You need to make sure that your chickens have water that is not frozen every day, because of the extra energy going into keeping themselves warm, and also not free ranging at all they will require just as much water as summer months.
  • Having a hearty food source for the winter months is also key to maintaining good flock health. We use a mixture from our local tractor supply store that has proven to work well for our chickens over the last few years.

Activity

  • Lastly, make sure to allow your chickens to get out and stretch their wings on nice days in the winter months. We have come to notice that our chickens have way more of a personality than people may guess. Anytime that the temperatures allow, it is a great idea to get your chickens out and running around, this will ensure they stay active and healthy.

My wife Lyndsey and Fern, one of our laying hens. 

10 Tips on Caring for Chickens in Cold Winter Weather ~ Homestead and Chillhttps://homesteadandchill.com/caring-for-chickens-in-winter/#:~:text=10%20Ways%20to%20Keep%20Chickens%20Warm%20and%20Healthy,Provide%20Essentials%20In%20The%20Coop%20…%20More%20items

Winter Garden Planning

One of our favorite things to do here at Flourish Farms is to start our yearly garden prep in the winter while we are stuck inside with plenty of time to brainstorm and create our new year’s vision board. This short blog includes information on what we do for winter garden planning to make sure that once spring thaw occurs, you are ready to hit the ground running with your action plan for the planting season.

The first thing my wife and I like to do is sit down and create a vision board for the new year, this includes everything from what we want to accomplish, to what we want to plant, have more of or less of than last year and anything new we want to do at our property/homestead.

Obtaining a grow light is one of the best investments for winter garden planning because it allows you to get your seeds started early and be able to transplant them directly to your garden when the weather is ideal. In our experience, getting your plants started under grow lights allows for more yield, and quicker than purchasing an already started plant from a store or nursery. This is mostly due to the fact that your environment created under your own grow light has been more constant than the environment of plants traveling to stores or nurseries.

Once you have your upcoming season plan for crops, the best thing to do is get what you can planted and under your grow lights to germinate and start growing. This is a fun family activity, and our boys love to watch the progression of the growth.

Lastly, prepare any building materials/supplies needed for the rest of your vision ideas so that when the weather permits, you can get started right away!! Stay tuned on this blog for things to come such as fun sour dough/discard recipes as well as what we like to do to keep our chickens healthy in the winter.