No we are not a farm in the traditional sense. We don’t have massive fields to plow, cows to milk, horses to ride, or even a goat to play with. But we do have a beautiful little set up on the edge of suburbia, where we spend much of our free time playing in the dirt and growing and raising most of our own food through organic methods.
So let me introduce the crazy people who moved into that house on the corner of Hillendale and Fireside 😉. My name is Melissa, my husband is Joe, and our two boys are Hunter and Mason. I am very passionate about growing real food and sharing that skill with others so they can also take some freedom back from the commercial food chain. Joe is always plagued by my honey do lists, but truth be told he loves building things and is responsible for almost all of our infrastructure.
We know we have attracted quite a bit of attention in the last year as we made some big changes to the property. We built a greenhouse, added a ton of grow space, put in a ridiculous fence, added to the orchard, restructured the berry patch, and constantly had some sort of project going in the yard. In total we created over 3,000 square feet of growing space including our raised beds, vertical trellises, and in-ground beds, and we added 16 new fruit trees to the orchard. None of this even includes the extensive changes we made to the inside of the house. Something you will learn about us, we don’t know how to do anything small…
Where did we come from? Milwaukee, unfortunately. We escaped so we could be free of the politics and get the kids into a better school system. The husband and I are still tied there due to our careers, which I will not discuss on here but will be happy to tell you in person. While we did live there we had a full blown urban homestead complete with rabbits in the shed, an aquaponic greenhouse filled with tilapia and salad greens, a small fruit orchard, and a large garden. If you are concerned that we may be just some other yuppies who moved out of the city, let me assure you that the absolute best part about living in Muskego is the small country town feel that comes with it. The worst damage we are capable of, is influencing others to start a garden. Which we are already guilty of!
So what’s next? Well we have more plans for this year. Establishing a massive perennial pollinator garden for the bees we intend to start raising in 2023. Open a small farm stand at the end of the driveway so we can sell any of our extra plants or produce. Finish the expansion on the garden, the orchard, and the berry patch. Grow our social media presence. And really just get our name out there in Muskego so we can become a part of the community.
Spring is upon us, so if you happen to see us out and about in the yard and you are curious about what we are doing, stop by! We would love to show you our little farm that does not exist. Just don’t feed the jackalope…
The Jackalope Farm 