The Land
Farm & Homestead
What we grow, raise, and produce — and the principles that guide every decision on the land.
Our Approach
Designed by nature.
Managed by faith.
Bostead Farm is a working permaculture homestead. We don't fight the land — we observe it, learn from it, and design systems that work with its natural patterns. The result is a farm that gets more productive, more resilient, and more beautiful every year.
Every practice on the farm is guided by three questions: Does it build the soil? Does it reduce dependence? Does it honor the Creator's design?
How We Farm
Permaculture Practices
Soil First
Everything begins with the soil. We build organic matter through composting, cover cropping, and minimal tillage — treating the ground as a living system, not a growing medium.
Perennial Systems
Food forests, guild plantings, and perennial vegetables that return year after year. Less labor, more abundance, deeper roots.
Water Harvesting
Swales, ponds, and earthworks that slow, spread, and sink rainfall into the land — building resilience against drought and flood alike.
Integrated Livestock
Animals are part of the system, not separate from it. Chickens follow cattle, pigs work the compost, and every creature plays a role in the cycle.
Seed Saving
We grow open-pollinated varieties and save seed each season — maintaining genetic diversity and independence from commercial supply chains.
No Synthetic Inputs
No herbicides, pesticides, or synthetic fertilizers. The farm feeds itself through careful design, observation, and patience.
The Foundation
"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."
— Genesis 2:15
Animal Husbandry
Every animal has a purpose.
We raise animals the way they were designed to live — on pasture, in community with other species, doing the work that comes naturally to them. No confinement, no shortcuts, no separation from the land.
Each species is integrated into the farm system, not managed in isolation. They build fertility, manage vegetation, and produce food — all at the same time.
Cattle
Pasture management, meat, and dairyRotational grazing on permanent pasture, moved every few days to mimic natural herd patterns and build soil carbon.
Laying Hens
Eggs, pest control, fertilityFree-range on pasture behind the cattle, scratching through manure and spreading fertility across the land.
Pigs
Land clearing, compost turning, meatMoved through wooded areas and compost zones — doing the heavy work of rooting and turning that would otherwise require machinery.
Goats
Browse management, dairy, meatWorking the brushy margins and hedgerows, converting scrub into milk and meat while keeping fence lines clear.
What We Produce
From the land to the table.
Vegetables
Tomatoes, squash, beans, greens, root vegetables, alliums, brassicas
Fruit & Nuts
Apples, pears, berries, hazelnuts, chestnuts, pawpaws
Animal Products
Pastured eggs, raw milk, beef, pork, goat, lard, tallow
Preserved & Fermented
Lacto-ferments, dried herbs, canned goods, cured meats, rendered fats
The Land
Every contour tells a story.
The farm sits across a gentle ridgeline with a creek drainage running through the bottomland. The topography shapes everything — where water flows, where the frost lingers, where the soil is deepest, where the animals want to graze.
Reading the land is the first skill of regenerative farming. Before you plant a seed or drive a fence post, you learn the lay of it — the ridges, the swales, the wet spots, the south-facing slopes that warm first in spring.
Elevation Range
~200–634 ft
Creek Drainage
Year-round
Aspect
South & East
Want to learn alongside us?
We share what we're learning — the wins, the failures, and the slow work of building something that lasts. Join the community or follow along in the journal.