Welcome to Crescendo of Peace Farm! 

Crescendo of Peace Farm is a small family farm, soon-to-be Certified Naturally Grown, specializing in culinary and medicinal herbs and mushrooms, heirloom and open-pollinated vegetables, fruit and nut trees and bushes, all without the use of chemical contaminants or genetically engineered seeds or sprays.

We believe that our greatest strength is in our diversity, and that goes for plants and animals as well as people and beliefs. 

By growing food in a way that cooperates with nature, incorporating organic principles and using a variety of techniques including permaculture, hegelkultur, forest farming and aquaponics, and by growing a wide variety of crops rather than a single crop, we believe that we can foster better health and diversity in the local wildlife we attract, including bees and other pollinators, as well as diversity of thought and creativity among our local community and those who visit and interact with the farm. 

It is amazing what we can learn from one another when we come together in trust and goodwill.

While the video has little to do with the actual running of the farm, it has everything to do with who we are and why it is so important to us to create a place of peace where people can gather in a nurturing environment.  Even the doves feel it.  ;-)
                                                                            

"Be the change you want to see in the world."

I made a decision many years ago to make my corner of the world a better place, for myself as well as for those in my sphere of influence, and for the animals in my life, including pets and wildlife. 

Ultimately, by creating a place of peace, healing and tranquility, where people can gather for education, meditation, spiritual inquiry, music, art, food, laughter and camaraderie, I hope to fulfill that and much more. 

I have been an artist, writer and gardener for most of my life, and like Marek, learned to garden at the side of my mother and grandmother, blessed to have their wonderful example – not to mention the huge compost pile in our back yard – as I learned how to nurture plants and animals in the most natural way possible. 

Along the way, I developed a passion for learning about new and unusual food-bearing plants, plants with multiple uses, historical varieties and heirloom varieties of tried and true crops.  I also developed a passion for herbs, both culinary and medicinal, and mushrooms, which are among my favorite foods. 

                                                                   

Share Knowledge and Nurture Those Seeking to Learn

Somewhere along the way grew a desire to share the knowledge I was gaining, and I did so, usually in conversations and, in later years, through emails, articles and blogging.  I am happy to have helped a number of people over the years to take their first steps toward providing home grown food for themselves and their families and friends.

This place is a labor of love, well over thirty years in the making, in essence a marriage of my dream of an organic farm and orchard, with Marek’s dream of a music studio and a fish farm, which we are now pursuing on a rural property on a meandering river where we can hear the sounds of the woods and see the Milky Way on clear nights.

We will hold regular classes on the farm on everything from square foot gardening, hay bale gardening, aquaponics, planting fruit trees, choosing varieties for your location, seed saving, fermentation, meditation, yoga, arts and crafts and much more, in order to pass along the knowledge to those just starting out, and to prevent it from being lost to future generations.

We seek to become a gathering place for those seeking to learn about growing food and nurturing our environment and those who have skills to teach, whether in these or unrelated fields, with the hope that as we come together to share information and fellowship, new connections will be created which will serve to strengthen the bonds within our community.
                                                                       

Give Back to the Community

We will be starting a CSA, possibly this fall but definitely by spring, with at least two full shares going to those in need, most likely to local food banks or soup kitchens. 

In addition, we hope to partner with local schools and shelters to teach children and adults how to grow their own healthy, chemical-free food inexpensively and effectively, giving them skills that will enable them to provide better nutrition and health for themselves and their loved ones for a lifetime.  It is our wish to mentor some of these people to further their skills by starting micro-farm food-based businesses, or other green businesses, which can help to give them a measure of the independence most of us seek in our lives.

Within a year we plan to employ at least one or two people full time, in addition to ourselves, and several people part time when needed, so we will be adding to our local economy.  We expect this number to grow over time as more of our projects come to fruition and we teach more people in our local community.

Ultimately we will open a farm store and cafe, which will include not only GMO-free and chemical-free produce, pastured eggs and farm goodies such as baked goods and preserves, but also art and textiles created by local artists, and music created by local musicians.  We will host farm events such as classes, club gatherings and drum circles, combining them with art shows featuring the work of local artists, while local musicians provide the entertainment, and incorporate farm-to-fork lunches or dinners into the mix.

We endeavor to be a true boon to our community, and a valued outlet for independent artists, who can often find it difficult to generate enough interest in their work to make a living.
                                                                         

What We Need

After searching for well over two years, we finally found our piece of heaven on the Calfkiller River, on the Highland Ridge in Middle Tennessee, and moved here in November 2011. 

Unfortunately, economics being what they are, Marek had to immediately hit the road to keep the bills paid, and has been gone for well over 80% of the time since.  So, while we have made some great strides, including planting over 60 fruit and nut trees and bushes, we have made nowhere near the progress we would have made had he been able to stay home and help me to get the farm up and running.

We have also been hampered by the weather (welcome to farming!) and by not having some of the basic supplies and equipment needed to do the requisite chores of a small farm; with fencing, a large greenhouse and shed, a riding mower and a small tractor being the most pressing needs. 

We are seeking to get off the grid as quickly as possible, so a solar array is a necessity, and wind and/or hydro power are also strong possibilities.

We are seeking to purchase a small piece of land nearby on which to locate our fish farm, which will allow us to raise trout and other cold water fish, in addition to the tilapia, bass and tropical fish we will be raising in the main greenhouse.

We also need to address numerous maintenance issues deferred by the previous owners, including much-needed repairs on the barn, barn fence, shed, studio and main house, as well as clearing the woods of ever-vigorous poison ivy, reestablishing the road to the river, and planting native herbs, flowers and food plants for the local wildlife, and the bees, hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators.

Finally, we want to establish small breeding populations of several historical and heritage breeds, including silver fox rabbits, guinea hogs, Guernsey dairy goats, Dominique and true araucana chickens, Welsh harlequin and Cayuga ducks, Toulouse geese, and Polish Tatra Mountain Sheepdogs, all of which are at least threatened, if not endangered due to low population levels. 

We also want to add a Newfoundland dog as a companion for our household, a working dog, and, along with our Pyrenees mix puppy, one of the official greeters for the farm.  ;-)

All in all, we have a lot of work ahead of us, and a long way to go, but we also have a passion to create the life of our dreams, and to help build a stronger community and a better world in the process. 

We invite you to be a part of it!

                                                                         

What You Get

In addition to our Undying Thanks and Gratitude, which is yours for donating as little as $1, your donations can get you a number of different perks, depending upon the amount donated and your personal preferences.

We are including some pretty cool perks, including naturally grown and/or wildcrafted herbs, homemade cookies, Polish potato pancakes and wine jelly, and even a farm-to-fork dinner and camping opportunities on the farm, as well as the opportunity to sponsor some unique and valuable ongoing projects, which will make a lasting impact once they are established.

Keep checking back to see what new perks we have added - there will be a lot of different and unique ones from which to choose!

                                                                         

Other Ways You Can Help

Give us a shout out to your peeps!!!

Let your friends, family, loved ones, co-workers, mailman, yoga instructor, accountant, dentist and that goofy neighbor down the street know about our campaign by sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, your office bulletin board, or wherever and however else you can think of!  You can also follow us while you're at it!

You can help us get the word out that we are here, excited and determined to make a difference, regardless of how much money we ultimately raise, by writing an article or news release about us and what we are building here.  If so, please contact me for more information at info@CrescendoPeace.com.

If you are in Middle Tennessee, or are planning a visit nearby, you can volunteer your time, labor and/or equipment at the farm, to help us get going in that way.  All help gratefully accepted, providing we can agree on a time convenient for us both, and we promise to feed you well in return.  ;-)

Finally, we will be posting links to our Amazon and Etsy stores, as well as our main website within the next few days, and obviously any purchases and/or donations made through those links will help us to get the farm going and to keep the wolves at bay.

Thank you so much for reading this far and for considering to help in funding our campaign.  We have a special and unusual mix of talents and resources between us and we can go much farther with your help.

Let there be peace on Earth - and let it be exemplified by Crescendo of Peace!