I grew up in the city, but my parents grew a vegetable garden in our backyard. They gave me my own little plot where I planted pink and purple flowers, and they let me keep a couple of rabbits too. Since I was a little girl, I have always loved digging in the dirt, helping plants grow, and caring for animals. My Dad saved this picture I that drew when I was about eight; it depicts my childhood vision for my future farm. 

Flash forward 30 years ... my boyfriend Chris and I cultivated a mini-farm in our rented duplex. We built a 20x4 foot garden bed and a greenhouse for vegetables and herbs in the backyard. We raised five chickens that lay over two dozen eggs every week (we haven't bought eggs in over a year, plus they make the best organic fertilizer you've ever seen). We have a worm composting system, and we recently added five colonies of honey bees. Our mini-farm is completely sustainable. We designed closed loops for organic matter, with each component feeding the next component in an infinite cycle.

We make our own jam, jelly, pickles, cheese, beer, and lots of other things from scratch -- and we love to share what we make with our friends and family. So many people asked to buy what we produce that we decided to start a business, Valhalla Organics, to sell our farm-to-table goodies to the public. 

With the launch of Valhalla Organics, we intend to engage a larger community who support sustainable farming and beekeeping as a means to reinvent our food systems and revolutionize our world. But launching a new business isn't even the most exciting news we have to share... 

After searching forever to find the perfect place, we recently purchased five and a half acres of rural land in Southern Oregon.

Our land is a secluded evergreen forest, with towering Ponderosa pine trees surrounding perfect natural clearings. It's completely off-grid and there's nothing on the property except an outhouse (miraculously in pristine condition). The land backs up to over two million acres of wilderness, so the bees will have plenty of space to forage. 

We don't plan to live there full-time right away, but we do need to make the land "livable" so that we can care for the crops and bees during the growing season. 

Our dream is coming true -- but it's going to take a lot of work to get everything ready for bees and plants (and people!). That's why we are reaching out to our community for help launching this small farm. 

What We Need 

Of course, there are a million projects and plenty of costs associated with starting a small farm business. Each project isn't terribly expensive on its own, but they all add up to a total estimated infrastructure/start-up cost of $15,850.  

We're not asking for help with *all* of the expenses, so we set our fundraising goal much lower than the total cost that we expect to pay to set up the land.

Of course we'll be thrilled if we meet or exceed our goal, but really we are just hoping for a small financial boost as a vote of confidence from our friends to get this farm started. We are grateful for your generosity. Every contribution -- no matter how large or how small -- helps us make this happen.

Fall Priorities

There are four crucial projects that must be completed before the snow starts falling and the ground freezes. During winter, two to six feet of snow cover is typical at our elevation, and it can start snowing as early as October. The dirt road to our land isn't plowed, so it will be inaccessible once snow accumulates, making these projects urgent to complete. Fall expense total = $6,200. 

1. Driveway: The driveway needs some work so vehicles can safely make it down (and more importantly, back up again!). The plan is to put a layer of cinder down to smooth it out, and there may be a bit of excavation involved (there are a few large rocks). Estimated cost: $500
2. Water: There is no water on the property, so we will install two in-ground water tanks (it's important to have two in case one fails). We'll hire a water delivery truck to fill the tanks in the spring. This system will provide all the water we need to drink and bathe, with enough to water the plants (they need a lot more than we do) and to provide water for the bees (they need water to drink and to keep their hives cool!). Estimated cost: $1800 ($1400 for two tanks; $400 for excavation.
3. Trees: A few of the trees are hopelessly infested by bark beetles (a.k.a. "pine beetles") -- the beetles kill the trees they live in and then move on to the next tree. In order to protect the healthy trees, we need to cut down the sick trees. It's sad - but not as tragic as it would be to lose all of the trees if we let the beetles go unchecked. Luckily Chris is a certified sawyer (trained and certified to safely cut down trees), so the only thing we need is a chainsaw. Unfortunately, pine beetles love to attack the biggest, oldest trees, so it will take a pretty hardcore chainsaw to handle those massive trees. Though the beetles kill the trees they infest, the lumber is still good, so we will use it to build structures on the land. We will plant two beetle-resistant trees for every tree that we have to cut. Right now it looks like about a dozen trees need to go, so we'll plant roughly 25 new trees. Check out the perks if you're interested in sponsoring one of our baby trees! Estimated cost: $650 ($400 for the chainsaw; $250 for 25 baby trees; plus additional $1000 for 5 larger Douglas Fir trees). 
4. Security: We need to install a proper gate for the entrance/driveway and put fencing along the property lines to make the farm more secure. In order to ensure that we put the fence in exactly the right place, we'll get an official survey of the property lines (it's expensive but necessary). We're also putting up "No Trespassing," "No Hunting," and "Caution: Bees" signs to deter unwanted visitors in the meantime.  Estimated cost: $3250 ($2500 for the fence; $250 for the gate; $500 for the survey). 

Exciting Update!

Thanks to your generosity, we bought a chainsaw that will allow us safely take down the trees. We named her "Lt. Ripley" (yes, after Sigourney Weaver's character in the "Aliens" movies), because she's a badass -- and she'll cut you!

Spring Priorities

As soon as the snow melts, we'll start building the infrastructure. These are just a few of the things we'll need to do before we can plant the garden and move the bees to their new home. Spring expense total = $9,650. 

1. Housing: We plan to purchase a used trailer that we'll live in when we're up at the farm. It will undoubtedly be previously-owned, rustic, and require some work to make it livable. We hope to find a "fixer-upper" this fall so that Chris can work on it over the winter. Once we move the trailer to the land, we will build a simple three-walled shelter to protect the trailer (old trailers typically have leaky roofs), and add a simple water catchment system on the shelter roof to collect rain water. Estimated cost: $2300 ($2000 for the trailer; $300 for the shelter and water catchment system). 
2. Power: We plan to purchase a generator and two solar panels. The generator will provide a back up power source; we may get enough sunshine to power everything we need off of solar alone but we don't want to chance it. Estimated cost: $850 ($350 for the generator; $500 for the solar panels). 
3. Greenhouses: We will build two large greenhouses, using a hoop house design. They will be made from PVC pipe with rebar/concrete foundation and plastic sheeting for the covers. This is one of the most cost-effective and energy-efficient ways to build greenhouses, with each costing roughly $500. There is a perfect clearing that gets full sun throughout the day and is relatively flat, so we won't have to do heavy excavation to build the greenhouses. Estimated cost: $1000 for 2 greenhouses.
4. Apiary: I plan to purchase more bees and more beehives to expand the apiary in the spring; I'd like to put at least 10 hives on the land and keep 2 hives in town. It costs about $500 to set up each hive (including the bees, the hive boxes, and what I'll need to feed them for the first 2 months). Estimated cost: $5000 for 10 new bee hives.  
5. Bear-Proof Solar Electric Fence. What do bears like best? HONEY! There are black bears living on the land, so we need to take additional precautions to protect the hives that are not needed in town. We plan to surround all of the hives with electric fence -- and because we're off-grid, it will be a solar-powered electric fence. Our worm compost bins will also reside within the perimeter of the electric fence. Added bonus: bees, worms, and valuable compost will be protected from raccoons, skunks, foxes, and other curious/hungry animals. Estimated cost: $500.

Why Does This Matter? 

This isn't just about launching one small farm - your contribution does more than just help us personally. We wanted to share a bit about why we are doing this and what your contribution supports beyond just our little farm.  You are sustaining the ideals of permaculture, local farming, natural pollination, and organic food production when you support Valhalla Organics.

Big agriculture ("Big Ag") causes problems for everyone because they use unsustainable methods of mass food production that prioritize only profit. Because of these practices, we end up with plants and animals dominating the food supply that are genetically modified, hybridized, sterilized, or otherwise manipulated to diverge from their natural form. In addition, Big Ag poisons our food and water supplies with indiscriminate applications of pesticides, fertilizers, and dangerous chemicals known to cause harm. These corporations have created sterilized seeds, so farmers can no longer save the best seeds to germinate next season as our ancestors have been doing for millennia. They are now beholden to the company and must buy new seeds from them every year. 

Livestock fare even worse than plants in mass production -- for example, chickens have been selectively bred not to naturally copulate and not to sit on their eggs (because it's easier for commercial egg producers if the hens just lay eggs and walk away). So, thanks to Big Ag, there are only a few breeds left of heritage chickens that still know how to have sex and raise babies. It's sick and sad, and that's just one example of Big Ag destroying genetic diversity by removing natural reproduction and natural selection from the life cycle. 

The solution is to invest in sustainable farms that utilize permaculture and organic principles. That is why we grow only organic, heirloom, open-pollinated vegetables and herbs (and flowers!). We don't ever use pesticides (or any product that isn't certified organic) on our garden or with our chickens or anywhere near our bees. The vegetables you'll see at Valhalla Organics were grown sustainably from seed by our loving hands -- those heirloom seeds have been saved and passed down for generations.

The way to reclaim and rebuild our food system is to work in concert with nature instead of trying to manipulate the plants or the bees or the chickens to do our bidding.

Valhalla Organics prioritizes biodiversity and permaculture, applying an ecological approach to small-scale farming and food production.

When you contribute to Valhalla Organics, you are not just helping our little farm -- you're supporting sustainable farming and you're giving a boost to honey bees too. 

Perks!

We are so grateful for your support, and we created some unique perks to thank you for your generosity!

You can check out the full selection to the right, but here's a couple of highlights.

Your Legacy on the Land

• Eponymous Beehive: Each of my hives has a name, and if you would like to sponsor one of my new hives... I'll name that hive whatever you'd like. Currently, my hives are named Beyoncè, Lil Kim the Queen Bee, Anya, Hammer & Sickle. 

• Sponsor a Tree: We will plant two trees for every tree that we have to take down, and we'd like to honor you (or someone you love) by planting a tree. Each baby tree will have a small sign displaying the name of the person who sponsored it (or their chosen honoree's name). We are selecting varieties that grow well at high elevation, are drought-tolerant, and are more resistant to beetle infestation. If you'd like to sponsor multiple trees, we would love that! Indiegogo unfortunately will only let you select one "tree perk" but you can just donate the amount per tree and let us know that you want your contribution to sponsor multiple trees. We are keeping a list of everyone who sponsored trees -  we won't let technology stop you from sponsoring as many trees as you want! We have reached our capacity for the small baby seedling trees (and we look forward to honoring their sponsors when the trees go in next spring!). We've just added a new perk where you can sponsor a 5 foot tall Douglas Fir tree - we're planting five of them. 

Tasty Perks 

• Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Relishes: Everything here is homemade and homegrown, preserved safely and infused with love! Please note that there's a shipping cost of $13 - that covers the cost of mailing you the products in a medium flat rate USPS box. Since I make everything in small batches, the quantities are limited for each item -- when the dill pickles or the cherry preserves are all claimed, they're gone! So grab your favorites before they disappear into another supporter's kitchen. 

• Honey: My hives are just babies in the grand scheme of things, so they will need all of the honey they make this year to get through winter, so I won't take any from them. Next year, I will most likely be able to extract honey. If you choose the "Ruby's Honey" perk, you'll have to wait until next year but I promise it'll be worth the wait!

Develop Your Homesteading Skills 

A lot of our friends want to learn how to make things, grow things, and do things yourself -- so we are offering a couple of perks that will allow you to learn homesteading skills, whether or not you aspire to live off the land. 

• Virtual Homesteading Classes: Learn how to make cheese or reload shotshells. Check out the perks for more details - these are small group sessions or 1-1 session depending on the topic of the class. Classes will be hosted via online video, so you can join from wherever you are.

• "Choose Your Own Adventure" Homesteading Skills Phone Session: Since we can't host classes for every type of homesteading skill, but you may be interested in learning more about a specific aspect of what we do here and how to do it yourself, we are offering 30minute phone sessions. You choose the topic, and (depending on the skill you want to learn) one of us can walk you through the basics -- or we can help you troubleshoot if you're having problems with your current system. Topics could include but are not limited to: worm composting, chicken care, organic gardening, cheese making, canning, pickling, hunting, home brewing, reloading, gardening in containers/small spaces, or any of the other skills you've seen us demonstrate. We are excited to share what we've learned and help you get started. 

• Virtual Beehive Inspection: Join me for a hive inspection via live video! This is one on one, and I only have five hives to inspect every couple of weeks so the number of spots is limited. You can ask any questions you want and (bonus!) you can laugh at me from the safety of your own home if I get stung while you're watching live. 

Risks & Challenges

Because Valhalla Organics depends on farm produce and products from the beehives, poor weather or environmental conditions outside our control could have an adverse impact.

However, we currently mitigate these factors by maintaining both an outdoor garden and a greenhouse. We have taken precautions to protect the garden, greenhouse, and the apiary from environmental hazards. Of course, no one can control the weather, but the greenhouses will provide some protection from external conditions. .

We will have greenhouses and garden beds in town and on the land next summer. I'll continue to maintain my apiary in town with just two hives (most of the bees will be on the land). 

Because of our biodiverse system and our ability to farm in two locations, Valhalla Organics will be better protected against uncontrollable environmental factors

Other Ways You Can Help

If you can't contribute financially, but want to lend your support, THANK YOU! Here a couple ways you can help build the "buzz" about Valhalla Organics. 

Please scroll up to the top of this page and click on the HEART button to show your support on Indiegogo. 

Then use the other "share buttons" to let your friends know about our farm and our fundraising goals. You never know who will be inspired to contribute, so please share widely. You can use the buttons to share on Facebook, Twitter, email, or copy a link that you can share on any social media outlet where you connect with your people.

This is what the buttons look like -- please scroll to the top of the page to click on them:

Thank you for your support! - Ruby & Chris