Welcome to Blackjack Blooms, Berries and Brushes

Six years ago I was looking at a photo of a beautiful strawberry patch growing on the farm. The photo was from 1956 and much of the area around south Sebastian County was transitioning from fruit and vegetable production to cattle. I couldn't help but look at this photo and wonder if I could grow strawberries again on our farm. What I found was a production world filled with plastic mulches, drip lines and weekly spray schedules to keep the plants healthy. After one crop, I knew there had to be a better way. I started studying hard, reading, and visiting Google university. I eventually ran across a guy by the name of Dave Brandt and that lead me to Gabe Brown, Dr. Alan Williams, and others.

Not being the bashful kind, I started making phone calls and visited farms-looking and learning. I discovered that the soil on our farm was far more degraded that I ever imagined. We started making changes. I knew we were making good decisions when our pond cleared up and stayed that way. I had not seen it clear since about 1978. Native grasses doubled in height after about 3 years of making changes. We started raising crops with no input other than seeds for cover crops.

Those that are familiar with our farm have seen what can be done through regenerative agriculture principles. We have a long way to go. We need to get cattle, sheep and pigs back on the farm and we are working on it.

If you are interested in learning more about our land management principles, click on the following link to “How Regenerative Agriculture Brings Life Back to the Land” a TED talk by Gabe Brown.

https://youtu.be/4R7mX6pChSA?si=fmBAve3LBV-DGOUx

Weather permitting we will having a good blackberry crop this year and I'm really looking forward to having that beautiful strawberry crop growing with no plastic and no fungicide in the near future.

Thanks for supporting our farm.