Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Young.
Hi Chelsea, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m a mom of 4 who started a pandemic garden in her Brentwood HOA and was canceled by the neighbors across the street. But I fell in love with growing our own food and connecting with my children in the garden. It was a wonderful way to slow down together and connect with our food, soil and nature. We learned so much together that first year so I didn’t want to give that up. We were fortunate to find 18 acres about 20 minutes from our home to continue on the journey we started. That little dream turned into so much more. People were interested and wanted to learn with us and that sparked the beginning of Young Harvest Farm. We started to offer workshops and in person learning experiences and it slowly grew and grew over the last 4 years. What started with me teaching sourdough in the farmhouse kitchen and yoga in the barn loft took off to farm to table dinners, community bonfires, gardening workshops, and now a big U pick flower field open for all to enjoy. We are cultivating community by learning together and growing together.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Hah no way, so many obstacles along the way especially with animals as we grew the farm. Learning how to hatch chickens, keep goats in the fence so they didn’t eat my garden, to getting life stock guardian dogs to protect the animals. And then of course figuring out drainage for the garden, working with a no till system is hard for the first couple of years and figuring out how to grow year round. Every new thing we add is a learning curve but we slowly figure that out and then add something new, like 4 new alpaca this year! And a random Peacock who just showed up one day. It’s never a dull moment but I truly love the problem solving aspect of farming and working with Mother Nature instead of against her. We’re slowly getting the hang of it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I think the work I has one goal in mind, introduce as many people to our small farm as possible and have them come back to continue the learning with us in all we do. We have so many workshops; sourdough workshop, yoga classes, u-pick flowers, gardening class, bouquet making experiences, little gardeners workshops, kids and coffee in the summer, farm to table etc. I want to bring as many people together in our community to enjoy the outdoors, slow down for a minute and get off their phone. Provide a wide open space for kids to have fun, learn and know where their food comes from. I’m most proud of growing by word of mouth and I think what sets us apart is our customer service is just showing off what we have learned, showing off what nature has to offer.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I define success by someone’s smile, an email or a DM that says they enjoyed their time on our farm and that they will be back for a future event.
Pricing:
- U-Pick Flowers $25
- Sourdough Workshop $125
- Family Events $25
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youngharvestfarm.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youngharvestfarmtn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YoungHarvestFarm
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@youngharvestfarm?si=IN7kANfauBd91D9V
