In the beginning, I set out to make better food for myself, and along the journey found a lot of joy in providing that same great quality food to others. I started growing my own food in a backyard of our rental property, built a 10X5 2ft high raised bed and filled it with dirt. Then planted and harvested sweet potatoes there, along with a garden in the front with watermelon, Jalapenos, tomatoes, and some cotton. and many more things, I was trying many different plants.
We went on to buy property in 2015 because I wanted chickens for the delicious backyard eggs. I kept my (great) job to help pay the mortgage, and kept working at a local farm in the evenings and weekends to learn from them. (A BIG Thank you, to Heritage Hen Farm- for always being informative and supportive!) I was enjoying working on the farm, and learning a ton. It wasn’t that time consuming, either. I still found myself short on time available for building the farm I had been dreaming about.
I came to a decision, at the end of 2016: I needed to quit my job, sell my house, and start a big farm!
Yes, people who loved me thought I was crazy… maybe I am, but only the good kind 😉 I did not let peoples opinion on what I was setting out to do deter me. I am on a mission that choose me, before I choose it. I honor the mission, and will listen to my intuitions. In 2016, I did not know exactly what I was getting into, but no matter what I was faced with, I problem solved and saw it through. I don’t give up easy 😉 and I love a challenge that contributes to growth! Farming/Co-Creating with Nature is a perfect fir for this kind of mindset.
I talked to my Employer(who was very supportive! thank goodness) and finally stepped out of my full time position in October, 2017. Planned to sell my house and then find some more land to start a farm, out in the country. I was itching to start a bigger farm, and wanted to get started ASAP. My urban home on an acre did not sell by August 2018, we took it off the market, and decided to make the “farm” right here. I have great supportive neighbors, which is helpful… I procrastinated on nothing when starting the food forest, farm, homestead… It has become a thriving happy eco system
…well, I guess I did procrastinate on one thing… my website 😉
I started the site in 2019, but didn’t do much with it, till the end of 2023 due to my lack of discipline to force myself onto the computer. With all the time I could have been spending building the site, I was building the physical site… outside, planting trees, butterfly and food forest plants… I’ve attracted tons of birds we didn’t used to see, and butterflies too. I’ve developed some wonderful non toxic skin care recipes, too. I am stoked to share it all with you!
In 2021, I registered Urban Chicken Farm as a Florida Not For Profit Corporation.
We are a small but great team, passionate about the mission.
The Mission: Education. To combat urban decay by teaching food forestry, and sustainability. We aim to educate young people about growing food, kind animal stewardship, proper humane practices with animals in a safe, enriching environment. We want this education available to all children in our surrounding area, for free. We have goals to raise money for infrastructure. We would like to build a little schoolhouse and outdoor kitchen, and bathroom to expand educational programs.
The Team: 1. Myself 🙂 I am a big dreamer, and often accomplish my big dreams, but not overnight. I’ve learned about the long game in life, from natures teachings, and plenty of hard days… not just immediate gratification for tasks accomplished(I’ve been an immediate gratification junkie, my entire life… I mean, its great, c’mon). I care for all the animals daily, without days off. I’m problem solving, pioneering solutions for unique situations, constantly. Watching weather, learning about our unique tropical seasons, making skin c are products and keeping everything growing and thriving is what I LOVE to do 🙂
2. My Supportive Spouse, Justin. He is the voice of reason, the one who troubleshoots before things go wrong, and saves me a ton of time with his level headed way of seeing the future. He isn’t always right, but he usually is 😉 He is not involved in the day to day farm things, he runs his own business. His opinion and consultation is so valuable to us, though, probably because he isn’t “in to it”. Having an outside view on things is truly helpful. Balance is what he brings, and balance is key to everything running smoothly.
3. My Urban Farmer Friend, Seth. Seth is living the urban farm life in a normal neighborhood here in South Florida. His yard is planted with food! Chickens, Turkey, Quail and Guinea fowl can be found in his backyard. His daughter loves the farm animals, and their family dog who is trained very well! Seth is passionate about teaching others to grow their own food, no matter the space available, everyone can grow at least some of their own food!
I’m here with love and gratitude, to share my knowledge + experiences, and encourage others to create their own food in their backyard, with or without chickens… 🙂 Creating your own food is healthier, and makes you enjoy the food so much more! Plus, ANYONE CAN DO IT.
~ With Love, Cameron(urbanhenkeeper), Urban Chicken Farm
Please comment and add your experiences and knowledge, it will only make this community stronger. Thanks for stopping by!