Jastin and Kristen Stebbins are newcomers to Limestone County, but they feel this is where they were always meant to start their dream farm. They own and operate Stebbins Farms, a five-acre farm near the Good Springs community. They offer a unique and fun learning opportunity through guided farm tours.
The Stebbins both grew up on farms in Oregon and were active in 4H as kids. After Jastin’s military career, the Stebbins were eager to own and operate their own small farm with their four children.
“Our first priority was food and really it still one of the big, big priorities for our farm. We are a family of six and we want to provide food for the family but we also want to provide food for our community because our community is also really, really important to us,” Kristen said.
“The second priority is teaching. This has actually come from the community. The first summer we were here, people kept asking if we offered farm tours. I was advertising that we had eggs for sale and it kept coming up,” she said. “I had never even thought of having farm tours and I didn’t quite understand why somebody would want to come see my farm, because I live on it and see it all the time.”
A close friend of Kristen’s helped her to see that the farm is very different from an outsider’s perspective and to understand that most people don’t live in such a unique way.
“In the farm tours, what we are showing is what we have on our farm and I teach my job is at the farm. I also teach what our animals’ jobs are on the farm: part of our chickens provide eggs and others supply meat, some of our pigs provide meat and some will be mommas next year; our cow provides milk. We try to educate on what their jobs are and also that connection of our food to an animal. It doesn’t just show up at the grocery store,” Kristen said.
On a tour, Kristen and her children offer hands-on activities to demonstrate the effort and time that goes into producing items from the farm.
“Our activities right now are making butter and ice cream. We shake ice cream in bags and, if the butter is staying here, we use a churn but if you are taking it home, we shake it in jars. We teach what that looks like and how to use those products,” she said.
As the farm continues to grow, The Stebbins have a vision to expand the teaching aspects of their farm and show that anyone can grow their own food regardless of the size of their property,
She said, “It doesn’t matter how big or small the piece of property you live on, you can grow some of your own food. You can be in charge of it even if you are growing in containers on the balcony of your apartment or if you have 20 acres. We are on 5 acres. We are not on large land but we are providing the majority of the meat for our family for a year on 5 acres. If I was a better gardener, we could also provided the majority of our fruits and vegetables.”
Learning how to garden in North Alabama has presented some challenges for Kristen as it is vastly different that cultivating a garden in the Pacific Northwest. While Alabama has a longer growing season, Kristen said that the weeds grow faster and the insects are more plentiful here in the south.
This year, the Stebbins are growing tomatoes, corn, peppers, green beans, peas, radishes, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts, yellow squash, okra, cucumbers, and last year they even grew cotton. This fall they look forward to planting garlic, more green beans, peas, lettuce, and spinach.
Last year, the Stebbins grew purple hull peas and butterbeans for the first time because those are vegetables not normally eaten by people on the west coast.
“We love it. I told my husband the other day that I couldn’t think of six people in the world that were meant to move from the west coast to the south because we love every bit of it — except maybe for when it is a million degrees outside. We still love it. We love the people, the food, the land — we love it here. It just feels like we are where we are supposed to be,” Kristen said.
Stebbins Farms is on Flanagan Road in West Limestone and those interested in touring the farm can see their farm including the chickens, cows, pigs, ducks, guineas, sheep, and goats. Right now, there are baby ducks, chicks, goats, and a sweet lamb. After a tour, guests are welcome to enjoy the picnic tables and yard games.
To book a tour or field trip, visit www.stebbinsfamilyfarm.com. To learn more about the farm and great fall activities, join Stebbins Farm on Facebook and Instagram. Stebbins Farm is also a Sweet Grown Alabama farm.
“What we are really just trying to give you is to show what it is like on a small working farm. Also, to enjoy being outside and how quiet and beautiful it is out here and just take a second to enjoy it,” Kristen said.