Hi and welcome, we're so excited you're here!
Welcome to the Farm
Welcome to Barnstead Farmstead, an adorable little farm located in the heart of the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes Region of western New York. We've got a lot going on around here and are excited to share with you all of the things.
Barnstead Farmstead was born over a few glasses of Finger Lakes wine late one night. The geniuses behind this idea are also the namesakes (more about us below), who brilliantly one night decided that there was no better time than now to make our childhood dreams of becoming farmers (how glamorous!) come true. A few weeks, and a few ducks later, we were all in. The farm is embarking on it's second year of production and we hope you'll follow along with us as we grow, expand, explore new (and often very weird) techniques for producing sustainably and organically grown flowers and produce and flowers.
Meet the farmers...
We are Keith and Kirsten Barnstead, the proprietors, growers, dreamers and generally outlandish folks behind Barnstead Farmstead. We share our home, farm, and wildly idealistic dreams together in Erin, NY.
A Michigan-native, Kirsten brims with Midwestern charm and consequently loves all dairy products, thinks her lakes are bigger than yours, and will offer you cookies and Faygo any time you come over. Kirsten is what you might call a "legacy." She descends from farmers on both sides - her grandfather was a peach, tomato, and sweet corn farmer who was world-famous for his wares (in their hometown). Her dad's family are a lineage of Scandinavian dairy farmers - producing some sweet, delicious milk in northern Michigan. She is also a trained ecologist and former teacher with a background in wildlife conservation and a passion for promoting responsible land use management. If you visit our farm you are likely to find her awkwardly stumbling around the shrubbery with binoculars watching birds, or vigorously removing invasive species to restore our property to it's native state.
Keith is a native to these lands, having grown up around the Finger Lakes. He is the green thumb in the family, with the incredible ability to turn dirt into soil and to make incredible things happen around here. He is also the resident engineer - fashioning compost heaters and bioreactors, building greenhouses and duck coops, and exploring all of the emerging permaculture techniques to improve our farm practices. Keith has always dreamed of being a farmer and his curiosity is what brought Barnstead Farmstead to life. Visit the farm some time and let him talk your ear off about Hugelkultur beds, sheet mulching, and lasagna planting. He's also a fantastic cook, so see if you can talk him into a fireside dinner in the garden some summer night.
Stick around...
As you might have surmised, we're pretty excited about farming. While Barnstead Farmstead was born out of a desire to promote resiliency and sustainability in our own lives, we're people people and we realized that our joy is in sharing with all of you. We know there are those of you out there who are embarking on your own gardening adventures or getting back into the hobby and we 're down to party! But seriously, the best part about our farm has been sharing our knowledge and all that we produce here with our friends and neighbors and total strangers we meet/accost while out and about. Check back here for happenings around the farm - we'll showcase projects we undertake, share farming/gardening/growing tips, and let you know about fun events. You can also find us on instagram @barnsteadfarmstead if you're more of a pictures kind of person. Also check out our website and farm market to grab a piece of what's growing.