CHANGE Farms

Located in Washburn, MO, United States (Zone 6b)

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Farm Facts

Established in 2011
2.00 acres in production

Raine Bradford

About the Farm

CHANGE Farms (previously Lost Acre Farm) started with a small pumpkin patch in Paonia, Colorado in 2002. We didn't really mean to...we just ended up with a bumper crop of pumpkins, and the next thing we knew, we were the local pumpkin patch every year. In 2003 we started selling garden extras to the local organic grocery store, Old River Road Trading Post. By the next year, we were planning our garden around what we could sell, and it was on from there! We were farmers!

My name is Raine Bradford, and I have four daughters: Anna, Hope, Pearl, and Natalie. We recently bought 120 acres in the Missouri Ozarks, and have renamed the farm CHANGE Farms. We are in the process of establishing an old fashioned family homestead. We raise Jersey dairy cows, chickens, ducks, fruit trees, berry bushes, medicinal herbs and plants and a huge array of vegetables.

We have learned a lot since our first pumpkin patch... mostly about permaculture and the incredible possibilities it holds for us as a family, our land, and the future of our planet. We have learned about working in cooperation with the earth and seasons, to achieve a bountiful harvest and improve the soil in the process. We have learned how to foster a habitat for beneficial insects, birds and other helpful critters. We now understand the value of using what is available to us on our land, rather than trucking in outside resources. We are learning more every day, by asking questions, listening to our intuition, but mostly by observing the tiny details of our amazing planet.

Our Commitment to Quality Seed

At this point we only have available for sale the Bocking 14 cultivar of comfrey. This cultivar of comfrey does not reproduce from seed, so it cannot become invasive. It is however, very easily propagated from root cuttings. Each root cutting becomes a clone of the mother plant, so all cuttings will grow true to the Bocking 14 cultivar.

Our Growing Practices

We are Organic, not certified. We grow using Permaculture practices.

Permaculture is:
-a system of cultivation intended to maintain permanent agriculture or horticulture by relying on renewable resources and a self-sustaining ecosystem.
-the practice of producing food, energy, etc, using methods that actually increase the earth's natural resources.

We never use any kind of herbicide or pesticide, even organic ones.

Our Seed Farming Experience

Right now, we only have available root cuttings from the Bocking 14 cultivar of comfrey. We are in the process of refining and improving our seed saving techniques and improving the strains of our plants.

Regional Adaptation

In our seed development, we are selecting for plants that thrive in our 6b region of the Ozark Mountains. Of course we select for flavor and healthy plants, but as Permaculturists, we also are only looking for plants and fruits that are highly resistant to disease and insects.

Seed Listings