Welcome to the Well Rooted Harvest

I'm Bree (aka The Zen Hen) and I'll be your tour guide

Hey there, I’m Bree. Fifteen years ago I was working 12-hour days, 6 days a week in a lab. I liked my job, BUT I didn’t love it. Spending that many hours under fluorescent lights felt well…unnatural. I had spent my entire college career studying biochemistry and achieving advanced degrees to prepare me for the lab job that left me feeling like I was trading my life for money. 

Then one day I decided to stop. Cold turkey, if you will. I took my earnings and bought an overgrown 5-acre farm outside of Tampa, Florida with the intention of having more outdoor space to grow seasonal, pesticide-free food at home and some space to raise a few chickens and host a few honeybee colonies. It began with the simple intention to live a simpler, healthier life.

Funny thing is, moderation has never been my strong suit.

The first year I spent clearing most of the overgrown property and working to make the home space livable. (Fixer-upper was an understatement!) By year two I expanded my chickens to include 4 different breeds and added six honeybee colonies. I also started a modest organic garden.

I started to have bigger goals in mind and realized that my actions were not just a fever dream or midlife crisis.

After three years, my poultry business was profitable and my gardening savvy had improved substantially. I was growing most of the produce our family consumed and my six honeybee colonies had expanded to forty. Yes, forty.

After five years, I was successfully raising 100% of the meat my family ate at home.

At almost 10 years now, I love my home and continue to learn and produce more and more from my land. My newest goal involves you. I am so fulfilled and happy in this lifestyle and I want to share it and what I’ve learned with others to make this lifestyle as easy as possible for others to achieve. It’s still hard work, but I hope to drastically shorten the learning curve to make it more easily achievable for everyone. 

Click here for a list of all of the other services I offer, including farm and garden consults, seeds I sell, and where you can find me across social media.

Thank you for accompanying me on this beautiful and rewarding journey!

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Why pay to subscribe?

There is more gardening info floating around my brain than I could ever share on social media. Some of you have asked me to write a book. The truth is, I have so much information to share that if I put it in a book, you’d be lugging something the size of the Encyclopedia Brittanica around your yard. A collection of newsletters on your phone is far easier to refer back to.

Plus, unlike a book, we can actually interact and I can answer your gardening questions.

Why do I charge? I think having an energetic exchange is important. I am a small business owner who has invested, tested, and trial-and-errored my way to the level of homesteading knowledge I have today. Your paid subscription means you’re invested in the process too and you’re more likely to utilize the newsletter content to create your own well-rooted harvest.

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