Katrina Jones
Laura Lawrence
In the aftermath of COVID, many people have started rethinking life. We discovered too much time online can drive us crazy. Some grocery items became hard to find in retail stores during the pandemic. And afterward, prices on store items increased drastically, draining our debit card accounts. People have begun to wonder what did people do in the days before all this technology?
In simpler times.
They are people who have found the answer to this question. And they found it before COVID began.
For Katrina and Andrew Jones of Sparr, a small community northeast of Gaylord, their interest in using what nature had to offer directly became of interest even before the start of COVID.
Katrina and Andrew moved to the Otsego County area about five years ago, to be closer to Katrina’s family. They bought her parents former home and acreage to settle down and start a family.
Andrew still works full-time while Katrina raises their four children who she teaches about farming and living off the land.
The Joneses began revitalizing her parents’ old garden. There they are able to grow peas, cherry tomatoes, rubarb, cucumbers and curious Egyptian walking onions, which spread across the land
quite rapidly. Katrina and Andrew raise enough vegetables to supply their needs for a year.
They also raise blackberries, rasp-berries and apples.
They have also begun raising ducks, chicken and rabbits.
“The rabbits have all been pets up until now. We’re talking about reducing the number down to one pair and using their off-spring as food.
“They eat grass, weeds and ticks. They produce great fertilizer.
“Rabbits also make the best pets. And I hink they are cuter in photos than
people are,” laughs Katrina.
Andrew and Katrina also make use of the forest around them. They gather and can maple syrup from their trees.
“Andrew has found wild carrots growing and picked them. Also, yarrow in the yard. It has healing properties. I’ve used it on a rabbit before. Now, Andrew is studying up on edible mushrooms.”
Andrew is also cutting down an over-population saplings on their propertyto use as fence posts and other forest material to create a front yard fence.
Finally, there is a gorge on their property.When the rains come, the water washes away more soil, it reveals a variety of rocks, including fossils, a great educational tool!
“One reason we like growing our own food is that homegrown tastes better and is probably healthier.”
Meanwhile Laura Lawrence and her husband, Justin, of Vanderbilt, have been living off their farm for around 15 years. They estimate 80 percent of their food comes from their soil or from their pens.
While Justin still works a full-time job, the couple and their three children work together to homestead their land.
Their meat comes from pigs and chickens they are raising. They have some fruit trees and raise a variety of vegetables including tomates, peppers, potatoes, corn, carrots, squashes, eggplant and garlic.
Laura, who was named after Laura Ingalls Wilder by her mom (an avid reader), says she was not raised to be a homesteader. Neither was Justin.
What really caused her and her husband to begin exploring homesteading was when her oldest son came down with serious digestive issues early on in life.
They quickly began looking for answers. At first, Laura started removing non-GMO elements and adding healthy alternatives.But as her research to help her son continued, it became clear the best food for him would be meals created from scratch.Homemade everything.
“Homesteading just sort of calls to you,” explains Laura. “And it is something you have to dedicate yourself to.”
Homesteading certainly requires a specific mindset when it comes to the day-to-day running of a farm. But circumstances and nature can trump a farmer’s planning for a day and often do.
“You can be planning to put down a bunch of plant for one day. then, the pigs get out of their pen and everything changes.”
During years where they grow plenty, the Lawrences do sell some of their produce to others. Many times however there is just enough for their own family.
“This year was tough [for raising vegetables],” says Laura. “The rainy, humid weather did not help. That makes for a late season.”
The Lawrences also heat their house with wood from their own land. Some wood is also sold to neighbors.
Everyone participates at the Lawrence homestead. Besides household chores, the children help with the barn animals, cats, loading up wood and helping in the kitchen. Laura has noticed not only a change in her son, but in herself as well. Eating foods she grows herself instead of processed food from retail stores has made a positive difference in her health and life.
Because of her appreciation for what has happened in their lives, Laura has been sharing what she has learned with others online and in-person events.
She has set up her own website, FoodProod.com. There she talks about lifestyle and encourages others who are interested in trying out what she has learned.
There are tips on recipes, gardening, canning, cheese making, kitchen revival and much more.
Her videos, FoodProod Homesteader, can be viewed on YouTube.
And finally there is her Facebook page, Roots Revival.
People may wonder how she is able to do so much. Her answer?
“The blessings from God have given us drive.”
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