Fresh Produce and Friendly Animals
Visit our family farm for fresh food, fun events, and friendly animals.
Welcome to The Brown Family Homestead Farm
Our Story
We purchased the property at 1601 Shillelagh Rd. in January of 2022. Two old houses are currently being renovated to provide a retirement home for Charlie and Glenda. The second home is being remodeled as a home for Greg and his two sons, Lance and Brett. Since moving in, the barns have been turned into dry space for goats, pot bellied pigs, and our hard-working barn cats.
see have added a barnyard for the free ranging chickens and goats. Additionally, a 1300 sq. ft. Chicken coop houses 100 fast growing laying hens who are expected to give fresh eggs in June. n Other workshop space houses Greg’s foundation business, The Foundation Guys, www.myfoundationguys.com and grow rooms for our veggie annd flower gardens, and rooms for Greg’s reptile collection and feeder mice farm.
Since living here, it has become clear to us that God has a plan and a purpose for our homestead and for our lives. Even though we were new to Chesapeake and without an instant circle of family and friends here, we have been blessed to get to know many families who have opened their lives and hearts to us. We have opened our 11 acres to Brett’s school friends for exploring and adventures. Lance regularly invites his special needs classmates and teachers and their families for parties, celebrating every holiday and important televised sports event.
Our chickens have produced more eggs than we can eat. We have been able during the current “egg crisis” to share these eggs with neighbors for a below grocery store price. Our chickens have opened doors for us to know many of our amazing neighbors. Each has a story that makes our community
really cool.
Through Glenda’s piano studio, www.grassfieldpianoacademy.mymusicstaff.com, we have gotten to know some of the world’s greatest parents raising remarkable kids! Our churches support us as we invite others to a home study group exploring life’s biggest questions through the lens of the Christian faith. Greg‘s foundation business has brought professionals and laborers in the real estate and construction business
into our lives.
These are just some of the people who offer us friendship and support as we navigate the challenges of our new farm life.
FEEDER CRITTERS
Greg has always loved reptiles. We have a small herpetarium on the Homestead. Greg has developed a state of the art breeding system for his beloved pets — as well as yours!
He will be at the Chesapeake Exoticon on Sat. May 24th from 9:00-4:00
700 Conference Center Dr.
Chesapeake, Va. 23320
Come say “Hi!” And take home either live or frozen feeder mice of all sizes.
For more information contact Greg at 757-805-2236
Farmer’s Market
We hope to be able to open a market store with limited shopping hours. There will likely be an honor system market as well, offering not only eggs, but also healthy vegetable transplants for home gardens in our Grassfield community. By late spring, we hope to add beautiful fruits and vegetables to our market.
Perhaps we can collaborate with other gardeners, crafters, or bakers along Shillelagh Road who want to make life better for others in our community. Let us know if you offer a product or service that can make life better for our community.
Our Family Mission
Our Family Mission
We are truly blessed! It is evident to us that it is time for us to “give back”.
We are beyond excited to watch the “raising”
of our outdoor kitchen and living room. It will offer us an opportunity to watch sunrises and to host gatherings with friends, family, and community. We are beginning to see the unfolding of our vision of community, friendly animals, and home-grown produce. Stop by for a visit. We love sharing the “fruits” of our labors with our neighbors.
At The Brown Family Homestead, we are proud to be a three-generation family farm.
Recently we worked together to create the following Mission Statement:
The Brown Family thrives on joy — in relationships, farm life, hobbies, traditions, and community.
We will seek to create or multiply that joy in the lives of others by:
* Creating friendships in our community
* Inviting people to our homestead
* Sharing fresh and nutritious food from our garden and animals
* Supporting one another as a family
* Meeting needs of others in our community