In 2012 Alyssa and I got married and moved to Washington State to attend a wilderness school. It was there that we were introduced to Regenerative Agriculture and developed a deeper understanding and passion for the land through naturalist knowledge and skills. From that point onward our primary long term goal was to homestead a piece of land and call it our own.

10 Years later that dream became a reality when we purchased 7.5 acres and a 140 year old farmhouse in Southwest Missouri. In the meantime we continued to learn more about regenerative and sustainable agriculture through experience. We created and operated a business that installed edible landscapes and gardens in residential area, and lived on an urban farm that Alyssa worked on for nine years and managed the last three.

The first year as land owners we continued to live at Urbanroots farm in downtown Springfield as we spent every weekend gutting and renovating the old 19th century house. In June of 2022 our time at Urbanroots was up, and we finally moved into our new home, still only partially complete.

After some reflection, we chose to call this place the Shadyknob. The land is a place with many large trees situated on the top of a hill, and in acknowledgement of Ozarkian naming traditions, we chose the word knob, which in these parts commonly reference a rounded hilltop that is common in the area.

This website is a central hub for our public face. It is where you can come to follow us on this adventure as we continue to learn and build our homestead. Join us as we build community, regenerate the land, and create an abundant ecosystem here at the Shadyknob farmstead.

“I am not bound for any public place, but for ground of my own where I have planted vines and orchard trees, and in the heat of the day climbed up into the healing shadow of the woods.”

Wendell Berry