Hey ya’ll, I’m Jess from Roots & Refuge Farm
Welcome to a place that feels like home. A small farm with a big family. We hope you’ll pull up a chair, grab some coffee and visit awhile.
There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that is exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart – to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we’ve learned along the way. Welcome to our journey, friend. I am so glad you’re here.
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WHERE TO FIND US (Some of the links here are affiliate links. If you purchase through our links we’ll receive a small commission but the price remains the same – OR BETTER – for you! Be sure to check for any mentioned discount codes.)
– Our Website: https://rootsandrefuge.com
– Sign up for our newsletter: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-signup
– Join our Patreon to get early access to podcasts and other information, plus monthly LIVES with me and Miah: https://patreon.com/rootsandrefuge
– Abundance+ (Grab a FREE 7-day trial): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-wilder-still
– Shop our Stickers & Shirts: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-shop
– Order my first book, “First Time Gardener”: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-ftgbook
– Order my second book, “First Time Homesteader”: https://rootsandrefuge.com/first-time-homesteader-yt
– Instagram: www.instagram.com/roots_and_refuge
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootsandrefugefarm
– Email Us: rootsandrefuge@yahoo.com
– To drop us a line:
PO Box 4239
Leesville SC 29070
– To have a gift sent to our house from our Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/SFA0IZHZRCOZ?ref_=wl_share
– To support us through PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jessicasowards
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PRODUCTS WE LOVE – You’ve probably heard me talk about these things a million times, so here’s where you can order them (and get a discount with my code!):
– Greenstalk Vertical Gardens (Use code “ROOTS10” for $10 off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-greenstalk
– Squizito Tasting Room (Use code “ROOTS” for 10% off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-squizito
– ButcherBox: https://rootsandrefuge.com/butcherbox
– Growers Solution: https://rootsandrefuge.com/growers-solution
– Neptune’s Harvest Fertilizer: https://rootsandrefuge.com/neptunes-harvest-fertilizer
#rootsandrefuge
46 Comments
I know most of you here already know the value of gardening. If so, please share your experience in the comments! I wanted to make this video so it could be found by those searching for encouragement, and shared with those on the fence!
I couldn't agree more! I have gained so much from gardening outside of the harvest! I have learned so much in the last 6 years and will continue to learn until I return to the earth. It has been a great asset to my physical and mental health, and the skills learned are invaluable. Thank you for all that you and your family do to ensure that others will follow your lead.
Stay safe, be well, and God Bless.
Props to you Jess for focusing on the positive aspects of gardening! I look forward to each and every one of your videos and the message you deliver! Happy New Year 🎉
Fantastic story of why to garden! You’re such an inspiration! After many gardens in my many moves, I’m finally gardening all over my urban lot where most are clearing all vegetation in our neighborhood. Now I grow perennials & fruit shrubs with potatoes, carrots & other veggies instead of lawn! I’m 71 years, so if I can do it, anyone can! Blessings to all 🤗💗🇨🇦
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I love this… the smell of dirt makes me happy.. my plants n flowers are my get away.. yes it can get overwhelming at times when everything is coming in at 1 time to be processed, it don't last long, n eatting my tomatoes, squash in December is a blessing in many ways..
When you get older and retired you have to fight being sedentary. Gardening is a great way to keep moving.
amen me lady!!!!
My inspiration for growing a garden is I like my food tasting like food. Nothing bought in a grocery store is going to taste as good as what you have grown.
This is why you should at least grow something in a 5-gallon bucket. If it has soil that a worm is happy living in a plant will grow.
If you have seen a 1/1000th of an ounce tomato seed grow into 20 pounds of tomatoes then you can believe in real-life miracles.
I garden, because i know what’s in my food. I am not a farmer. We live on a less than acre lot that includes the house and garage, and shed, and a few flower gardens. I am blessed to live in a state that has a lot of fruit, so I can it.there is no comparison to a tomato you grow in your garden to a store bought one in flavor and again I know how it was grown. With no chemicals. I have always composted and I recycle, because I truly feel we are to be stewards of the earth. I am 72 and arthritis has set in, and I think, I have starved that off by growing and eating what we grow. We buy meat from farms that we are reasonably sure are growing responsibly, and no I can’t grow everything. We are still working on sourcing organically grown and harvested food, such as flour and sugar. A work in progress. It’s Jan 3 and I am itching to start growing, so today planting micro greens in my basement under a grow light, I get called .”Susie h9me maker” and while it’s meant to be a jibe I take as a compliment. Keep spreading the message Jess.. also enjoying Miah’s new channel.
Such an inspirational video, Jess. I already grow a big garden but if I didn't, you would definitely convince me to ❤
We have an allotment here in the UK. The second year of having it we grew sweetcorn. My daughter and son, then aged ten and seven, waited patiently for weeks till it was ready. On the evening that we finally picked it they were so exited and overwhelmed by a rush of gratitude and joy, that they both ran around our plot shouting "I feel so alive!" If that doesn't sum up the beauty of growing your own food, I don't know what does.
I do it for the Chemistry lessons. I'm still don't fully comprehend, or I want to be able to visualize, the ion exchange for PH swings in relation to moisture & growing-temperatures. It's quite a safe science. In my particular location the soil has a 5 PH & drops to 4.7 below the winter-water-table, (under the topsoil, the hardpan-horizon drops to 4.7), & compost has a PH of 8.1 before I add elemental-sulfur to lower that PH with the summer-heat. I can't really deep-till b/c I have a high December-water-table of 15 inches, though it is plenty of well-drained-soil for plant-roots & Chemistry observations. .
Love your message, this video is bang on how I feel too.
Ps, absolutely love hearing all the farm animals chatting in the background 🥰
Such a Perfect video for New Year times & people looking for resolutions to make their life better💚
My husband and I have gardened for over 30 years so we've done a bit of everything – the victory garden, the lovely garden, massive fields of corn/wheat crops, fruit orchards, wine grapes and everything in between. We found that having large harvests of basic foods thrilled us just as much as growing something lovely; so we've come to the point where we grow the basics (potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, onions, etc.) – then pepper in the unusual and beautiful varieties of flowers, herbs, veggies, leafy greens, and so on. It's a hybrid gardening style that works well for us. Last summer we even grew the famous French melon known as the "Charentais" which is used in beauty products and are planning on growing hundreds of these vines this summer so we can give the seeds to friends and family to grow! Everyone needs to find the perfect balance for themselves that takes their own goals, motivation, available space, physical capabilities and available money into consideration. Blessings in the new year Jess.
I LOVE this video, and as always Jess you put the message out there so well!
I just wanted to touch on the financial aspect of gardening, I saw that same 'meme' about the $200 Tomato and it nearly drove me from gardening. I told my (ex) partner I wanted to garden and I was continuously asked 'why? Is it even worth it?' That paired with the meme nearly did me in. Luckily, my best motivation tends to be someone telling me I shouldn't do something.
So I created a 300x26ft garden on my mother's neighbor's vacant lot (with their permission) and entered my first year of gardening. I recorded everything I harvested and even with:
1. Never having amended the soil. Freshly tilled, never maintained.
2. My FIRST time committing to gardening
3. Having to buy ALL of my tools for the first time.
4. Not living on the property, I did all of my gardening after work as I drove past on the way home.
4. Using the cheapest alternative at my local grocery store as the financial comparable (Not factoring in organic, local etc)
I was still able to save $1,250 worth of produce that I grew myself. If I hadn't have had to buy my own tools I would have saved at least $500 in my Zone 5, 4 month growing season. (I did write a blog post if you want the details- Rural-UrbanDivide.ca/blog/2023-garden-roi)
If anyone asks you if they should start and money is a deciding factor, you can tell them unequivocally… YES! Keep making these videos and encouraging others to just START, your 'waiting room' video had one of the biggest impacts on my beginning and I couldn't imagine if I hadn't started. Thank you Jess!!
Jess you fill my heart I love my garden Im a beginner, I have produced so much this past year and can share with my kids – clean food 🙂 I share with my own online community (not in gardening or food – but they are getting curious 😉 thank for all you do and your courage and vulnerability – I SEE you and appreciate your courage to share
Gardening is my hobby and gives me peace. You can’t beat the taste of fresh veggies!
I love how you stress the physical and mental benefits. I go outside in the summer at 6:30AM. Nothing more peaceful and rewarding. When I come into the house sweaty and dirty after a few hours in the garden I feel I've worked out and accomplished something. (I'm 70)
I still have problems with being around a group of people, I dread going to a grocery store, I panic knowing I have to go to the doctor. Before March of 2020 I don't think I suffered from anxiety, but since then it kills me.
Gardening, is a beautiful journey worth pursuing! The importance of growing a garden came to me through my husband’s grandparents. The quality of life, heath, and strength they lived are an example to me. Brad’s grandfather is home with Jesus but his grandma is 90 years old and still gets around well. As they aged, I watched and learned. They grew a summer garden and froze all of the excess. Their food came from their backyard or the local orchard or farmers, or neighbors. It is an example that has stuck with me and that has become my motivation. There is no comparison to the quality.
Thanks Jess for the motivational talk! Let the dreaming and planning begin! 😊
I know you believe community is important for food security. I would love you to talk more about how communities can work together for food.
I found Gods creations all over the Garden🌱🙏, his perfect handy work. I find Peace and Joy in the Garden not to mention amazing Harvests. Its a joy, a getaway. You xan make it ypur own, experiment. I absolutely love it. This Channel is definitely been my inspiration, Thanks Jess❤
I started Gardening in 2021 I Definitely feel more confident and have learned Tons. I rent so I garden in Containets and grow bags, pots. I made videos on Gardening while Renting. Also starting Community Gardens🌱🌱🌱
It’s our third year this season! First year was a bust in regards to my expectations.., really spent most of the year clearing space and throwing together a garden. Second year was more rewarding simply because of how beautiful it all was but we didn’t feel the burden of the harvest. This year we’re expanding our garden to have enough to share with our community. It’s a tall order for two adults, a teenager and a wheelbarrow but God willing we’ll get it done❤ Thank you for the encouraging videos!
Something I have found in my gardening journey, like you said, it is not just about the harvesting of food, but cultivating and harvesting habits. For example, my husband and I enjoy eating salads and have brought so many from the grocery stores. We started our garden in 2019 (in Florida zone 10) and have not bought a salad at the store for the last three or four years. Being use to the convenience of buying a salad, and in a way thinking it was the only way, it was weird harvesting and cleaning my home grown food. And at some points wondering why I am doing this. Now, harvesting from my suburban backyard is so normal and the thought of buying salad is so weird. Cultivate and Harvest Good Habits!
Yes! Yes! Yes! My garden is good food for my family. Fresh, canned, frozen whatever, it sustains us and I know where it came from and how it was grown. But more than that it calms my nerves, gives me peace and keeps my body stronger and healthy doing the work. I’m 65 and have gardened my whole life, my parents taught me how to garden and we ate good in hard times. My methods may be different but it’s still plant a seed and watch it grow, produce and harvest! The pride you feel from that accomplishment can not be bought. So yes, I will continue as long as my body allows and I am passing that knowledge to my children and grandchildren. It is a gift from the Lord above if we chose to take it. I love my garden and it loves me back.
Hello! I’m a kindergarten teacher and would like to create a small garden with my class this spring. What plants and varieties would be best for them to see at least a small harvest by the end of May? We would have one small raised bed and probably start the seeds inside unless we do root veggies.
My parents always had a garden mostly purple hull peas. I helped my Dad plant them one year. This was in southern Arkansas. He didn’t water them in! I asked him why and he looked at the sky and raised his arms. Like they would get rained in. lol! Silly me. They had plenty of tomatoes from neighbors. Seems like every thing grew there. Now they have past and I’m living in Arizona about mid way up. We get hot summer days and snow around February. I planted a small area last spring and you are right we got mostly some arugula and some basil and we got a few tomatoes. They were better than store bought.
I learned I planted on the wrong side of the house, not enough sun. I’ll try again this spring maybe in raised beds on the other side.
Wish me luck I am in my 70’s now so it may not be much but I’m ready to try again. Our library has free seeds!
Very true Jess. I started my garden on a mini balcony in the middle of Munich with traffic around 30 + years ago. People thought I was nuts and warned me of the traffic toxins while I asked them about the toxins on their supermarket food. Many made up their mind and agreed it couldn't be worse on my tiny balcony😊. Now I am a full time hobby gardener on 1600 square meters, walking daily through my fulfilled dreams, harvesting kale today for chips and parsnips for a cheese gratin in January 😂.
The African snails and the monkeys get most of my stuff, but my trees are doing great and I am getting at least one fruit every day.
I love your level of enthusiasm and encouragement in this video.
January 2024 I planted onion seeds indoors, planted marshmallow seeds in a tray then put it in the refrigerator for 5 weeks of cold stratification and feel very organized. February I’ll start potatoes in buckets in my greenhouse that will come out in March to sit outside to grow in direct weather for the next 3 months. When potatoes are done I can use the bucket soil (after adding worm casings) to grow eggplant in the same buckets. 😊 Succession sowing was a skill I learned 2 years ago helping to increase my harvests and skills! 😊
Another AI generated piece of garbage.
Thank you for your passionate refresher course on the joy of gardening. The most challenging thing for me was starting seeds, but has ultimately been the most rewarding.
Found you in spring of 2020 when I was just scrolling Facebook and one of your videos popped up on my home page. That summer I bought 2 little pepper plants to grow on my 2nd story apartment balcony. I got 3 bell peppers, but the joy and accomplishment I felt sparked something. I have grown a garden every season since and each year I add something. First year, no tomatoes. Last year, lots and lots of tomatoes. I have lupus nephritis and had to stop working in 2019, but I can keep up with a garden. I have a purpose again. I can learn, grow food for my husband and I and my immediate family, and I can dare to dream of a future homestead and possibly sell what I grow and share what I have. Seeing the health of my family slowly decline due to age and diseases makes me want to eat more real food and change our fast food lifestyle. Being military, it’s hard to really put down roots right now, but I can gain knowledge and skills for my future space. Canning, cooking from scratch, bread making, finding local farmers. I have a job now and it’s wonderful to provide for my family and learn new things. Thank you, Jess, for popping up on my Facebook 4 years ago ❤I have learned so much already.
Thank you for all your work Jess 🙏 You definitely helped me when I first started gardening. Very basic in 2019. And I started farming in 2022 😉 you do gain confidence with experience.
Also, I don’t know if I missed this but: have you ever thought about writing a COOKBOOK? I would certainly buy it.
I grew up eating things that were very different than what I grow. And I struggle with making meals from vegetables I did not grow up with. (I also come from a culture with a lot of complex flavors. So i have to be convinced that a dish tastes great, to have the motivation to cook it) I know you’re a food aficionado. And while I’m a picky eater, I would try your recipes because I trust you lol
I think it is important to know harvest is not guaranteed and the harvest is out of your control a lot of time. Doing daily walks is what makes me keep going, seeing progress and tending to the plants is therapeutic.
When I finally bit the bullet and allowed myself to garden, I came alive again! Really it moved my heart in a way that I hadn't been moved in so long, I felt true freedom and peace in the garden work and felt more secure and happier. My mental health improved, I felt a sense of purpose in that peace and it further connected me to The Father ❤ the food was a bonus I got and it tasted like freedom!
YES! Well said.
I wish we could send pictures in comments to show you all the lovely gardening you have inspired Jess!!!
Jess, this came at the perfect time for me. Thank you so much!
Normally, I'm quiet b/c we agree or I don't know enough about the topic to argue with you, but in this case, I must differ. I've heard, and after what I've been through since the start of the pandemic, that your best gardening year is year five. I"m in my 3rd year with this garden here, and my first 2 years have been sucky. I've got tons of pests. My neighbors have gardens also, but they use chemicals to stop the pests so all of the pests come to my garden which is chemical free. I've lost sapling after sapling to one thing or another. I'm less than a mile from a bird sanctuary so whatever the pests don't get the birds do. My growing season is over 300 days, and the sun kills everything the birds and pests don't.
Now, I've got plans to handle most of the problems. I've bought slightly more mature trees. Hopefully, soon the birds will nest in those and eat those seeds and pests and not my seeds. The trees will provide shade and that will help with the heat too. As for the pests I can start my seeds indoors, but here's what everyone has told me, "Year 5 is when you will see a crop. Even with all the help we give, you're fifth year is when things will be productive."
Today I start my seeds for my spring crop. Wish me luck.