WINTER SOLSTICE: Happy first day of Winter 2022 from all of us at Half Hill Farm. It’s the longest night of the year. The days only get longer and brighter from here, so hang in there!
Winter Solstice 2022 Mandala: (Sunflower, Rose of Sharon, Perilla, Foxtails, Broomsedge, Pine cone, Cedar)
BASSWOOD HONEY: Scot Smotherman is obsessed with bees. He’s also one of our owners, so we get to share some rare treats like this batch of Basswood Honey from his North Carolina hives.
Basswood (Linden) honey is prized for its unique mint and herbal flavor and gut-healthy therapeutic properties. Basswood’s nectar flow usually lasts only 2-3 weeks, but when conditions are right, these trees produce significant amounts of nectar that bees love. Most Basswood honey comes from northern climates, but the Appalachians provide the best source of this honey in the South.
This batch of Basswood honey comes from our hives located near the NC/TN border at 4000ft elevation. This is the first year of 3 years at this location that we have harvested Basswood honey, so grab it while it lasts, and check out our local honey selection, at Wellness Emporium Woodbury!
WATERMELON BASIL: Y’all, the HVAC is fixed and the seasonal Watermelon Basil Kefir is now on tap for cup and growler refills! It’s a total Summer experience. LOL!
We make our Watermelon Basil Kefir with watermelon from Triple A Farms and basil grown at Half Hill Farm in a gut-healthy probiotic water kefir soda for the hottest month of the year. Come get a free sample and take home a taste of Summer while it lasts exclusively at Wellness Emporium Woodbury!
PEACHES & CREAM: The organic peaches are in the cream! This seasonal dairy-free vegan yogurt is made by Half Hill Farm right here in Woodbury with all organic peaches we make into a purée, fermented organic coconut milk kefir and organic agave – no other ingredients! We even made them into frozen kefir popsicles! Yum!! Grab them while they last at Wellness Emporium – Woodbury!
HONEYSUCKLE HARVEST: What an unbelievable year for honeysuckle here in Tennessee! We got an early start picking bucket loads at Meg & Brett’s place this morning – almost a week before last year’s peak. The smell and memories of picking as a child are unforgettable.
Honeysuckle Kefir is one of our favorite and most short-lived seasonal flavors. It’s also good for you! We make it by floating the flowers in our fermented kefir for a day. Stop by for a growler of cup while it lasts exclusively at Wellness Emporium Woodbury!
Christian and Vince (2013) – photo by BrassPenny Photography
10th ANNIVERSARY: All year we are reflecting on ten years of big dreams and big change at Half Hill Farm. A lot can happen in ten years, but one thing is true: life has a way of showing you the path forward in every challenge if your heart and mind are open to it.
We moved to Woodbury from Murfreesboro to build and open Short Mountain Distillery for the Kaufman brothers after helping change county law in 2010 by referendum to allow it. I had just quit my job producing evening news for a local television station in search of something with more meaning and purpose and found way more than I could have imagined.
It took 16 months to build the distillery but not nearly that long to be inspired enough by the community and country living to want to slightly change direction again to start our own farm.
It almost didn’t happen. We looked for months when we saw a “for sale by owner” sign on what appeared to be a heavily wooded property. When we drove up the first part of the driveway, we stopped and looked at each other and said we should leave before seeing anything more. Something about the entrance kept us away for months until we saw a listing that showed what we had missed. Luckily, it was still on the market, and we bought it!
When we moved to our new farm in 2012, a good friend opened our eyes to nature’s possibilities with a surprise find of a giant 9 lbs Maitake mushroom growing at the base of an old oak tree. It moved us toward growing mushrooms, but not nearly as seriously as life had in store.
We started our farm with selling our organic vegetables at our local farmers market, but everything changed when Vince’s mother was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. The farming side waned as we focused more on mushrooms and what they could do for her.
While her quality of life was dramatically improved, stage four eventually proved too difficult a challenge for Sandy. Her passing was hard, and we almost decided to stop farming when friends who needed our mushroom extracts encouraged us to keep going.
Over time, the word-of-mouth growth in demand for the mushroom extracts we made required us to move to a larger commercial kitchen we invited another new business to share. Very soon after, our new gut healthy beverage took off and we brought on a partner to get bigger space that has grown us into three retail stores.
Despite the growth, we are still based in our small hometown of Woodbury, TN. We are here because of help from a lot of friends and neighbors who believe in our vision. We still make our mushroom extracts with all organic ingredients and a monkish reverence in service to customers who need it. Because of stories of healing and personal transformation from our customers, we personally take the products every single day and will for life.
In the past ten years, we have gone from making our liquid mushroom dual extracts because no one else was to seeing a whole industry grow around what these mushrooms can do for people. We see what some get wrong and what some get right. We see companies making the most of it and companies with the same level of passion for better health & well being.
It’s exciting to see customers’ mushroom consciousness grow no matter how it happens. However you come to use mushrooms in your life, know that the roots of our dedication to better health & well being with mushrooms runs deep and is personal. Thank you for continuing to trust what we do and for choosing our farm’s products!
Shop our mushroom extracts and other products online, or visit our retail stores:
MULLED PEAR: Break out the ugly sweater because it’s time for Half Hill Farm’s seasonal Mulled Pear Kombucha! This annual Tennessee favorite is probiotic for good gut health and has all the Fall – made with organic cold pressed pear, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice with hints of bonfires and Daylight Savings Time. Get a growler on tap exclusively at our stores:
ELDERBERRY SYRUP: Half Hill Farm’s popular Elderberry Syrup now comes in a 16 oz bottle of family-sized immune support! Elderberries are packed with phytonutrients that support a healthy immune response when your family needs it the most.
We make ours with only the best and most simple ingredients: organic elderberries, local honey, organic ginger, organic cinnamon and organic clove. This refrigerated product is not available to ship, but you can buy both 8oz and 16oz sizes at our stores:
HONEYSUCKLE KEFIR: Our farm’s first seasonal taste of Spring is now on tap! Half Hill Farm’s Honeysuckle water kefir soda is a trip through childhood memories – made with farm foraged honeysuckle and a kiss of local honey in our probiotic water kefir soda. It’s an annual favorite that never lasts long. Stop by our stores listed below and get it by the 16 oz cup or 64 oz growler refill!
Over the years, many of you requested a mushroom extract that blended what you love the most about each of our liquid mushroom dual extracts. And for years we’ve encouraged customers to blend the extracts they love the most in any combination.
As I turn 50 later this year, I feel better than I ever have in my life. Aside from good diet and exercise, taking our liquid mushroom extracts daily for years is my only “secret.” After enjoying a test blend of all five of our mushroom dual extracts daily, I have a new favorite that we are ready to share with you!
Introducing Half Hill Farm’s Five Mushrooms – a mushroom dual extract blend of USDA certified organic and wildcrafted Turkey Tail, Red Reishi, Chaga, Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps mushrooms. This extract combines the unique myco-nutrients of five mushrooms used for centuries to support good health.
Now available through our online store and at our farm’s stores below: