Category Archives: rural life

Half Hill Farm: Celebrating 10 years!

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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:

Fall Seasonal: Mulled Pear Kombucha now on tap!

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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 now in larger 16 oz bottle!

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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:

Seasonal Honeysuckle Kefir Soda Now on Tap!

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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!

Five Mushrooms Liquid Dual Extract Blend from Half Hill Farm

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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:

Please consult your doctor if taking any of our products for health reasons. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

 

Rootbeer Bitters: our new flavor with American roots

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Our latest herbal creation takes a distinct American flavor all the way back to its indigenous roots. Root beer was popularized in the 1800s as a sugary carbonated adaption of Native American root teas often made with sassafras, wintergreen, and different roots, bark and berries.

Root teas were used as medicine by Native Americans for everything from headaches to upset stomachs, some of the first remedies offered to sick colonists.

Half Hill Farm’s Rootbeer Bitters is made with all organic whole sarsaparilla, star anise, winter green, orange zest, birch bark, licorice root, fennel, wild cherry bark, ginger, cinnamon, and burdock root.

Just like its popular sister Dandelion Bitters, its flavor is made to calm and soothe an upset nation once again – available now in 2 oz and 6 oz bottles at the following locations:

Please consult your doctor if taking any of our products for health reasons. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

It’s Mulled Pear Kombucha season – annual Fall flavor now on tap

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FALL FLAVOR: It’s been the kind of Summer that just won’t Fall already! Treat your weary spirit with a bubbly glass of our farm’s Fall seasonal Mulled Pear Kombucha. This annual flavor’s got all the gut healthy probiotic magic of our small batch kombucha with organic cold pressed pear, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice and hints of orchards and normal holidays.

Get it by the cup or growler refill on tap now through Winter exclusively at the following locations:

 

Muscadine Kombucha – a Fall harvest seasonal now on tap!

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MUSCADINE KOMBUCHA: Celebrate Autumn with a growler of Half Hill Farm’s seasonal Muscadine Grape Kombucha! We make this seasonal treat every year with a big harvest of organic grapes grown by our friends at Green Door Gourmet! This annual probiotic taste of Fall pairs with bonfires and good friends and is now available on tap while it lasts by the cup or growler refill exclusively at the following locations:

Dandelion Bitters: Now in 2 oz and 6 oz sizes!

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DANDELION BITTERS: Our farm’s popular Dandelion Bitters is now available in a larger 6oz bottle!

Bitter flavor: Good digestion is at the heart of better health and well being, and it all starts with taste. Bitter flavor receptors begin on the back of the tongue and populate the entire digestive tract. Bitter flavors help awaken your body’s natural digestive processes by stimulating the liver to produce bile, the pancreas to produce digestive enzymes and the stomach to produce important acids. Stimulation of bitter receptors helps digest fat, reduces absorption of toxins, and helps the gut better absorb nutrients.

Half Hill Farm’s Dandelion Bitters is made with love in Woodbury, Tennessee with all certified organic dandelion leaf and root, orange peel, fennel seed, ginger and cardamom. Get a 2oz bottle with a dropper top or our new 6oz pour at the following locations:

Please consult your doctor if taking any of our products for health reasons. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

CDC recommended mask essentials at Wellness Emporium

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MASK ESSENTIALS: We now have washable cloth face masks available for customers for $5 and $10. All proceeds from mask purchases support local makers who are recently unemployed, underemployed, retired, or facing health challenges and putting their sewing skills to good use.

These masks are CDC recommended and also keep limited surgical grade masks in the hands of those who need them most. Get your face mask and other wellness essentials in one stop through our lobby and curbside service seven days a week!