Welcome to our homestead farms.
"Do what you can, with what you've got, where you are."
(--written by Squire Bill Widener in his autobiography, later quoted by Theodore Roosevelt)
About Us
Essentially Rustic Farm and Bee Happy Homestead are located in upper Middle Tennessee. As homesteading families, we have been working together, skill sharing with each other, and combining products to create a resource for our own families as well as people in our area to access a larger variety of local farm goods. We provide the community with foods made from scratch using quality ingredients, as well as locally grown fresh produce. Our farms are our homesteads. What we sell is only an extension of what we what provide our families. So in a way, we are extending an invitation for your family to reap some of the rewards of our cooperative farming!
Shagbark Hickory Tree
The First Homestead Find
From the bark of this amazing nut tree, we make a fantastic marinade and syrup. Whether it's drizzled over a hot pancake or poured over a slow cooked pork roast, this delicious gift is an absolute delight. The sweet sticky syrup is more fluid than traditional syrups, The initial sweet flavor is quickly followed by subtle tones of vanilla and a mild smokiness. The Hickory tree was our first homestead find. Read more about that story here.