Who we are...

My name is Elizabeth, I have always dreamed of owning my own farm where I can have as many plants as I want, grow anything and everything in my garden, and have animals and kids running-a-muck!  My family and I moved away from the hustle and bustle of town living and in 2020 bought 7.5 acres of land in Kersey, Colorado!  It has been a dream of hard work, but good work, to make this farm into our own!  We still have a long way to go but we are glad to have you along for the journey.

 

 

Canning is one of my favorite activities.  I grew up watching my mom can and as an adult I have always preserved summers bounty in the pantry. I still can with my mom occasionally, and I was blessed with an amazing Mother-in-Law that also shares my love of gardening and canning and has taught me even more tricks to adding to the pantry! Now with The Bent Nail I get to share that bounty with you!  My garden has never been big enough and finally I have the space to be overwhelmed with tomatoes, peppers, raspberries, dill, cucumbers, garlic and so much more.  We seem to add to the garden each year and 2024 kicked off with two fences torn out and even more growing space for my garden!  I love that my husband, Colton lets me dream and has the skills to operate all the equipment to destroy fences then rebuild bigger and better. I am blessed that my mom shares a love of the greenhouse and shares her space with me to start all my seeds that cannot be directly planted in the garden. I love that our products start by seed and we can control the quality of each and every jar we sell. Be sure to look at our online store to see what tasty treat you want to add to your pantry! Stock up quick because supplies are limited! 

 

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We have birds, lots of birds.. and I love them- if you are local give me a call to buy some of our farm fresh duck, turkey and chicken eggs.  (Baking with duck and turkey eggs will set all your baked goods apart from the rest- they are deliciously rich!!!).  I love the constant chatter of the turkeys, ducks and chickens.  The crow of a rooster and the sound of hens squabbling over the best nesting box are among my favorite background noises every day! 

 

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We have two German shorthair pointers who love to hunt but spend more time being farm dogs than anything.  They love to spend most of their time chasing the barn cats, rushing the bird coop to get a rise out of the girls, or lounging in the fresh air and warm sun. Hopefully there will be some new scents for them in the spring as we continue to expand our critter count! We adopted a little stray kitty in 2023 and she surprised us with SIX kittens not long after she arrived... so we now have 9 barn cats and no mice!!  Our oldest daughter started 4H in 2023 which meant we also added goats to the fun on the farm.  They are the most fun and unique animals. I love watching them and listening to them talk as we weed the garden or they are walked around the farm. 

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  I am a plant nerd... shhhhhhh, I spent 10 years teaching horticulture and agriculture to high school students before I began on the adventure of being a full time mom and running The Bent Nail, so it comes naturally that I have converted an old garage into my greenhouse here- it allows me to keep less plants in the house but my happy place is defiantly in my moms greenhouse not too farm from us!  The natural progression of being a plant nerd was an obsession with bees- I loved them long before I ever started my apiary.  Colton, surprised me with my first hive and box of bees our first year on the farm for mother's day- it was a labor of love and luckily the bees knew what they were doing!  Since then I have started two more hives, split a hive, caught three swarms, lost one of the swarms to disease and learned SO much! 2021 was my first honey harvest and while I never imagined what it took to get a bottle of honey, I love the whole process and love even more that my kids have fun with the work! It is the purest liquid gold you can get in a jar- definitely give it a try! 2023 brought even more bee excitement as Isabella started her 4H bee project and we expanded our hives.  She currently manages two of our hives and I keep the other 7 hives.  Spring of 2024 will allow us to expand if Mother Nature plays along with my rules- haha

 

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 Above all else that defines me is my family!  I married my amazing partner in crime, Colton, in 2012 and we have since grown our family.  Isabella is my mini-me, she loves all things bee, outdoors, plants, sports, cooking, school, fishing and hunting.  Miss Independent is our #2- Amelia, she has the best imagination, and loves to pretend, be outside, play with her kitties, and the love of plants has rubbed off already in her short few years here too! There is never too much mud for a tutu though and she is often beautifully dressed to go feed her chickens!  William arrived to even out numbers in the house and give dad some support as he brings lots of laughs and a whole new outlook on all things boy!  He loves tractors or equipment, especially his excavator and even through the sibling rivalry he loves his sisters! Now that his sisters are in school full time, he has become my shadow and is learning The Bent Nail way. 

 

I am blessed- thanks for supporting our small family business and allowing us to share what we love with you all!