Small Step Farm didn’t start all at once — it began slowly, curiously, and imperfectly.

Jillian’s path into farming began in 2007, after dabbling in agriculture at UVM and then WOOFing in the Hawaiian Islands, where food, land, labor, and community were inseparable from daily life. Those early experiences revealed something that has stayed true ever since: food is never just food — it is relationship, rhythm, regulation, and care.

Returning to Vermont, Jillian apprenticed on Vermont farms and worked across multiple local farms, learning the realities of growing food in a northern climate — long days, short seasons, humility, adaptability, and deep respect for the land and the people who tend it.

In 2009, Small Step Farm officially began as a commercial farm on leased land in Waitsfield, Vermont. Supported by the Big Picture Theater and carried forward by friends, mentors, and an extraordinary network of community support, the farm grew through shared labor, trust, and collective effort.

And then came reality.

Two years of flooding, exhaustion, and the desire to cherish Azre’s infancy — and to survive — led us to step back from commercial farming. We chose to stop farming at scale and instead grow large gardens wherever we were renting, staying connected to the soil while honoring what life was asking of us.

That choice wasn’t failure.
It was discernment.

After years of renting and moving, we finally landed on an extraordinary 15-acre property surrounded by forest in Roxbury — in the very town Asa grew up in.

Nine years ago, this land held:

• A falling-down hunting camp

• Dense woods

• Big dreams and very little infrastructure

Since then, we have:

• Fully renovated and significantly expanded our home (still not finished)

• Cleared acres for field and pasture

• Built large-scale gardens

• Installed three high tunnels

The projects never stop — and stepping back is often necessary to remain clear, grounded, and regulated.

It’s easy to be swept up in the doing — the plans, the wants, the dreams, the chaos.
Here, we practice small steps — again and again — toward a life we keep growing into.

We grow food first for our family, because nourishment begins at home.

We grow vegetables to:

• Eat fresh through the seasons

• Store for winter

• Preserve and process into sauces, condiments, broths, frozen meals, and pantry staples

The garden doesn’t end at harvest — it continues in the kitchen, the freezer, the shelves, and the daily meals that sustain real life.

This way of growing and preserving food is not separate from Jillian’s work as a Regenerative Health Practitioner and health coach. It directly informs how she supports clients in understanding:

• Blood sugar balance

• Mineral repletion

• Gut and nervous system regulation

• Sustainable nourishment that works within busy, complex lives

Food here is practical, medicinal, and grounding — meant to be used, not idealized.

Rather than expanding quickly, we’ve chosen to perennialize the landscape slowly and intentionally — mirroring the same philosophy Jillian brings to healing work.

What now grows here:

• Asparagus beds

• Four 75-foot rows of raspberries

• 50 highbush blueberry plants

• Elderberries

• Currants

• Expanding berries and medicinal herbs

Perennials reflect core principles of regenerative health:

• Long-term thinking

• Building resilience instead of quick fixes

• Letting systems strengthen over time

Each planting is a lesson in patience, trust, and return.