Rocky Soil Family Farm: dreaming big

Kathrine Alderman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Most everyone has ambitions and dreams. Sometimes those ambitions and dreams can lead us to do things others might think is crazy or extreme, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't follow them, as was the case with Chris and Kiona Wagner, owners of Rocky Soil Family Farm.

The couple was living in Miami, both of them directors of programs—Chris the director of the Culinary School Kiona the director of student services—at Johnson Vales University. They both had green thumbs and loved working on their backyard garden in Miami, but Chris had always wanted to do more with it. They grew tired of the hustle and bustle in Miami, and when their university changed management, it gave them the excuse they needed to leave their tenured jobs and take that jump into starting their own farm.

They were looking for land for about three or four years, and, at first, the couple looked for land down in Southern Florida, as they were used to the tropical climate and knew how to grow their crops better there. They even nearly bought a strawberry farm in Homestead, Fla., but it fell through on the seller's end. So, they decided they would look everywhere, extending the search as far up as Tennessee. "We had driven by Monticello many times for the past five years," Chris Wagner said, "just on our way to visit Kiona's parents. Then for some odd reason, she found a property right here, which is where we're at now." The property Chris refers to here is their now growing farm located at 3137 Waukeenah Hwy.
They found the property and loved it, and the ones selling it to them were kind enough to hold it for them for about a year while they wrapped up everything they needed to in Miami, such as selling their house and quitting their jobs. They purchased a large RV, gutted it and remodeled the inside to have a place to live while they grew their farm, built their house and made sure that their farm would work. "If the business wouldn't take off, then we would have made a big change," Chris said. "But it seems to be working really well. We're glad we did what we did."

Rocky Soil Family Farm has been slowly growing on Waukeenah Highway for about two years now, and though they've come a long way since then, they have a lot more growing they plan to do. As neither of them are originally farmers, they both bring something different to the table they plan to add to their farm. Kiona's experience is in event planning, and Chris is a global master chef, so they plan to combine both of those things to provide products from their farm and start a bakery and host many events. One of their dream events is to have a long table set up between their fields so they can host a large dinner or lunch event for people to enjoy. They even have an arch that will eventually be grown in with produce such as pumpkins and cucumbers, which will shade the table and immerse the people in the farm. They will also be building a wood-fired oven to bake sourdough bread—and other things—in.
They plan to build their house next year and make it fit the farm's aesthetic with a barn-like appearance that opens up to their farm.

By the end, they hope to have three divisions on their farm: the farming aspect; hospitality, with food, the bakery and events and, lastly, education. "We want to hopefully partner with FAMU, or any agricultural school," Chris said. "to maybe get some interns out here. We'd also love to do educational events as well." They want to not only provide a fun experience but teach people about sustainable farming and the future of agriculture and the planet as a whole.

The process is taking a while, as they are having to relearn their farming from ground zero. The change from subtropical to the shifting weather of North Florida has slowed them down somewhat as they're trying to learn how to farm in a new area. Nevertheless, they are much farther along than when they started and now sell their produce at the Red Hills Online farmers market and at the Tallahassee farmers market. They also have 10 hives of honey bees. They sell the honey, but the bees also help pollinate the area. Alongside the honey, another product made on their farm is hot sauce from the peppers they grow.

Unlike many farms, Rocky Soil Family Farm doesn't focus on one type of product but is, instead, striving to be what they call market gardeners. "We try to have 30 to 40 varieties of vegetables and herbs growing at any given time," Kiona said. "Obviously, we have to work with the seasons, but we try to keep at least 30 different things growing so we're able to offer as much of a selection as we can." Chris added in and said, "People should see it as like the vegetable aisle in a supermarket, but organic out on the farm."

They want people to be able to get the majority of what they need, fresh, from somewhere they can trust. "Zucchini in the supermarket can be as old as a year before you get it on your table," Chris said. "Here, you harvest it and have it five minutes later on your plate. Being a chef, it was always frustrating having subpar vegetables that you'd buy from a wholesaler. What's more exciting than having as fresh food as possible?"

As mentioned, they sell their produce at two farmers markets, but you can also order from them online at their website, rockysoilfamilyfarm.com, or go visit them and pick out the produce yourself! They are open pretty much every weekday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you're thinking of stopping by, just message them to see if they are there. They would love to service the community more.
In the long run, they would love to start a CSA program, where people can buy a share of the farm. Currently, though, it is just the two of them, so they are being very careful to make sure that they can give high-end products and deliver what they advertise.

They want their farm to be a place where people can go for a peaceful, relaxing time with their family. They are working up to that and building their farm into that big picture they imagine. They're already farther along than you'd think, with the bakery estimated to be finished in about two to three months.
Alongside their produce, honey and hot sauce that they sell now, they also sell t-shirts and have so much more coming, such as maybe a cookbook in the future. Rocky Soil Family Farm has big dreams, and they hope to use products from their farm and around Monticello as their primary source for things like their bakery/kitchen, not somewhere far away. They hope to eventually be able to employ locals as well, as they grow.

The farm is currently very active on social media. You can find them at Rocky Soil Family Farm on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Don't take your eyes off of this quickly growing, beautiful farm.