I ask everyone to make an appointment to come to the farm. When you schedule your visit, it will help if you know what you want so I can be ready for you.
I continue to offer curbside service for anyone that requests it.
I reserve the right to limit quantities per order. |
If you are interested in Sustainable Farming and/or Sustainable Building, you have found a terrific resource! Even if I do say it myself, you will find lots and LOTS of great information here about both topics ... and more!
For those of you visiting for the first time, some basic information that you may find helpful (or just ignore it and start poking around because it should be very easy to navigate the website). The text links at the top left of the page are quick links to primary pages:
- Status Report : Date is where you find out if anything has been added since your last visit -- the Date will change to reflect the most current updates. It has links to the pages that have been updated so you don't have go searching to find them.
- Project List is the listing with links to where you find the details and photos of each project, whether they be part of the Farm, the Green Building Project, or Living a Sustainable Lifestyle.
- Resources / Contact Us is another list with links to outside resources you may find helpful; plus it is the page with the contact information for the Farm and Green Building Project.
- Events is a calender of what's happening at the Farm and Green Building Project.
- And lastly, Bobbi's Blog is where you'll find entries that don't quite fit or don't deserve their own page on the website.
The photos at the top of the page are links to what they present:
You can always click on the PlayHaven Farm LLC & Green Building Project (and Logo) image to get back to the Home page.
For those of you who do better with text links, you can always scroll to the bottom of any page to find the text links to the pages listed above. By the by, I've also made the list of what the photos represent into links just for you! No thanks needed, I'm happy to do it. :)
Introductions, Please
Let me introduce myself... I am Bobbi Walker. I believe that each of us should find a way to do what we love in this life and if we can't do what we love, we can (at least) find a way to have fun doing what we do. Thus the name of the business: PlayHaven. I am the author of everything you'll find on this website (unless I tell you differently). I tend to write the way I talk and I enjoy incorporating humor (one of those playful aspects of me) into my writing. If you don't get some of my little jokes, not to worry, you are in good company.
The Sustainable Farmer
As the Owner of PlayHaven Farm LLC; I am what they call 'a small-scale, sustainable farmer,' which means I use practices that mimic nature as much as possible, leave the land better off than I found it, and if you need more information about it... http://sustainableagriculture.net/about-us/what-is-sustainable-ag/. I started the business of farming in 2012 after spending the previous 20 years getting ready to do so by attending various Workshops and Classes offered in the Kansas City MO area by a variety of organizations among which being Extension and the Growing Growers Program.
The Sustainable Building Advocate
As the Project Manager of the PlayHaven Green Building Project AND the co-author of a green
building tool: DYO® Kits: Green Building Decision Kit (offered by Hathmore Technologies, LLC); I
have spent the last 30+ years dreaming of the day when I would be able
to build an earth-friendly home. Since 30+ years ago, the very idea was pretty radical, I had to teach myself how to go about building that home. With no degrees or other credentials in the field, I surprise people with the amount of knowledge I have in the sustainable building arena. Over the years, I have met and learned from a tremendous group of individuals.
The Artist
As the Artist; I have expanded on my originally chosen career. It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up (have I grown up yet??), so I didn't go to college right out of high school. It was 15 years later that I decided I needed to be artistically creative and went to college to get a degree in Commercial Art. I worked as an in-house Graphic Designer for a business before I started up my own business (Intuitive Design). I decided to close my design business the end of 2012 due to economic issues -- BUT! I knew I still needed that creative outlet and started taking classes in Fine Art. (I am ever the student!) Come to find out, I have a talent for portraiture in addition to other photo-realistic subjects and I enjoy working in graphite. I have quality prints available for purchase in limited editions (from Merchandise). I am also available for commissioned projects.
Now that you know about me, I would love to get to know you! Whether you are interested in learning hands-on about Sustainable Farming/Building or just want to spend a few hours communing with nature, visitors are welcome (by appointment only, please). Contact information is located here.
Get On the List for the Farm's Annual Newsletter and Email Crop Notifications
You will need to contact me so I can put you on the books to get the Annual Newsletter, notification of when your crop is ready to be harvested, etc. Do this by emailing me and include your name, phone number, and city in the email. Use this address: bobbi (put the "at" sign here) playhavengreen (and then the "dot" sign) com. (Don't you just hate that spammers have made providing an easy link for email nie unto impossible without one of those robotic, fill-in forms?)
The New Customer Packet is available in PDF here.
I do not ship food or plants. Make an appointment to come to the farm to purchase your food OR talk to me about delivering it to you at NO EXTRA CHARGE when your purchases equal $50.00 or more. I can only sell/deliver in Western Missouri, so if you live in Kansas... we’ll have to discuss finding a place in Missouri for that.
Remember, farming is SEASONAL. Everything has to ripen to the point you can eat it, so while you are reading about or putting in an order now, you will have to wait until everything is ready to be harvested to actually take it home.
House Renovation, the Green Way = Greenovation!
When we decided to eliminate livestock (aside from the honeybees) from the farm, we discovered we have more TIME to accomplish other things and more MONEY to do so as well. Times being what they are, we are grateful that the hubby can work his day job from his home office and people are more interested in getting their food from people/farmers they know.
The best way to see the multiple things we've been able to accomplish is via the Project List page. AND, of course, schedule a visit and see it all for yourself.
March 20, 2025
Happy Equinox! Ours is the Vernal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere on Earth. My Equinox intention for everyone is equanimity. Equanimity is a state of mental and emotional stability and composure, especially when faced with tension, strain, or difficult situations. It's the ability to remain calm and balanced when exposed to emotions, pain, or other things that might cause others to lose their composure.
DISEASE/COVID GUIDELINE
I am grateful that wearing a mask in public no longer is greeted with eye-rolls and mocking but with respect for each person understanding what they need to do to take care of themselves.
The exchange of goods for payment at a distance has been working very well and I see no reason to stop offering that option to everyone... just ask for 'curbside service' when you contact me. I will continue to practice social distancing around everyone outside and ask you to wear a mask inside our house (for example, if you are taking a tour of the Green Building Project).
HONEY
We had a challenging year for the honeybees in 2024. Between the heat and drought conditions, we are not suprised that the amount of honey in the hives would need to be left for the bees to get through the winter (two years in a row, ouch). Most beekeepers would have removed it anyway and simply created sugar syrup/nectar and paddies to feed the bees through the winter. We are not most beekeepers. If we have a good supply of the previous year's honey bottled and left to sell, we don't see any reason to add to that inventory and have to spend money for sugar to get the bees through the winter. We will, of course, keep an eye on the honey they stored in case the winter is such that what they stored is not sufficient to get them through to the spring nectar flow and we need to supplement their food supply.
I still haven't been forceful about selling the 2022 honey, which I suppose is a good thing because it means we still have honey to sell. It is entirely crystallized (which I personally prefer) but that is easily dealt with if you prefer it liquid. (Ask me about using the sun to re-liquify your honey.)
The 2022 Honey is a deep amber color, flavorful, and has a nice thick consistency. It is all in glass jars. (I have filled a few 12 oz squeeze bottles and I have extra empty 12 oz sqeeze bottles if you like to put your honey into that kind of container.)
PLUS, I am surprised to be able to tell you that there is a small quantity of “21 SELECT” honey available. This exquisite product from 2021 is of such high quality/flavor, you pay a premium for it (truly, I’d just as soon hide it away for my private use, but that seems petty and ungenerous).
All the info about pricing etc. is on the page devoted to honey and honey-products, click here to go there. Raw Honey is available here at the farm (or for delivery under the restrictions described, but not shipped).
I'm continuing to offer business-to-business (B2B) pricing for honey (and beeswax). So long as another business wants to use my honey in their value-added products, I am happy to negotiate a price that is lower than retail (whether what they want is already bottled or they have their own container). However, I do NOT sell wholesale/commercial honey. What's the difference, you ask? It is when someone wants to purchase my honey cheap in large quantities and sell it as their own at the same (or higher) price. That might make sense for them, but no sense at all for me. I'd rather end up with excess honey that I can donate to food pantries than create a competitor for selling my product FROM my product.
BEESWAX
We have beeswax! Because the hubby has learned some techniques to increase the spacing in the supers, we are ending up with plenty of beeswax. Also, our wax is primarily being melted and filtered using SOLAR ENERGY. The hubby has created the PERFECT solar 'oven' using sheets of insulation combined with a repurposed double-glazed window pane that he can adjust so that the inside temp on sunny days is perfect for melting the wax through the filter. Isn’t that wonderful! Cosmetic grade beeswax is available in 1-ounce ingots, 1-pound blocks or in chunks at a weight of your choosing. (Again, I do NOT sell wholesale/commercial beeswax. I do sell beeswax under the B2B model described above.) Contact me for more info on this.
A by-product of filtering beeswax is firestarters. The hubby gives me the wax soaked filter fabric (cotton t-shirt castoffs) and I cut them into chunks and package them. There are several chunks per bag and you can purchase them for $1 per bag. Be forewarned, they aren't pretty; but they sure do burn well so be careful storing and using them.
All the info about pricing etc. is on the page devoted to honey and honey-products, click here to go there.
BERRIES, FRUIT, ETC.
2024 was an up and down year for our berries, rhubarb, etc.
We lost our strawberry plants in 2022... usually they pop back after the Japanese Beetles are done, but there was drought and excess heat in August and September and they just simply did not have a chance at recovery. I've replanted with an early harvest type of strawberry and am hoping for a harvest again in 2025.
The rhubarb seemed to thrive (of course I was watering the heck out it) and we now have two (2) full beds to harvest from in 2025.
The early warm weather caught us by surprise but not the aroniaberry bushes! They thrived in 2024 and I am SO grateful for that since the original bushes were scheduled to be (and have been) cut back this winter. The younger bushes proved that more sun does produce more berries and I am hopeful that they will produce berries in 2025 to offset the reestablishing of the mature bushes.
Once again, we had a BUMPER crop of pawpaws! Seems like we have the perfect habitat for pawpaw trees and I don't see any reason to expect less in 2025 (barring any late freezes that obliterate the blossoms, of course). While having to purchase through appointment seemed strange to our new customers, it worked perfectly to assure that everyone was able to get all that they wanted when they arrived.
The hubby was able to harvest a substantial amount of native blackberries before the Japanese Beetles found the plants. He didn't go through as many berries as he thought he would, so there are BLACKBERRIES IN THE FREEZER AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE.
As always, if you haven't already told me about a crop that you want notification of when they are ready to be harvested, please contact me!
GREEN BUILDING PROJECTS
Rural Internet Access
Being rural dwellers, our access to high-speed internet has been either non-existent or REALLY REALLY expensive. But thanks to one of the Bills that Congress (Federal Level) managed to pass, fiber-optic came to our road in 2024. You can see that installation and read about it here.
Garage Roof
Like most people, we are experiencing bigger and more damaging storms these days. Luckily, our insurance covered the replacement of the gambrel garage roof and north wall after bombardment by hail this spring. Finding a good roofer for that project was immensely frustrating but we did eventually get a great crew that did a phenomenal job. You can read all about the roof project here.
Solar Electricity
I am happy to announce that PlayHaven Farm now produces the bulk of the electricity we use with a solar array! We are still grid-connected (which I'd like to change eventually) and that means we also provide any extra electricity back to our utility under a 'net-metering' agreement.
Chimney Maintenance/Replace Wood-Stove Insert
It has been 17 years since we had to repair the chimney of our fireplace and 15 years since the architectural stone has been sealed. The Hubby changed out the vent for the fireplace chimney so that it is much above the height of the basement wood stove chimney (an attempt to reduce smoke being drawn down that chimney since our house is very 'tight'). In the process, he discovered the cap is cracked and flaking. It is time to have a mason come out and do repairs/maintenance. We will also have the chimney swept/cleaned. And since we are focused on the fireplace, we are finally able to replace the wood stove insert and install an outside air vent. No page for this at the moment, we are just starting this project; but I hope to have a page for it in the next couple of months. Fingers crossed!
MERCHANDISE
Get a limited edition print or a bit of 'bling' for yourself or as a gift for someone else. Check out the other things for sale from the farm.
COMMISSIONED ARTWORK
You can see examples here. Please contact me to schedule a commission.
SOAP BOX SERMON
I've decided to leave my "Soap Box Sermon" in place here. The more we say the words and feel the feelings, the stronger the actions of Kindness, Gratitude and Joy become.
My intention for 2025 is KINDNESS, JOY, and GRATITUDE. So I'll be doing everything I can to spread those around.
And, in case I haven't been clear; we are liberal environmentalists. We think that EVERYTHING is interconnected and what is done to ANYONE or ANYTHING ELSE affects EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING. For those who believe in "God, Our Father," this should be obvious since God is IN EVERYTHING because God IS EVERYWHERE. Which is where the "what you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do unto me" comes into play. Every religion has their version of the Golden Rule which is: treat others as you want to be treated. And that is true for non-religious people as well.
Science is Real. Water is Life. Black Lives Matter. Women's Rights are Human Rights. Evil triumphs when good people do nothing. Love is Love is Love is Love.
'Superiority' and 'Race' are constructs created to justify treating others badly. They are not real. We are all unique and still we all have SO MUCH IN COMMON. Stop, just stop, being hateful. Be Unconditional Love (setting boundaries and holding people accountable for their actions while loving them is being unconditional love).
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