How Bower Family Farms Came to Be
It all started from the dream of living off the land...and a llama named Mike.
Native to San Diego, Peter and Amanda Bower both grew up in rural communities, surrounded by animals, gardens, and plenty of hands on chores.
Through Amanda’s adolescent years, she learned to care for the animals, including laying hens, puppies, goats, ostriches, llamas, sheep, ducks, pigs, a donkey, a cow or two, and one toucan. Heirloom tomatoes from seeds that traced their heritage back to her ancestor’s hometown in central Italy were grown and canned each year with her cousins, producing hundreds of jars of pure tomato sauce that lined the cellar shelves. Making fresh bread with her Nonna was part of life - after all, doesn’t everyone make bread with their nonna??!
Peter grew up on Avocado groves in North San Diego county, taking off to hike or mountain bike the back country every chance he could with his family and friends. Mandatory family chores included growing crops that fed the family - from pumpkins to corn, to salads, tomatoes, and of course, loads of cucumbers that the family turned into pickles. To be honest, Peter didn’t much like weeding, but it wasn’t all bad. A favorite activity was berry picking in the summer, which was turned into jam, pies, frozen for smoothies, or better yet, eaten fresh with homemade vanilla ice cream.
Fast forward a few years until Peter and Amanda were married, and a rekindling of the desire to live in a healthy way combined with the recognition of a similar upbringing sparked a wave of memories, and the yearning to grow food locally. Occasionally Amanda would joke that she wanted a milk cow, which Peter agreed to purchase if Amanda agreed to milk twice a day. Nothing much happened until one day Peter came home with some baby chicks. Slowly they grew into chickens, and a chicken coop was installed with electric fencing. But chickens disappeared from raptors, coyotes, and bobcats as fast as they grew. Unfortunately the family dog also had developed a taste for fresh chicken. A new solution was needed.
Enter Mike. Originally intended as a joke, Amanda and Peter’s friend Michael sent a listing on Craigslist for two free llamas. Doubling down on the joke, Peter and Amanda got a llama, and named it Mike after their friend. But Mike was lonely, so we added 6 alpacas! Dedicated herd animals, and fierce defenders against predators, since the introduction of the llama and alpacas, no chickens have been lost to predation. In addition to staffing the farm swat team (special weapons alpaca tactics), it turns out that they love keeping the weeds down. As time went on, neighbor kids started stopping by to feed them, and with over 300 kids showing up unannounced in one month, we had to start buying alfalfa treats in bulk!
By this time, Amanda and Peter had added two kids to the farm, and with the need for constant entertainment and wholesome activities for all their friends kids, Amanda and Peter decided to formally open the doors for guests to come experience the same activities that they learned growing up on the farm. If you stop by, you’ll likely see Amanda feeding the chickens, picking apples, or cooking a lasagna with homemade pasta. Rachel, the 2 year old daughter will probably take you by the hand and find a peach tree to pick from. Baby James will probably yell at you - don’t be offended, he does that to everyone. And Peter will be on the tractor digging a ditch or planting a tree, or some farm related project. He might look sunburnt, but he’s happy inside, thinking about the next project, whether it be something to plant, grow, harvest, dig, build, or climb. And at the end of the day, the family loves to relax, looking out over the sunset, enjoying a fresh glass of lemonade that Peter and Rachel made, or perhaps a bowl of the best home-churned ice cream you’ve ever tasted. And Mike will undoubtedly watch you suspiciously, in case you are trying to nab a chicken.
So come visit us at the Farm!
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