Modern Homesteading at Milk and Honey Farm
Homesteading is on the rise in the United States, with an uptick starting during the COVID lockdowns when people became full of time, possibly scared of food scarcity and in need of more outdoor space. While the Blank family did, in fact, envision a new way of life for their family during the pandemic, they adapted many aspects of the rural fantasy life have been to a regular neighborhood in Berwick.
Liraz and Maxx, a Bexley native, met in Israel and didn’t entirely plan to move back to Columbus from Queens. They now have four children: Natanel, Maya, Talya and Rephael, an infant.
Their family homesteading project started in a different, smaller home nearby when Liraz, during March 2020, declared “Let’s get chickens!”
“We tip toed into this wonderful life style during Covid, when our kids were home from school, as an educational outlet,” she explains. “We saw it as an opportunity to get our family grounded in nature and have local organic food to nourish our family and community.”
The vision expanded from there. “I trip every day,” Liraz says. “Look at my life! We were living in a small house and started pursuing this, and now it’s double.”
When they bought the Berwick home, the back yard of which gently slopes down to the river, they learned that the four acre lot is the largest residential lot in Metropolitan Columbus. They heard it used to be a tree farm, but over time, the land became overcrowded with invasive honeysuckle, all of which was painstakingly removed as the family embarked on transforming the yard into a working backyard farm.
An Orthodox Jewish family, the Blanks decided to name the farm the Milk & Honey Farm, a nod to Israel: the land of milk and honey. The farm is ever-evolving, but is now replete with fruit trees, edible plants and crops, animals and play structures.
Liraz and Maxx met Chris Wyse, a farmer with a particular value proposition, on Mother’s Day of 2022 at a plant sale at Jorgensen Farms. Farmer Chris has worked at more than 65 farms around the U.S. and in England, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands, and Israel on one condition: that he live on-site. After getting to know each other, Chris joined the Blank family and lives in a camper van. Though he’s not Jewish himself, he recently spent time in Israel tending to farms while the farmers there joined the army. “It’s tough over there, so the connections seem to be exponentially faster and more meaningful,” Chris says of his time helping the farmers.
Though Liraz is out there every day, transplanting plants, tending to the crops and caring for the animals, Chris introduced his passion for regenerative farming techniques to the family. His expertise includes Hugelkultur, an old German way of farming that layers decomposing wood under soil to act like a sponge for ground water so the beds need little to no watering; a permaculture approach to the existing, non-fruiting trees on the property in hopes of recreating the canopy layers and restoring the flood plain and edge of the river; fostering the natural abundant life on the edges of gardens; aerobic composting; and using clover, rye and radishes for ground cover, making it a no-grass, no-maintenance lawn.
Adopting less of the fear of society some homesteaders have and approaching their homestead with far more open arms, the Blank family is all about growing food, celebrating nature and openness with the community. Liraz says, “This yard is a kid magnet. On any day, we could have 20 kids from the neighborhood.” They’ll be kayaking in the river, feeding and caring for the animals, or helping with the gardens. “It’s about the food, but it’s also about teaching the process.” On top of being a play zone for neighbor kids, Liraz has put together classes and brought animals to local preschools.
As fascinating as the gardening approaches are, for many, the animals are a huge draw. They’ve got Winston, a thirteen-year-old mini horse slash lawn mower, chickens for fresh eggs, White Crested ducks, bee colonies, and a family of goats: the black and white Bracham is the mom of the other two. There are also usually non-farm animals around, like turtles and water snakes that kids like to find.
Liraz has put together workshops for the community and would like to host more. Past workshops have centered on wilderness survival classes for kids, beekeeping 101, caring for goats, goat yoga, permaculture tours, hands on planting classes, natural crafts on the farm, composting, maple tapping, chicken keeping and fishing & hiking. They also offer volunteering opportunities along many of the same lines. “If you would like to contribute in any way, please reach out!”
“Our mission is to further connect the community to nature and help build their confidence and excitement so they can incorporate these skills back home!’ Liraz says.
Find and follow the farm’s story on Instagram @milk_honeyfarm, which is also the best way to reach Liraz to schedule a visit. They also welcome donations of trees, perennials and native plants to fight off invasive species and gift cards to local nurseries or home improvement stores.
