Let’s Grow Crazy “Farmer Feature”
By Rachel Earles/Special Contributor
Meet Stina & Jeff Stow:
Stina and Jeff are the owners of Shadow Tree Homestead. Their love story started in 2008 in Fairfield, California. Even as love-struck high school sweethearts, they knew they wanted something more than what the Mediterranean climates near Napa Valley could offer, so when they graduated in 2011, they packed their belongings and came to Texas. They married in 2014, welcomed their daughter in 2015, welcomed their son in 2018, and finally moved to Mineral Wells in January of 2021.
Stina’s documentary-style photography unfolds and tells a story, peeling back layers of raw human emotion and scenes of what reality is like. Since taking some difficult courses through Weatherford College, she is now a licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor intern, while her husband continues to work his 15th year as a fireman.
The couple are both passionate about gardening and farm life. Even when so much was uncertain, they knew that they eventually wanted to work as closely towards self-sustainability as possible. They started with a small garden space and chickens–lots and lots of chickens (and the geese police).
In their garden, Stina grows a variety of delicious but odd produce, like her Armenian White Cucumbers, orange meat watermelon, and Minnesota midget melons. Both their garden and livestock are raised organically, and the chickens are rotated weekly in order to get fresh grass and bugs to eat. They hope to be expanding their livestock to meat chickens and pigs soon to further their plans of self-sustainability.
Even when so much has changed in their lives, they have had, and will continue to have, each other. Their love for each other has made the search for a simpler life beautiful, and Mineral Wells is lucky to have this couple as part of the community.
The Stow’s are just one of many family farmers working to help grow the vision of the Let’s Grow Crazy Community Garden and Farmers Market in Mineral Wells. This weekend is the perfect opportunity to get involved by volunteering to help with clean up day at the community garden to beautify the space. Be sure to check out their social media page for some exciting news about the new location of the Farmers Market right off Highway 281. The next market is set for August 6.
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