Nature is a language, and every new fact that we learn is a new word; but rightly seen, taken all together, it is not merely a language, but the language put together into a most significant and universal book. I wish to learn the language, not that I may learn a new set of nouns and verbs, but that I may read the great book which is written in that language. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Farm
Free Verse Farm is a co-creation of Taylor Katz and Misha Johnson, two artist/farmers with a passion for growing, eating, and sharing delicious and nourishing food and herbs.
We're a small herb farm and apothecary in Chelsea, Vermont specializing in naturally-grown teas, culinary herbs, bulk herbs, herbal remedies, and herbal body care. Our farm is situated high in the hills of the White River watershed in the Upper Valley region of eastern Vermont. Our herbs and remedies are available at our Farm Shop, stores, and through our Community Supported Apothecary subscriptions.
Our herbs are harvested by hand and freshly dried right on our farm. We dry herbs in traditional hanging bunches, as well as in our farm-made herb dryer, taking the utmost care to preserve the essential constituents that give each herb its flavor, potency, and magic. We handcraft our preparations in small batches in our farmhouse apothecary, sourcing as many herbal ingredients as possible directly from our farm.
At Free Verse Farm, we pride ourselves on providing our community with the highest quality herbs and herbal remedies. We cultivate our herbs as naturally as possible through hard work and an ever deepening partnership with the earth. We use mostly hand tools to work the soil, only composts, manures, and mulches for fertility, and never any chemicals. We believe that nothing is more satisfying, nourishing, and potent than herbs tended with loving care; we hope our herbs and products relay that passion.
We're a small herb farm and apothecary in Chelsea, Vermont specializing in naturally-grown teas, culinary herbs, bulk herbs, herbal remedies, and herbal body care. Our farm is situated high in the hills of the White River watershed in the Upper Valley region of eastern Vermont. Our herbs and remedies are available at our Farm Shop, stores, and through our Community Supported Apothecary subscriptions.
Our herbs are harvested by hand and freshly dried right on our farm. We dry herbs in traditional hanging bunches, as well as in our farm-made herb dryer, taking the utmost care to preserve the essential constituents that give each herb its flavor, potency, and magic. We handcraft our preparations in small batches in our farmhouse apothecary, sourcing as many herbal ingredients as possible directly from our farm.
At Free Verse Farm, we pride ourselves on providing our community with the highest quality herbs and herbal remedies. We cultivate our herbs as naturally as possible through hard work and an ever deepening partnership with the earth. We use mostly hand tools to work the soil, only composts, manures, and mulches for fertility, and never any chemicals. We believe that nothing is more satisfying, nourishing, and potent than herbs tended with loving care; we hope our herbs and products relay that passion.
The Farmers
Like many, Misha (a photographer & herbalist) and Taylor (a poet & pickler) have become farmers gradually. It began at Connecticut College, where they met as 18-year-olds. By graduation, Misha had established an on-campus organic garden that was providing food for the dining halls, had successfully integrated a large-scale composting system with the help of a team of other dedicated students, and led many other environmental sustainability projects. In the meantime, Taylor had become a poet.
During the summer after their junior year at college, Taylor and Misha lived on a small agroecological farm in Costa Rica. After graduating from college, Taylor and Misha traveled around Europe for several months, with a stint at an organic farm in France, where they lived in a tiny trailer and learned how to feed voracious swine, scour a hay-barn for eggs, and convince a mean mama goat to give up her milk to thirsty kids.
In 2009, Taylor and Misha moved to San Diego, CA so that Taylor could pursue her MFA in poetry at San Diego State University. While in San Diego, Taylor and Misha logged many farm hours as farmhands and marketeers at Suzie's Farm, an organic vegetable, herb, and sprout farm. In addition, Misha successfully visioned and established Wild Willow Farm & Education Center, a non-profit educational farm, where he served as Farm Manager, coordinating field trips, workshops, an internship program, volunteer days, and much more. It was also in San Diego where Misha also began his study of herbalism at the Self-Heal School of Herbal Studies & Healing.
All of these color-filled and educational experiences have been well-documented by Misha, who has been photographing the world around him almost as long as he has been observing it. His photos of farm life document the ever-increasing interaction that both he and Taylor have with the natural world around them. All photos on our site are taken by him.
In the fall of 2012, Taylor and Misha returned to Vermont and founded Free Verse Farm in the hills above the White and Connecticut River Valleys. Their vision is one that combines their love of farming with their natural impulses to create art and connect with the earth. It is their dream to grow a wide variety of herbs, to grow food for themselves and their neighbors, and to cultivate a meaningful relationship with their community and with the land from which they both derive nourishment, pleasure and peace.
Contact Taylor & Misha anytime with any questions you have about the farm.
During the summer after their junior year at college, Taylor and Misha lived on a small agroecological farm in Costa Rica. After graduating from college, Taylor and Misha traveled around Europe for several months, with a stint at an organic farm in France, where they lived in a tiny trailer and learned how to feed voracious swine, scour a hay-barn for eggs, and convince a mean mama goat to give up her milk to thirsty kids.
In 2009, Taylor and Misha moved to San Diego, CA so that Taylor could pursue her MFA in poetry at San Diego State University. While in San Diego, Taylor and Misha logged many farm hours as farmhands and marketeers at Suzie's Farm, an organic vegetable, herb, and sprout farm. In addition, Misha successfully visioned and established Wild Willow Farm & Education Center, a non-profit educational farm, where he served as Farm Manager, coordinating field trips, workshops, an internship program, volunteer days, and much more. It was also in San Diego where Misha also began his study of herbalism at the Self-Heal School of Herbal Studies & Healing.
All of these color-filled and educational experiences have been well-documented by Misha, who has been photographing the world around him almost as long as he has been observing it. His photos of farm life document the ever-increasing interaction that both he and Taylor have with the natural world around them. All photos on our site are taken by him.
In the fall of 2012, Taylor and Misha returned to Vermont and founded Free Verse Farm in the hills above the White and Connecticut River Valleys. Their vision is one that combines their love of farming with their natural impulses to create art and connect with the earth. It is their dream to grow a wide variety of herbs, to grow food for themselves and their neighbors, and to cultivate a meaningful relationship with their community and with the land from which they both derive nourishment, pleasure and peace.
Contact Taylor & Misha anytime with any questions you have about the farm.