Meet Marilyn Hammond | Grower and cottage foods producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marilyn Hammond and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marilyn, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When my husband and I were in grad school we had a huge prolific garden. That’s when I taught myself canning with the help of the internet. I kept gardening and canning through a move to Erie, Colorado, having two kids and moving to our current farm.  I had been told all the time I should sell my canned goods.  So a year or two into our move to the farm I started doing that. We also got chickens and bees and I started selling vegetables and fruit too. It was just a gardening hobby my husband and both loved that became a business I could do while having the freedom to be a stay at home parent. It’s still pretty small and my husband has his full time job for now, but there’s lots of room for growth.

What should our readers know about your business?
My business is a small farm where we grow fruit, vegetables, keep bees for honey and chickens for eggs. We sell what we grow but also use our products to make cottage foods, seasonal jams, pickles and baked goods. What sets us apart is everything is homemade and really made with a lot of care. You know the jams and pickles are good because I taste test every batch. You know the baked goods are inspired by and incorporate what is growing on our farm and what’s growing locally. Our honey has won awards. Our chickens are getting space and fresh air and a varied diet. When you think of the ideal of how you want your food from a small farm to be made and to taste, I think our farm is what you would imagine.

We have been imagining having a place like this since around the time my husband and I met at the end of college. Everywhere we lived we had big gardens and canned food. We looked for number of years before we found a place with everything we needed and happened to find it when I was pregnant with our second and he was born a few weeks after we moved in. The biggest challenge for me was and still is trying to build a business and be a parent at the same time, my kids are 8 and 5. Im always reevaluating what’s working and what is not working, and really have to force myself to focus on priorities. It’s not really my nature, I’m definitely more of a person who just wants to bake this cookie I just had an idea for right then, but actually I have to go harvest something before it’s too late. I’m lucky to have lots of family support, particularly from my mom, who watches the kids a lot so I can get work done.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m afraid I’m pretty boring and most of my outings are with my kids, but biking on the LOBO trail is nice with adults too. Hiking or biking at the Boulder mountain park and if we’re up for it I’d certainly try to go farther afield like Golden Gate Canyon State Park or Rocky Mountain. I’d go skiing ⛷ if it was winter, Eldora, if we just had a day for that. If it was summer and the river was good, tube in Lyons. Also, I love the Longmont Farmer’s market in the summer. I think I always recommend the Cheese Importers in Longmont, because cheese, they also have lots of other fun stuff in their shop and good food. If you like old things, I like the Longmont Flea Market and the Lafayette Flea Market. Also, brewery tour, I’d do any of ‘em.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Both my and my husband’s parents. We couldn’t have done it/still be doing it without them.

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