Author Archives: Kerry Brown

Hi Friends! The late winter foraging classes were well attended and well received, but I know we’re all stoked about the signs of spring that are expressing themselves now. Let’s get a class underway at the end of March with so many plants emerging! Details below: Join us for a casual early Spring foraging class on our property in West Knox County on Saturday, March 30th from 12 noon until 3 pm. We’ll walk the pastures and wood line and work on some tree and shrub identification and see what early greens are beginning to emerge. Wear good shoes – it’s hilly but not especially steep and we’ll move about at a reasonable pace. Feel free to take notes and photos as we go along. We’ll also have some discussion and go over a few of my favorite foraging guides afterwards. Spots are limited, so please reach out early if…

Read more

Hey friends! I’ll be representing the homestead and the business at a number of events spring and summer. Here’s a quick low down: I’ll be vending and networking at the Kentucky Sustainable Living event on March 23/24. Home – Kentucky Sustainable Living Homesteading & Preparedness Festival I’ll be at the Self Reliance Festival in Camden, TN Self Reliance Festival – Event in Camden, Tennessee on April 6th and 7th as well as teaching a 4 hour foraging class on Monday the 8th, at the Special Operations Equipment property: The Wild Foods Around You I’ll also be at the Living Free in Tennessee Spring Workshop April 25th-27th. Sold out, but you may be able to get on a waiting list in case someone cancels: Spring Workshop 2024 – Living Free in Tennessee – Podcast Finally, a brand-new event and one I’m really looking forward to: The first annual East Tennessee Homestead…

Read more

Let’s do the foraging thing, y’all. I’m leading a class Monday, April 8th following the Self Reliance Festival in Camden, TN. This class will take place at the Special Operations Equipment compound. I’ve already scouted the area to create a route for the walk. This walk will include in depth instruction and an emailed document of everything we found so that you can continue adding to your foraging knowledge. Class spots are limited, so sign up early! https://selfreliancefestival.com/product/wild/?aff=srr

Howdy Friends! We’re looking forward to seeing you at the next Social Gathering and Swap Meet! Details: Sunday, March 3rd, 12:00pm until 4:00pm Cost: $10 suggested donation or a groovy barter item Location: Bluebird Hill Homestead, 9528 Middlebrook Pike Knoxville, TN 37931 Directions: East bound on Middlebrook Pike, turn at the first driveway on your right after Countryside Center Way. At the red gate press any key to open the gate and turn LEFT up the gravel drive. There will be signage to catch your eye. We’ll direct to you to parking from there. Please, NO DOGS. Well supervised, well-behaved children are welcome. We suggest bringing seeds, cuttings, plants, homemade goods, ferments or such if you’d like to try your hand at bartering! We also regularly see folks barter for skill swaps, teaching, education and more. Bartering is by no means required; we just offer a location to do so!…

Read more

Hi Friends! January has almost wrapped up and I’m sure I’m not the only one experiencing some pretty intense cabin fever. That snow / ice / Arctic cold blast last week was quite unwelcome and I’m glad to see it move on its way, even if we’re still looking dreary outside today. Since we all need to get out into the fresh air, I’m offering a casual winter foraging class on our property in West Knox County on Saturday February 10 from 12 noon until 3 pm. We’ll walk the pastures and wood line and work on some wintertime tree and shrub identification and see what early greens are beginning to emerge. Feel free to take notes and photos as we go along. We’ll also have some discussion and warm drinks around the campfire after the walk. Spots are limited, so please reach out early if you’d like to join…

Read more

Howdy friends, Just a quick update here: I’ve started a Telegram group to discussion / problem solving and community building centered around the topics that Strong Roots Resources addresses. Invite link here and please take a look at the pinned message at the top. Otherwise, enjoy and engage with the others! https://t.me/+8esotkbLrsczZWEx

If someone spends any amount of time talking with me, they’ll hear about how synchronicity works in my life with increasing frequency. Particularly so when it comes to the business and meeting people with whom I can exchange value. Let me tell you a cool story about how the latest sync came to pass. Several weeks ago, I had spent the day in Fentress County, TN helping my buddy Mike, along with several other people, work on his turkey coop build. I began to head home as the sun was going down and realized that I needed to get gas, sooner rather than later. Bad prepper, right there. As I moved through the collection of backroads and popped out onto the highway, I pulled off at the first gas station available. While I was filling up, this tall, bearded guy came out of the store, made eye contact with me…

Read more

  Y’all, it’s late October in Tennessee and folks in the surrounding neighborhoods are doing something kind of crazy. They’re raking up leaves and placing them into garbage bags. Then they set them on the curb. Now I don’t dumpster dive as much as I used to, but I brake for bagged leaves. It’s soil waiting to happen. Everything I do is centered around rebuilding and improving soil. Leaf composting is one of the best ways to do this. It’s going to be safe – it’s incredibly unlikely that tree leaves are going to contain anything that’ll harm your garden, unlike bagged soils that may have been generated through municipal means. Leaf compost will also introduce beneficial microorganisms onto your land. You have several options here: you can leave them in the bags and just let them cook down. By spring you’ll essentially have soil suitable for placing directly into…

Read more

I was pondering yesterday the nature of connections and how one thing will lead to another. This is one of the most profound examples I’ve experienced in the last couple of years. I helped host a portion of a permaculture design course (taught by Era Keys) that had Cassie Love attending as one of the students. Cassie referred me to her friend Lizzy Brown McDaniel who I assisted with doing some property evaluation / species identification as well as partnering with her to offer a coupon in her monthly newsletter. Lizzy then mentioned my name to the folks at CHEOKnox.org (a non-profit centered on supporting the practicioners of various health modalities) where I presented a class, found clients for consulting/design as well as finding a chiropractor, reflexologist and direct primary care physician. Assisting Lizzy also led me to realize that I could add species identification/GPS tagging right into my official…

Read more

  Everything happens when it’s supposed to and as I embrace that reality, the smoother things tend to flow. I had been studying the works of Joel Salatin and Greg Judy regarding regenerative pasture management for over a decade and I’ve wanted ruminants on this land since we started getting our spot set up in October of 2020. But a variety of factors kept me from taking that step – the biggest one being that I really needed to observe the land: the plants, trees, the wildlife and the movement of the weather, especially the water and the soil condition. As well, I needed to get a couple of areas cleared enough and maintained so that I could run solar electric fencing. I also wanted to have my job schedule arranged so that I could be on the land as much as possible once the animals were here. And while…

Read more

10/52