Our eldest Little Farmer, makes & sells farm soaps & flowers.
A family farm in Hershey, PA, dedicated to education, regenerative agriculture and edible landscaping coaching, permaculture, heritage breed conservation, community & seasonal farm products.
These native shrubs provide berries and shelter through the coldest months, keeping birds fed when food is scarce.
1. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) – Zones 3–9 • Bright red berries shine against snow.
🕒 Plant in spring or early fall.
2. Serviceberry (Amelanchier spp.) – Zones 4–9 • Fruits feed robins, cardinals, and thrushes.
🕒 Plant in spring or fall.
3. Viburnum (V. dentatum & others) – Zones 2–9 • Clusters of berries for dozens of bird species.
🕒 Plant in spring or fall.
4. Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) – Zones 3–9 • Late-summer fruit stripped quickly by birds.
🕒 Plant in spring or fall.
5. Dogwood (Cornus sericea, C. florida) – Zones 3–8 • Berries plus colorful winter stems.
🕒 Plant in spring or fall.
6. Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) – Zones 3–7 • Waxy berries feed migrating warblers.
🕒 Plant in spring.
7. Chokeberry (Aronia spp.) – Zones 3–8 • Tart berries persist into deep winter.
🕒 Plant in spring or fall.
8. Sumac (Rhus typhina) – Zones 3–9 • Red clusters stand tall even in snow.
🕒 Plant in spring.
9. Juniper (Juniperus virginiana) – Zones 2–9 • Blue berries loved by cedar waxwings.
🕒 Plant in spring or fall.
✨ Plant natives in spring or fall → support birds 🐦, pollinators 🐝, and a thriving backyard ecosystem 🌿.
09/19/2025
09/16/2025
We still have a few spots left for our Fall Pasture to Plate Class in Hershey, PA🐖🍂
✨ Join us for a one-day, two-day, or the full three-day experience—learn traditional whole-animal butchery and charcuterie right here at Rock Hill Heritage Farm.
✨ Plus—don’t miss our Charcuterie Dinner on October 24, 7–10 PM. A seasonal, community table feast you won’t forget.
Link for Details & to Reserve your spot now 👉 rockhillheritagefarm.com/classes
09/10/2025
It is a great time to start planning and get planting!
09/09/2025
Many of you know, we care deeply about creating a clean, healthy, and accessible food system. That means raising animals on pasture, fostering traditional butchery skills, and ensuring communities can nourish themselves with food that’s honest and transparent.
But right now, there’s a bottleneck in the food chain that affects every one of us: access to butchers and archaic roadblocks.
Farmers can raise animals with integrity, and families can want real food, but if the ability to process that food is limited—or regulated in a way that shuts out small farms—then our food freedom and access to healthy food is limited.
That’s why we want you all to learn about Triple Oaks Farm. If you can make it, On September 22nd at 10am in Rustburg, VA, they need our support. This is bigger than one farm—it’s about protecting the right to feed our families and communities without unnecessary corporate or regulatory choke points.
Joel Salatin has already pledged his support, and now it’s our turn. If you can, show up. If you can’t, consider supporting their legal defense fund.
To learn more, Read Joel’s full blog post.
Together, we can build a resilient food system that’s fair, local, and rooted in freedom. 💪🌱
You all have asked how you can help. Heres what we want:
September 22nd, 10am
732 Village Highway
Rustburg, VA 24588
Be there. Stand tall. Stand Proud! Stand with us!
Joel Salatin reached out this morning wanting us to know we have his full support 💪 With you alls help, we will show the entire country that we do not want our freedom to feed ourselves infringed upon.
If you’re looking for inspiration this fall, I highly recommend Robin Wall Kimmerer’s books. 🌿
Her works, like Gathering Moss, Braiding Sweetgrass, and The Serviceberry, weave together science, Indigenous wisdom, and deep respect for the natural world. They’re beautiful reminders of how reciprocity, resilience, and mutual care exist in both ecological and human communities.
📚 A nourishing read for anyone seeking to reconnect with the land and with each other.
And if you’re looking to build those connections in community, we’d love to have you join us for our upcoming Pasture to Plate Class or Dinner:
👉 https://www.rockhillheritagefarm.com/classes
09/08/2025
If you’re looking for inspiration this fall, I highly recommend Robin Wall Kimmerer’s books. 🌿
Her works, like Gathering Moss, Braiding Sweetgrass, and The Serviceberry, weave together science, Indigenous wisdom, and deep respect for the natural world. They’re beautiful reminders of how reciprocity, resilience, and mutual care exist in both ecological and human communities.
📚 A nourishing read for anyone seeking to reconnect with the land and with each other.
09/07/2025
This summer has been a beautiful (and busy!) blur. 🌿 While salvaging my best-laid spring and summer plans, I’ve been planting for fall and getting ready for our Fall Pasture to Plate Dinner & Class.
✨ If you’re still interested, we have just a few spots left! 👉 rockhillheritagefarm.com/classes
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Send a message to Rock Hill Heritage Farm of Hershey, LLC:
I spent my childhood in suburbia, gardening with my mom and growing vegetables and roses. She instilled in me the desire to have fresh food, and I took that inspiration with me into adulthood. When I had children of my own, I wanted to provide fresh and healthy food for my family. At that time, as a vegan and a new mom, I was horrified by the pollution of the commercial agricultural industry, and the impact it had on our health and environment.
Wanting to garden with my own kids, and with the support of my favorite Auntie, I began experimenting and learning how to incorporate edible landscaping, natives, and other sustainable principles into our lives. We lived in the city, at first in a townhouse, where I used containers to grow herbs and lettuce, then in a home on less than a quarter acre. At this house, I made our entire backyard edible: blackberries, raspberries, blueberries (of all different sizes and varieties), cranberries, herbs, and raised beds of vegetables.
As the kids grew, we took them to visit all different kinds of farms. We were avid attendees of the annual Farm Show in Harrisburg, learning about all different breeds of animals. When it came time to sell our city house, we looked for a year to find land. We knew we wanted to bring so much of what we had learned to our next property, on whatever scale we could manage. In 2012, we found a small agricultural conservation property in Hershey, PA, that had been owned by a Vocational Ag teacher. It was a smaller footprint than I had imagined, but it had a great number of plantings in place, including grapes and berries.
We bought guinea hens and chickens, and started to add to, and rehab, the property and the house. I began to learn about regenerative agriculture, working with nature and utilizing permaculture principles. I didn’t want to support commercial agriculture practices; I wanted to grow as much of our own food as possible. The kids began to explore 4H, which led to rabbits, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigs and sheep joining us on our farm.
We spent years going to Mother Earth News Fairs and any other learning opportunity we could, supporting our kids in whatever they wanted to pursue. My daughter fell in love with baking, flowers, herbs, soap making, and gardening, my son with a variety of animals, but mostly anything that required tools and equipment. Between the two, they developed a wide range of knowledge and skills.
My love for history and farming has led to travel, research and learning about our culture’s history in farming and agriculture. I traveled to the beautiful state of Virginia to complete a Permaculture Design Certification, learning and meeting some lovely people and farmers and bringing home much inspiration to share.
I have spent years seeking an education I never had the opportunity to receive growing up in a suburban environment. Agriculture was not in the curriculum. In my research, I have learned farms were once part of every city – vital, functional, and important parts of all communities. Until the 1940s, there were no grocery stores, everyone had their own chickens, gardens, etc. I genuinely think we evolved out of healthy personal and community practices… in the name of “progress”.
Ironically, our previous generations lived much more sustainably and healthily than we do, even with so many of today’s technological and commercial “advances.” Talk to your grandparents about farms – find out about your own farming family history!
In a world filled with technology and screen time, there is so much to gain by getting outside. This is my favorite way to spend time with my kids; following whatever sparks their interest and subsequently learning, working with them, and supporting their independent projects.
I continue to learn, fail, improve, implement, fail more, and keep on learning. I went from making the most of a city property as a vegan to adopting regenerative and permaculture principles on our small farm. I have seen and felt the profound positive impact that comes from getting outside, getting your hands dirty, and living as sustainably as you can on whatever scale you can. I’ve experienced how it can affect your health, both mentally and physically.
I have been blessed with wonderful neighbors, farmers, friends, teachers and mentors on my journey. My page is intended to share, inspire, collaborate within schools and the community, educate, and expose anyone who is interested to permaculture, regenerative agriculture, and sustainable living on any scale. Hopefully, you can learn from my successes as well as my failures, and discover for yourself a path to a healthy, sustainable life.
I do not bake, I am not a perfect parent, person, or farmer, but I love to learn, to laugh at myself, and support others. Above all… I want to inspire, to encourage, to help anyone I can get outside and get your hands in the dirt, for yourself, your kids, your family, your community, and the planet.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Get your hands dirty and keep your hearts full. Blessings to you and yours!
