MOON DOG FARMS: FLOWERS, PRODUCE AND CHILDREN ALL NATURALLY BY MELISSA BLAIR
Valentine’s ev en comes to Moon Dog Fa where the to rms mato shaped lik “Valentomat o” in this phot e a heart was dubbed, o sent to Case Alex aka “McF y from armer” as sh e calls him.
NRCS conservation assistance help urban ag producers in growing produce and flowers for Houston and Galveston farmers markets.
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oon Dog Farms, in Santa Fe, Texas, is more than just a small, family-operated farm with a delicious assortment of naturally certified grown vegetables and flowers —it’s become a big way of life for co-owners Casey McAuliffe and Alex McPhail. A way to be able to work outdoors. A way to ensure their young daughter, Hazel, can develop a relationship with nature. And a way to give back to the community they care so much about. NRCS District Conservationist, Chris Morgan, presents a NRCS partner sign to Alex and Casey for Moon Dog Farms.
Moon Dog Farms not only sells their flower bouquets at farmers markets, but also delivers to customers in the local area.
After they both graduated from Southwestern University, Alex studied sustainable agriculture in North Carolina, and both Casey and Alex worked for several different farmers around the country, before moving to Texas in 2012. As they each realized their passion for working the land and being outdoors, they were lucky enough to have family land in Galveston County available to them. “We hit the ground running growing radishes,” recalls Casey, who explains in addition to some existing citrus trees on the property, they soon began to sell small-scale crops at the area’s farmers markets in 2013. “We’ve grown a little bit each year ever since,” she says. In addition to the good, healthy eats, Moon Dog Farms also grows a lot of flower crops. “We’ve developed quite a substantial cut flower following here at our local markets and so more and more of our land gets used for our flowers,” explains Casey.
Hazel loves helping her parents pull carrots.
Trial and Error + Helping Hands Leads to Expansion from the Ground Up Through a lot of trial and error, the couple says they have figured out what works well for them on the land and what works well for
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