I’ve been connecting with people and companies around me to keep my business as local as possible, not only to help our local economy but also to know exactly what I’m giving to my clients. It’s important to me to provide quality material and plants!

Recently, I contacted an old friend who I’ve been watching her journey in homesteading. She has chickens, quail, several garden plots, a pot belly pig, and most recently added a greenhouse! I asked her if I could come take a look around, discuss plants with her, and feature her on my blog…she invited me with open arms.

As I learned more of what her goals are, I became more excited for her and her continued journey in homesteading. As you’ll see, she is an amazing human and thoroughly loves gardening. If you have the opportunity and are in Greenville this weekend, she will be having a plant sale at her greenhouse location! (Feel free to send me a message for more information or contact her at (864) 630-5495.)

Name? Kezia Osbourne

What’s your company name? Stone Ridge Homestead

What do you do/offer? Heirloom plant starts (tomatoes, lots of tomatoes, summer squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, basil, and a few flowers)

How did you get started in your current business? This is my first year. I just built my greenhouse this past year and now have the space to produce enough plants to sell. I got tired of trying to find affordable heirloom plant starts without having to travel to Asheville. So I started growing my own. Now I want to help others to be able to grow their own heirloom plants. 

When did you first start your gardening journey? I’ve always loved gardening, but never had enough time to dedicate to it as I would have liked. Then 5 years ago my dad and I started gardening together on my parent’s 1.5 acre property. That is how Stone Ridge Homestead started. Each year we make the garden bigger and bigger. Now we have added chickens, quail, and a greenhouse. Sometimes we wish they had bought a property a little further out of Greenville so we could have some goats. But I do like the convenience of living so close to town. 

What excites you the most about gardening? New beginnings. I wait to see the seedlings push their heads through the surface of the dirt as if gasping for their first breath of fresh air. I love the flowers blooming with the promise of summer fruit. Bees buzzing, looking for their first sip of nectar, and birds dashing to build their nest and feed their young. All the hard work of last season is gone and I get to start with a clean slate. The possibilities are endless!

What is your favorite job around the garden? Starting seeds and transplanting seedlings into the garden. 

What is your least favorite job around the garden? THE GRASS!! The SC grass is terrible. It will grow through and around anything! I have pulled up runners over four feet long under the ground. It’s terrible and impossible to manage. I have come to the realization that I will never be rid of it, it’s just a matter of how long into the summer can I keep it at bay before it devours my garden. By end of August it’s pretty ugly. 

What’s your favorite vegetable/fruit to grow? Wow, that’s like being asked to pick your favorite child. I like zucchini because it’s fast and easy to grow. I love growing hot pepper, and corn just because I love hot peppers and corn. haha. And there’s nothing quite like picking a mammoth watermelon from the vine that is perfectly ripe. Lately, I’ve been fascinated with medicinal herbs and I am currently enrolled in Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine. So these herbs will be earning quite a large piece of real estate in the garden this year. 

What advice would you give to a beginner? Don’t let your fears get in the way. Just get in there and get started. There will always be mistakes and failures, but that is how you learn and with those failures will always be successes and somewhere in between is where you fall in love with gardening. 

Where can people find your products? I will be having a plant sale at the greenhouse on the homestead. The opening date will be Friday, April 23. And will run every weekend (as weather permits) through May and part of June until the plants are gone.

Don’t forget to check her out on instagram!