We (Beth Spaugh-Barber and Tony Barber) started Rehoboth Homestead in 2002 as a "homestead" - growing for our own use. We had (and still have) a strong desire to produce clean, healthy food through good stewardship of the land and animals in our care. The name "Rehoboth" comes from Genesis 26:22. One of the definitions is "God gives the path" and we feel called to farm in a manner worthy of the "Good Shepherd".

In 2004, we expanded our vision to make Rehoboth Homestead a small farm - Beth's full-time job. Our farm is a "market garden" of fresh vegetables and flowers, with chickens, ducks, and geese.  We are on Jabez Allen Road and Route 9 in Peru, New York, in the Champlain Valley and foothills of the Adirondacks. 

We raise vegetables and cutting flowers on about three acres. That is more than enough to keep us very busy. We have four more acres we are bringing back to vegetables, good pasture and hay for mulch and compost. There are another thirteen acres that used to be intensively cropped but will take more work to bring back into production. We are looking into using these acres for medicinal herbs, hay, and ornamentals.

The chickens, ducks, and geese are an excellent addition to the vegetable and flowers. They eat excess or cull vegetables, converting them to meat and eggs. They keep the bug population in check also.

Our land was farmland prior to the 1980s, but was not cultivated for over thirty years. The advantage of this is that no chemical pesticides were used in this time, and from what we are told, were not used when it was cropped. The disadvantage is that we are having to clear brush and weeds and have no old buildings to use.

We grow over 50 kinds of vegetables and herbs — lettuce & salad mix; spinach; stir-fry greens such as pac choi, tatsoi, & broccoli raab; carrots; beets & beet greens; swiss chard; radishes; green & yellow beans; edemame; garden, snap, & snow peas; summer & winter squash; cucumbers; cherry, standard, & heirloom tomatoes; peppers; eggplant; broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, & brussels sprouts; scallions, leeks, garlic, & onions; new potatoes; fennel; basil, dill, parsley, rosemary, thyme, etc. 

Our fresh garden flowers make wonderful, cheerful summer bouquets for your house and are much appreciated gifts.

Our birds get their needed nutrients from plants and insects they get on their own and from grains we feed them. We don't need to feed specific supplements to get good levels of Omega-3s, etc. No medications or hormones are used in their feed.

This website is a home-grown product of Rehoboth Homestead. Please let us know if you have questions, comments, or problems. We do warn you, though, that during the summer we are so busy farming that we don't check our email very often. Please be patient.