In the backyard of Katy Black and Cody Golden’s home lies a miniature farm, spanning across their 0.3 acres of land.
The couple started their farm in January 2019, naming it with their first initials, CK Backyard Farm.
“I think we knew from the moment we met where we wanted to be in life and our future, and ended up as being on a farm,” Katy said.
The farm was brought to life by combining the couple’s love for animals. It currently houses 33 chickens, a pig, tortoises, bunnies and two dogs along with two gardens.
“We just really wanted to have a few chickens, and it just turned into this big farm,” Katy said. “We’ve always wanted to live in the country and grow our own food and know where our food came from.”
The garden has yielded various vegetables, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, cilantro, carrots and onions. However, before achieving success, Katy said she struggled with starting a garden for the first time.
“This was honestly my first garden I’ve ever had in my life,” she said. “I just kind of threw seeds out there and hoped for the best. We’ve just been teaching ourselves really.”
To help them along their journey, the couple has found a community online with other small-scale farmers.
“If we have a question or [members of the online community] have a question, the community’s really tied in, where they’re really friendly and willing to answer any question,” Golden said.
The food items the couple produces from the farm are often used to other products.
“We started pickling eggs for the fun of it,” Katy said. “I had found a recipe, and then we just made our own recipe to tweak it. We started adding things as we go, whatever I can find in my garden when I’m growing.”
In addition to pickling, the couple also makes salsa from peppers and other vegetables they grow.
“We decided we really didn’t like store-bought salsa,” Golden said. “We figured we can make our own, better salsa.”
This then turned into a business, where the couple sells their produce and pickled products and salsa.
“Mostly, we just [shared with] our families,” Golden said. “Our family liked the salsa we made and told us to branch out. So, [Katy] got on Facebook and Instagram and started advertising it, and now we have businesses in the Denton area that hit us up regularly for salsa or eggs.”
In addition to Facebook and Instagram (@ckbackyardfarm), they have also started a blog, where people can follow along their journey and place orders for their products. Along with this, Katy features the farm everyday on Instagram stories.
“I really love watching her little videos,” Katy’s mother Megan Black said. “I think she does a video a day on Instagram. It’s really fun to see her with the chickens and how they all interact together.”
The couple has plans to get married in May of this year, and they have been engaged since February 2019.
“Katy and Cody, you know what, they’re pretty perfect for each other,” Megan said.
Going forward, they also hope to branch outside of Denton in order to expand their miniature farm.
“For our goals that we have set, we need more land and our half acre doesn’t do it,” Katy said. “We just want to add more chickens, more animals in general. Not only to provide ourselves food but to provide others food.”
Courtesy CK Backyard Farm