About

farm-pasture

Hibiscus Hill was started in 1999 and has been operated as a 100%  natural farm and ranch from the start. The site was chosen specifically for its history of non-pesticide or synthetic fertilizer use going back 30 years. The farm site gave aa perfect platform for starting a dream farm.

Richard Bost (aka Rick), is a naturalist who grew up in south Texas. His extended family have been farmers and ranchers since the Republic of Texas was founded. He has promoted sustainable  agriculture (and beekeepers) for over 30 years as cofounder of Urban Harvest.

What are the benefits of a local farm? Quite a few!

Freshness

Picking produce or processing meats and delivering it within days and sometimes hours to the markets gives you something special – food that is as fresh as it can be.
Typical produce takes an average of 2 weeks to get to traditional stores and has lost up to 75% of its antioxidants.
If you’ve never had a garden or farm where you’ve picked tomatoes or other vegetables from the vine and put them into your salad right then and there, then you’ve never tasted fresh. We invite you to experience this first hand with us at local retailers or Farmer’s Markets.

Sustainability

Rotating crops and livestock keeps the land productive and not over-taxed (which other farms would need fertilizer to replenish).
Sustainability is not just a fancy term for us, it’s a necessity. It has taken 40 million years to turn ancient vegetation into oil and it is a finite source that our current food system is grounded in. It will not last, we know this. We take it to heart and want to be a part of the solution and not the problem.

Community

Local is about community. We grow and deliver right here in the (extended) neighborhood. Family farms keep it all in the community and gives us the opportunity to have a relationship with our land.

Giving vs. Taking

What we are doing here isn’t exactly new. Many of the techniques and ideas have been around for centuries. In some cases we’re just reviving old-world ways of farming.
Some of these methods of sustainable farming are just common sense, especially when you lived in a small community in the middle ages and didn’t have the ability to import truckloads of fertilizer or foods from another hemisphere. You HAD to be sustainable or the community would fail. You couldn’t take more than you put back into the system or it would collapse.
What we do is grounded in this way and it feels good. We want you to feel that as well. Heck, we’d love it if the world would take these principles to heart. Wouldn’t that be great?

Education

We offer monthly farm tours with the option of taking a class at the same time.

We are co-founders and supporters of the Waller country co-op and Rick co-founded Urban Harvest, Houston’s community garden program providing local backyard education and training.

We support our neighboring farmers to learn and change their farms into sustainable farms.