January 29, 2025

E43: Feed Your Family and Earn an Income on Only FOUR Acres | Jill Ragan of Whispering Willow Farm

37 minutes

If you have had the privilege of hearing Jill speak at one of our events in the past, you know what a powerhouse she is when it comes to all things homesteading. Not only is she an expert in a variety of homestead pursuits – market gardening, cut flower gardening, sourdough, and more – she is a very creative and intentional businesswoman. And she does it all on only four acres! If you have a desire to use your small acreage to provide both food AND income for your family, don’t miss this episode. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, so buckle up!

In this episode, we cover:

How Jill is maximizing her four-acre farm to provide food for her family year-round and to produce a full-time income

Building a strategic business from your homestead that allows you to leave the 9-5

The one time management strategy that allows Jill to balance business, motherhood, homeschooling, homesteading, and more

Why Jill almost gave up on baking sourdough and how she made the process work for her busy life

The heart behind Jill’s online marketplace for homesteaders and gardeners

What tools Jill actually uses in her garden and the ones she can do without

Tips for planning out your high tunnel garden

Why cut flower gardening turned out to be a highly profitable business endeavor for Jill’s farm

Encouragement for the small-scale homesteader

View full show notes and transcript on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube.

Thank you to our sponsors!

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ABOUT JILL

Jill Ragan is a small farmer and online educator, balancing life as a wife and mother of four beautiful children, three girls and one boy. Her journey into growing food began when she saw a largely unmet need in our society; with broken food systems, unfortunate waste, and an overall lack of connection to our Earth. She started growing food for her family instead of sourcing it from the grocery store, reducing waste as much as possible, and learning how to compost. Shortly thereafter, Jill began teaching others how important it is to do the same for themselves. She started documenting the simple changes she was implementing to contribute to the health of our planet and has since grown an extensive following on YouTube’s Whispering Willow Farm channel.

Jill now grows food full time on a much larger scale on her family’s tiny but mighty home farm. She teaches others daily and takes advantage of any opportunity to demonstrate how even the smallest environmental action can make a significant impact. With passion and personality, Jill is committed to sharing her hard-earned knowledge with anyone and everyone she can.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Join us at our annual Homesteaders of America event in October 2025

CONNECT

Jill Ragan of Whispering Willow Farm | Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook