True Love and Homegrown

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Saint Stephens Church, VA
True Love and Homegrown

Two scientists sharing their adventures in homesteading: self-sufficient, purposeful, healthy living Welcome to our farm, True Love and Homegrown!

We specialize in raising heritage breed hogs including purebred blonde Mangalitsa, a Hungarian wooly pig know for its decadent meat, and we cross them with Large Black Hogs, an English meat hog with a long body and exceptional mothering instincts. We are located 45 minutes NE of Richmond, VA. Our homestead process has been influenced and informed along the way by our science backgrounds. We grew f

rom being interested in self sufficiency and sustainability while sharing 6 chickens and a garden with neighbors in grad school to raising hogs, goats, rabbits, growing veggies in ever expanding gardens, and maintaining a large flock of pastured ladies, to become meat and veggie independent. Observation is key in researching and farming and we document our successes, failures, insights, and adventures, here. Lila is originally from New York, is a proud Smithie, and earned her MS and Ph.D. in Marine Geochemistry and Sedimentology at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (part of William & Mary). Walter earned a BS in Mathematics and an MS in Applied Physics and Computer Science from Christopher Newport University, and works full time as a software engineer. Our educations brought us to VA, where we met and fell in love (hey, VA is for lovers).

06/14/2026

Commence overflowing drop zone piles of veggies on the table season. 🥰✨ Emerson is determined to meticulously tally our harvest this year. Can we fill up that space? Time will tell!

06/08/2026

My neighbor was extending the footprint of his cattle fencing a bit and asked if I'd like to dig up some asparagus crowns that would soon be within the fence and trampled. Say no more. I rode over on my bike one evening with my oldest kiddo and we managed to unearth about ten sizeable crowns from the compacted earth while this Mama cow watched, mildly interested. Oh gosh, look at her baby's ears, I don't know exactly how many hours old he was, but shew, nothing like a glimpse of that adorableness AND an investment in asparagus.

05/26/2026

Good morning and would you like to get "on the egg train," as one customer recently called it? 🌈🥚🚃

Our ladies have ramped up production and I've considered starting a little farm stand at the end of our driveway (if you're local to me, 23148, pick up anytime). But for now, I'm opening spots on my RVA/Mechanicsville delivery route and YOU could have fresh, rainbow eggs from pastured, non-GMO fed, happy hens delivered straight to your door. $7/dozen, minimum for delivery is four doz for $25.

DM/trueloveandhomegrown@gmail dot com/or text me and I can add you to my Tuesday (that's today! or any!) delivery route, answer any questions.

F**k store bought eggs from factory farms and all that is systemically wrong with our food systems. I don't have all the answers, but I can bring you eggs.

05/24/2026

Yesterday's rainy day work: radishes --> refrigerator pickles and sautéed greens, last of last years' tomatoes (frozen) --> soup, bones --> stock. In-between the raindrops I went out and poked at thirsty plants enjoying the much needed relief of drizzle, the smells of comfort foods wafted out the kitchen window and hung in the damp air. Then coming back in with dirty hands, punched with divine savoriness. F**k AI. It can't give you soup or pickled things or what to say about them the way the Earth and your brain can.

04/22/2026

Earth Day.

Plant trees.

F**k war.

04/02/2026

It is time. First jelly of the springtime. Violet jelly time. The violets decide, and we just follow, picking after a rain so we don't have to wash 'em. For years I've rescued lil clumps that pop up in the grass and replanted. You can never have enough violet carpet, is an important nonrule. This delicate jelly is also a beloved kitchen chemistry exploit, who gets to add the lemon juice and make the violet tea dramatically change colour from a deep algal lake bottom bluegreen to crystal clear pink. The little, sweet things. ✨

03/29/2026

The field and all my overwintered and hardy bits dusted with crystals in the sunrise, but pleasantly inside the greenhouse, it's 42. Every gardener, farmer, morning stalker chasing shorter shadows coming out of a long cold winter whispers at least once: 'this might be the last frost.' Also, F**k Ice.

03/21/2026

This morning the sun illuminated the tops of our garlics as the meadowlark whistled from high above. In the evening, wrapping up chores, I glanced towards the glow of our greenhouse, I always think she looks so scrappy and capable, holding promise, head starts, within; around us, spring is announcing itself. Finally. ✨

10/12/2025

The stripes, vast and small, struck me this rainy morning.

I haven't posted farm updates in far too long, I'm sorry. I keep telling myself I'll carve out a little bit of time to write in the morning and then get distracted away by vast and small. ✨

Address

Saint Stephens Church, VA
23148

Telephone

+18048033782

Website

http://www.walterandlila.com/

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