Your Farmers
Two garden boxes, a borrowed library book, and a piece of land funded by a man who believed every table should be full.
2002 · Northern Wisconsin
It started with a library book and two garden boxes.
I grew up in Northern Wisconsin — the kind of place where seasons run your life and hard work is just what you do. My career has been in law enforcement, and I still serve full-time today.
But in 2002, I checked out Mel Bartholomew's book on square foot gardening from the local library. Picked up some lumber and soil. Built two raised beds in my suburban backyard. I just wanted to grow some vegetables for my family.
Those two boxes doubled. Then tripled. I discovered something about myself: I was good at growing food. Really good. What started as a family project soon produced enough to share with neighbors. The suburban backyard that once felt spacious started feeling impossibly small.
2012
The man behind the name
Ebrain "Sandy" Santiago
Sandy was my father-in-law. A native Puerto Rican his family endearingly called a "food pusher." If you were in his house, you were eating. It wasn't optional.
Sandy passed in 2012. His inheritance bought the land this farm sits on.
Every seed planted here is funded by his life. That's why it's called Sandy's Way. Not because it sounds good. Because it's true.
Sandy and two of my kids in the backyard garden where it all started.
2013–2015 · Sedalia, Colorado
Five acres in Sedalia. Eight beds. A real farm.
By 2013, the dream had outgrown the backyard completely. I purchased a 5-acre property in Sedalia with one goal: grow more food for more families.
I spent 2014 learning the land. Every grower knows — you don't just farm the land, you learn from it. I studied JM Fortier, Eliot Coleman, Curtis Stone. I became a student of SPIN growing systems and intensive methods that make small acreage produce like large farms.
In 2015, Sandy's Way Microfarm officially launched with eight 24-inch by 25-foot planting beds.
2015–Today
From eight beds to sixty-six.
The farm has grown every year since. We now operate sixty-six 30-inch by 50-foot garden beds, three high tunnels, and nearly 13,000 square feet of production space. Sandy's Way is the only Certified Naturally Grown farm producing vegetables for direct-to-consumer sales in Douglas County.
The other farmer
Jason
Jason is my close friend and right-hand man on the farm. He calls the fields his "spacious place."
Some people need an office. Jason needs a row of carrots and open sky.
He's out here because he believes in this the same way I do — not because it's easy, but because it matters. When you visit the farm, you'll probably meet him before you meet me.
Why I farm
I still wear the badge. I still show up for the soil.
I work full-time in law enforcement. I also farm because I believe this community deserves better food, and somebody has to grow it.
The industrial food system ships produce thousands of miles and calls it fresh. I harvest the morning you get it. The grocery store sells varieties bred for shelf life. I grow heirloom and open-pollinated varieties chosen for flavor — because I know the difference and so will you.
I don't farm the plants. I farm the soil. I've spent over a decade building living soil in Douglas County. Carrots grown in dead soil taste like it. Mine don't.
Plant a seed in healthy soil, and it becomes something that feeds a family. After more than a decade, that still feels like a miracle.
— Cale · Sandy's Way Microfarm · Sedalia, CO
Come see it for yourself.
Farm tours every Friday and Saturday, 10 am – 1 pm. Or just start with an order — no membership required.