Who We Are

Peter

Peter grew up on his family’s farm in northeast Nebraska. During the summers, he worked on the farm and helped his mother in the vegetable garden. He went on to study Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State and graduated in 2003. He then began his studies in Classical Guitar Performance at Colorado State and worked on his Masters in Sevilla, Spain.

After his studies abroad, Peter returned to the family farm. His interests had changed however, with a view of the world as a whole now in front of him. He had lost interest in the conventional way of farming with it's use of synthetic chemicals, genetically modified seeds and lack of responsibility as supposed stewards of the land. He turned his sights instead to what he felt was in his heart, to organic farming practices, to nurture, support and sustain the earth and it's inhabitants.

Susan

Susan grew up on the outskirts of Chicago. She always loved nature and the outdoors. Throughout her childhood and teenage years she spent hundreds of hours on a farm near her home, volunteering care for animals and developing a great respect for mother nature.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State in 2006. From there she continued her westward journey landing in Hawaii, where she completed her professional internship at Kokolulu Organic Farm and Wellness Center. Here she truly fell in love with the organic farming lifestyle.

Peter & Susan

Peter and Susan had known each other during their studies at Colorado State and in 2007 they met again at the National Rainbow Gathering of Living Light. They became interested in the path of yoga and went on to complete their 200 and 500 hour Yoga Teacher Trainings (RYT-500) at Yoga Hanalei in Hanalei, Hawaii (2009) and the Mount Madonna Center in Watsonville, California (2010) respectively. In 2011 they completed their 750 hour Ayurvedic Studies Program (NAMA-500) at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 2012 they were certified as Natural Therapeutic Specialists at the New Mexico School of Natural Therapeutics in Albuquerque, New Mexico and became Licenced Massage Therapists (LMT) in Iowa.

Peter and Susan spent their first summer together breaking ground on what is now Of The Earth Beyond Organic Gardens. In 2009 they remained in Hawaii for another year, after completing their first yoga teacher training.  During this time, they apprenticed with Marie Mauger at Spirit of the Earth farms, learning Biodynamic farming practices (Rudolph Steiner). They also worked with Sun and Lisa at One Song farms to further explore the organic, biodynamic and french intensive farming ideas, collectively known as Biointensive farming (John Jeavons).

They returned to Northeast Nebraska in 2010 with a whole new set of tools. With exposure to knowledge from the east and west, Of The Earth Gardens was ready to lay it's foundation. They constructed an 84 ft diameter Mandala Vegetable Garden with 42 different raised beds, laid out in the geometrical structure of a two dimensional double tetrahedron (see Sacred Geometry). They continued with thirteen 50x4 foot raised beds for future perennial berry plants (blueberries, raspberries, concord grapes, currants, high-bush cherries and elderberries). Strawberry, watermelon, squash and asparagus patches were planted along with peach, plum and pear trees.

Of The Earth gardens continues to develop and grow as Peter and Susan gain experience in the garden, at the Sioux City Farmers Market, and with their studies throughout the late fall and winter months.