Our Farm

About Us

Harmony Market Garden is a small produce farm in Floresville, TX. Owned and operated by wife and husband team Ellie Pavliska and Cody Bates, our farm grows over 50 varieties of vegetables throughout the year, as well as seasonal raw honey. We grow organically without any synthetic sprays or GMOs.

We started the farm in 2021. Neither of us grew up farming and we don’t have a single or simple explanation for why we choose to live this way. We know that we like keeping our feet on the ground and our hands in the dirt. Growing food gives us a sense of purpose and a connection to the land and the seasons. It has fostered so many beautiful relationships with the families we grow for. And we love eating good food. 

In our past lives, Ellie was a classical pianist and music teacher and Cody was an IT manager. Both feeling stuck in our chosen career paths, we were looking for something that felt real and tangible. So logically, we started learning how to grow our own food. What started out as hobbies for both of us – gardening for Ellie and beekeeping for Cody – have blossomed into a full-time business and farm that is now our main source of income. 

Farming Practices

When we say our farm is small, we actually mean tiny. The two of us farm just over a quarter of an acre of growing space in our market garden. We choose to farm by hand and without a tractor because we feel that we can grow the highest quality produce this way. By choosing not to till, we aim to build healthy and fertile soil that can support healthy plants year-round. 

Without a tractor, we’re able to fit more plants into a smaller footprint. With careful planning and tight plant spacing, we make the most out of every square foot. Some of our beds are replanted as many as 8 times a year. Even though space is limited on our small farm, our market garden supports a wide variety of greens, roots, and fruiting crops throughout all four seasons. 

We believe that healthy soil grows healthy plants. While we’re not certified, we strictly follow organic growing practices and always choose what’s best for the soil, our crops, and our pollinators. We never use any synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers. Our produce is nutrient-dense and better tasting because we choose to grow organically. 

Our farm is also home to our honey bees where we extend our organic growing practices. While there aren’t organic beekeeping guidelines in the United States, we can follow the same philosophy we use in our garden. For our bees this means limiting their exposure to synthetic chemicals, avoiding plastic components within the hives (for example, plastic foundation), and routinely replacing wax comb on a schedule to discourage the buildup or contaminants collected while foraging.