Jessie Payne has been a gardener his entire life. He’s spent the last 15 years farming with his mother, Sheila.
“We’re both gardeners,” Payne said. “We do this because we love it.”
Payne and his mother run Mocking Crow Farm. Before moving to the area three years ago, the Paynes had been farming in the Boulder area.
He moved to the Durango area because of the farmland the area offers and to get out of the big-city atmosphere.
He enjoys farming because of the solitude and being able to eat the food that he produces, he said.
“I like being able to make decisions by myself and not have people telling me what to do,” he said. “Not having a boss is always fun.”
Mocking Crow Farms sells a variety of organic products, including eggplant, garlic, pepper, squash, tomatoes and sunflowers.
“We sell pretty much anything that grows in Colorado,” Payne said.
asemadeni@durangoherald.com
