It’s easy to miss the gravel road off busy Nicholson Drive that leads to Fullness Farm. But down this nearly hidden path is a proliferation of lettuces, radishes, carrots and other colorful vegetables and herbs carefully cultivated by Allison and Grant Guidroz. This is an agricultural oasis for the husband-and-wife growing team and their young family, where living off the land means growing organically and encouraging others to join the farm-fresh movement.

Whether they want to buy from a seasonal harvest or grow their own gardens at home, health-minded Baton Rougeans can turn to the Guidrozes, who have grown a variety of crops using organic practices since 2015. They specialize in growing lettuce and leafy greens during as much of the year as possible, and in the cool season, they add root vegetables, crops like cauliflower and broccoli, green onions and garlic; come March, they incorporate rows of peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, eggplant and more for the warmer months. They sell this produce both at the Red Stick Farmers Market and through seasonal CSA subscriptions, and the couple recently added another service to their growing business: garden consultation, design and installation.

“We love to help people grow the best food possible,” Grant says. “Farming is a solution for a lot of problems. This is the revolution—more production by the masses. Everyone can be part of a local supply chain.”

The Guidrozes have already cultivated neighborhood gardens in communities around the city, something they both love. It’s a natural extension of their work on the farm that started as ½ acre and now features a little over 1 acre of tilled growing beds on a 15-acre property. “I equate healthy soil with human health,” Allison says. “It’s the biome for the plants. The soil on our farm is awesome. We started with good soil and keep caring for it, remineralizing it. As the years go by, you have to keep an eye on it to keep it balanced.”

The couple also engages their young children in their farming practice. “We love for our kids to have their own farm enterprises,” Allison says. “Teach them how to save, how to give.”

Grant calls himself a wind-up doll. Pull the string and he sings his chorus of garden praises. “No matter what you do, you should be farming,” he says. “You can DIY and learn which steps to take, or do it more turnkey. No one is good at playing guitar starting out. Part of gardening is to keep at it long enough to get good at it.”

To the Guidrozes, whether you’re farming or building a raised backyard bed, a garden is more than a place to produce food. “It’s a sanctuary,” Allison attests. “It gets you outside, and you get that vitamin D. It’s a win-win when you get your hands in the dirt. It really makes you feel good.”

The Fullness Farm mission has always been about more than just growing healthy foods, Grant adds. “We’re not supposed to be just surviving,” he says. “We’re supposed to be experiencing a fullness in life. Food is a big part of that. It’s this everyday thing that gets overlooked. Small changes make a big difference.”

To see more featured farmers from our March 2023 cover story, click here.