Inn Serendipity Farm and Bed & Breakfast

Not only do Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko love sharing their organic produce with customers, they love sharing their home, the Inn Serendipity Farm and Bed & Breakfast. Their farm and inn is located on 5.5 beautiful acres in Browntown, Wisconsin where they grow flowers, fruits, vegetables, herbs and sell eggs from free range chickens. Joining Lisa and John with farm chores is Liam, age 4.  He is their human-power soil tiller, strawberry harvester and taste-tester.

The Inn Serendipity Farm and Bed & Breakfast grows a diversified selection of fruits and vegetables including strawberries, raspberries, grapes, apples, summer/winter squash, potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, cucumbers, onions, leeks, broccoli, Swiss chard, spinach, salad greens, basil, dill and more.  Their produce is sold intermittently at the East Side Farmers’ Market in Madison and direct from the farm (please call first).  They’ve also offered CSA shares for flower bouquets of perennials.

Why have you chosen to grow organic?
Clean air and water and healthy soil.  It’s better for us and provides more nutritious food.  For more on why people should buy organic products, take a read of our book, Rural Renaissance: Renewing the Quest for the Good Life (ruralrenaissance.org).

What is your favorite part of being an organic farmer?
Having our B&B guests (many of whom are families with children) enjoy our breakfasts with ingredients that we harvest the day before or the morning of the meal!

What is your least favorite part?
When it’s really hot outside, it’s hard to weed in the gardens.

What else is unique about your farm? 
Our B&B creates an authentic farm experience for our guests including vegetarian breakfasts, tours of our farm, renewable energy systems, and greenhouse made with straw bales and heated by the sun and with home-made biodiesel.  Our electricity needs are met with a 10kW wind turbine and .5kW photovoltaic system.  Featured on CNN.com and MSNBC.com, the Inn received the 2004 Energy Star Small Business Network Award and is among the “Top 10 Eco-destinations in North America,” according to Natural Home & Garden.