Community News

Career change brings Gig Harbor woman full circle

Stroll through Thistledown Farm in Gig Harbor and it appears to outsiders as chaos.

There’s Belle, the retired cow living out her days near the barn. There’s the “Three Amigos” sheep who also roam the pasture area. There’s the pollinator garden on one side of the brick red farm house next to the bee hive houses. And there’s a garden of colorful Sweet William flowers and Foxgloves that are not for picking.

For Allyson Kemp and her husband Mike Roll, it’s not chaos. The near 8 acres of land in the Rosedale community is ordered and purposeful. It’s also a trip down memory lane. Kemp and Roll purchased the farm from her parents recently, bringing her life back full circle to the place where she grew up.

“We do a bit of everything,” said Kemp,  who spent many years as a high school teacher. “We try to do integrated pest management. We’re organic farmers but not not certified.”

Allyson Kemp and Mike Roll are the new owners of Kemp’s childhood farm, Thistledown Farm. They grow plant and veggie starts, produce, fresh flowers and eggs. Photo by Suzanne Roig

A family affair

Growing up on the farm, Kemp was responsible for feeding the chickens. She has fond memories of riding horseback through the trail system and participating in 4H.

Her parents bought the farm in 1968 and until a few years ago lived in the same house Kemp and Roll now live in. Her return to Gig Harbor is 100% a career change. For years, Kemp was a classroom teacher in Seattle and Roll was a former firefighter in Colorado.

But life has a way of coming back full circle.

“Growing up here was magical,” Kemp said. “It has everything. ”

Thistledown Farm

Thistledown Farm sells produce, eggs, flowers and plant starts at its farm stand at 7600 92nd St NW Gig Harbor. The stand is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

The farm also goes to two farmers markets during the season: The Waterfront Farmers Market, from 1 to 6 p.m. Thursdays at Skansie Brothers Park in Gig Harbor; and the Port Orchard Farmers Market, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays at the Port Orchard Waterfront Boardwalk.

For Kemp’s mom, having her daughter return to Gig Harbor, not only was perfect timing, but Kemp and Roll are the perfect caretakers.

“It had long been a dream of mine that Allyson would be able to take it over when Bill (her husband) and I could no longer manage the upkeep,” Sabin Stevens said. “That Mike partners with her is  even better! I am able to visit and keep up with the new direction that they are taking the farm and could not be more delighted.”

At 55 years of age, Kemp and the 56-year-old Roll do a little less than they think they can in a day. They weed less, accomplish a tad less than the to do list says.  There’s always tomorrow.

“We’re learning as we go,” Roll said. “We’re trying to establish the infrastructure so we can do less weeding.”

Infrastructure is not just farming equipment, it’s also the network of people Kemp and Roll have formed with other farmers. When there’s something that needs fixing and they’re left scratching their heads, they turn to neighbors or Kemp’s mom.

Allyson Kemp and Mike Roll stand in their recently installed greenhouse for plant starts. Photo by Suzanne Roig

Caring for the place they call home

The Thistledown logo was crafted with a sense of place in mind, Kemp said. Her mother named the farm more than half a century ago and worked it Kemp and Roll purchased it in 2022. 

So it seems fitting, she said, to keep the name and just work on making things easier on the farm. The goal is to build on the foundation created by her parents and keep it a working and diverse farm.

“It’s an honor to be here,” Kemp said. “Our motto is to build on the magic and build on the biomass in a thoughtful way. We want to improve the place.”

To do that requires them to rise early and start their day feeding the farm animals. But with a coffee break before collecting the eggs. And then there’s the problem solving that comes into play almost daily.

Just this past year they completed their high tunnel, an open air, unheated plastic structure that will extend the growing season for the farm.

Neighbor farmers also help and Kemp’s mom, Sabin Stevens comes over to offer advice.

“When we plant we want to think not only about the wildlife, but also about biodiversity,” Roll said. “We try to be stewards of the land, not just farmers.”