Our Story
Every seed has a story—and so does the soil.
Further Up Farms is a small-scale regenerative Market Garden and Aquaponics Farm nestled in the hills of the Palmer Divide in Elizabeth, Colorado. But it’s not the first farm we’ve ever loved.
My Dad (Allan Morton), co-visionary and co-owner of Further Up, grew up farming cash crops like Tobacco, Sweet potatoes, and Soy beans in the sandy loam of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. They also had a “kitchen garden” though, where they grew veggies for their family and their neighbors.
My Grandaddy, who passed away in 2020, knew that we intended to use the money from the sale of the farm in North Carolina to purchase a piece of land here in Colorado—a different kind of farming, but in all the right ways—the same. He heartily approved.
“This place is really special. You guys have to buy it.”
It was October of 2020, when my brother Luke and his wife Julie Morton-Yates were visiting from Montana. My mom, Joy Morton, had just checked the local real estate listings and saw an interesting property for sale in Elizabeth, Colorado. Thirty-two acres of rolling hills and meadows, mature trees, a creek, and multiple springs—there was something immediately compelling about this piece of land and the beautiful, but in-need-of-love, house standing at the top of the first rise. I was there with them that day, strolling through the leafless cottonwoods---the warm autumn day whispering of change. Of promise.
By Thanksgiving, my parents, Allan and Joy Morton had moved into their new home, and the mutual dream of Further Up Farms began to take root. My brother Noah already lived in the area and had gone through an intensive aquaponics training course years before. My husband (Willy Kelley) and I (Grace Kelley) had planned to move to to area in the summer of 2022, but when the perfect house came on the market in July of 2021, we couldn't let the fact that we had newborn twins stop us from making a move towards this crazy dream.
And so it was that in the Spring of 2022, Further Up Farms was born. We had our first test garden that season, grew more cucumbers than we knew what to do with, and made an inordinate amount of pickle relish.
The following winter we began planning for our first real market season. Spring of 2023 was our first year selling our produce at the Backyard Market in Black Forest. (Saturdays May-October) We learned a lot that first year; including a lot of "what not to do," but by the end we were tired and ready for the winter's rest so we could dream and scheme anew.
In 2024 season we launched our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Program for our local Elizabeth community, as well as those in Black Forest--and all summer long we got to know the people who came to get their veggie totes from us week after week; putting faces to names, to stories as the season progressed. And at the end of it, our customers told us that they thought our CSA was a good value, and helped them save money on high quality local veggies, which couldn't have made us happier.
In 2024 we also had the great privilege of adding another family member and farm enthusiast when my middle brother, (Noah Morton) married the wonderful Jocelyn. Jocelyn is now our “micro-manager”, taking point on all things microgreens, and she also does various other tasks around the farm. In 2025 she also managed one of our CSA pickups, and she's planning to do even more this season! Her uplifting spirit is a delight to all who have the honor of knowing her and working with her at the farm.
2025 was our strongest selling season thus far; we grew about double the produce we’d done the year before, launched the first season of our Pumpkin patch. We really got to know our customers at the Backyard Market all the more, had a sold out CSA program, and served over 150 families each week at the market. We also ran various pop-up stands through out the Elbert County area, seeking to entice out nearest neighbors into the joy of locally grown veggies.
WHAT’S COMING IN 2026—YEAR FOUR.
This year feels like a turning point for the farm—and an exciting one at that. This year we are expanding our CSA program by 50% (75 total shares), adding pick-up locations in Castle Rock and Littleton, and a SECOND MARKET Fridays at the Aspen Grove Shopping Center in Littleton from June-September. We are also cultivating an additional four acres of growing space this year, doubling our production yet again.
This year we are also opening up more opportunities for Volunteers to come and get their hands dirty, we are expanding our Work Share program, and we are hoping to offer monthly farm tours as well as private corporate and team building events. Poke around our website to find out more about all our offerings.
We also intend for this to be the inaugural year of our farm dinner: The Long Table—a magical night under the summer stars with farm fresh food, music, dancing, and MORE.
As always, you can sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop about all the goings on—we promise not to spam you with anything other than veggie goodness and fun farm updates.
Thank you for reading, and being apart of Our Story here at Further Up Farms. We are so grateful to get to do this work.