Cleo Hicks: Suburban Farmer

Cleo has an actual farm in the backyard of his suburban neighborhood. 

From the front, his land seems completely normal, one could drive by without a second thought. But step into his back, and one is awash with persimmon, tomatoes, squash, and much, much more. There are trellises everywhere and rain barrels to boot.

This lifestyle came naturally to Cleo, “like a fish to water,” he says. He grew up on a farm in North Carolina, growing tobacco, cotton, corn, soybeans, etc. He had a lot more area to work with in the past, so he feels a bit cramped, but that has just made him the master of maximizing space.

His approach is straight up common sense: “just observing and doing it.” After years of farming and now having more time to garden, since retiring from the military, his garden seems to be more abundant than ever. 

“Things are nice when they’re pretty… but if I can get some food out of it, that is nice too.”