Jeff “JJ” Terris once managed a bicycle store in St. Pete. Now, he is a farmer and food entrepreneur at his countryside oasis, Tanglewood Acres.
Photo by Jeff Terris
Most people dream of escaping the city and the cacophony of noise — fewer actually do it. But for one former St. Petersburg local, that dream took root in the green fields of Brooksville. Trading traffic lights for sunrise chores, he’s building a life that’s as hands-on as it is homegrown. Today, instead of parallel parking and Publix runs, he spends his days coaxing life from the soil and dreaming of a farm that supplies everything he eats. His goal? To create a fully self-sustaining farm, where every fruit, vegetable, and livestock, plays a part in a closed, regenerative system.
Meet JJ
Jeff “JJ” Terris once managed a busy bicycle store in St. Pete. He’s laid back, down to earth, and a guy who has a profound love for all things food and nature. He has since swapped his bustling urban life for that of a farmer and food entrepreneur at his countryside oasis, Tanglewood Acres, in Brooksville.
Before Tanglewood Acres, he tended his small-scale, urban garden. In 2016, JJ and his partner Tracy, made the jump from urban living to 5 acres of undeveloped land with the goal of building a fully sustainable farm.
“It was a journey of wanting to be more connected to the land and more in control of my own food,” JJ said. “And it felt just right.”
Tanglewood Acres
Tanglewood Acres is tucked back on a dead-end road, adjacent to the Withalacoochee State Forest. It’s prime real estate for growing vegetables, raising crops, and tending to animals. It began as a hobby farm, a place where JJ could experiment with his garden varieties and dive headfirst into what it means to be self-sustainable. It was everything from DIY setups to learning what grows in the soil — the epitome of hands-on learning, fueled by a desire to live more intentionally.
Florida soil can be sandy, stubborn, and suspicious of newcomers. But JJ approached his new land with patience and purpose. His biggest surprise (and at times, challenge) was that “Mother Nature sets the pace. You can’t rush a pumpkin or negotiate with the weather. City life is all about schedules, but farm life teaches you to work with the land and Mother Nature’s timing,” he said.
This year’s harvest yielded 75 pounds of peaches.
Photo by Jeff Terris
Day in the Life
A typical day begins in the early hours of the morning when his rooster first crows. The air is filled with fresh pine and whiffs of papaya blossoms, as his chickens, ducks, donkeys, and horses all start to rise. JJ tends to his plants, processes harvests, and plans his next project as he does endless amounts of maintenance. While the allure of the countryside is enchanting, and the rhythm of rural life is immersed in nature, cultivating self-sufficiency is loads of work.
JJ’s long term vision is to create a fully integrated homestead — a food forest, formal garden, small orchard, and aquaponic systems all working together.
“I want everything to feed into everything else: rainwater catching, composting, solar pumping, animals contributing to the ecosystem, and a kitchen that turns harvests into shelves of preserved food,” he said.
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From Field to Table
As a chef, I was eager to know what JJ grows and what he does with his bounty. Not only does he tend heritage crops like Seminole “hanging” pumpkins and Everglades tomatoes, but he grows ginger, papaya, avocado, cassava, elderberry, olives, and a whole slew of other fruits, vegetables, and herbs. His proudest harvest to date? San Marzano tomatoes. JJ purées and cans his tomatoes every year for a whole host of tomato-based products including sauces and soups.
His sweet potato harvest cashed in at 88 pounds from one 6-by-12-foot raised bed.
“They always feel like striking gold,” he said.
Homegrown chipotle peppers are perfect for canning.
Photo by Jeff Terris
In addition, JJ had a bumper crop of jalapeños two years in a row. He was able to put his skills to use to make pickled, frozen, candied, diced, and smoked jalapeño. That’s enough to last the next year. His chipotle peppers this season were for homemade chipotle in adobo sauce for his pork carnitas. (JJ is also a fantastic, imaginative cook.) And he harvested 75 pounds of fresh, Florida peaches — perfect for his scratch-made chipotle barbecue sauce and Tracy’s signature peach cobbler.
While JJ currently does not sell his bounty he says, “I do plan to eventually have a small farm stand — maybe a solar-powered wagon setup selling jams, eggs, produce and even live plants. Then eventually farmers markets as we grow larger.”
For now, his crops are mostly for household use, recipe development, and preservation.
Farm Goals
JJ’s intention is to create a space that is intimate and meaningful.
“My long-term dream is a place that can feed us year-round, be a refuge for wildlife, and maybe someday be a learning space for others,” he said.
For now, Tanglewood Acres is a place for peace, creativity, and self-reliance. Someday, JJ may offer small tours or workshops where he teaches people about Florida-friendly gardening and food forests, as well as preservation clinics.
He tends heritage crops like Seminole “hanging” pumpkins.
Photo by Jeff Terris
Tanglewood Acres has completely changed JJ’s relationship with and approach to food.
“When you grow something from seed to plate, you respect food on a different level,” he said. “You don’t waste it. You preserve it. You enjoy it seasonally. You experiment more. And the flavor difference is unreal — once you taste your own produce, store-bought can’t compare.”
JJ’s farm is about proving that a more grounded, sustainable way of living is still possible, even in modern Florida.
“Small farms like mine are the bridge between old Florida and the future. We’re not trying to outproduce industrial agriculture — we’re trying to produce smarter,” he said. “Local, sustainable, heat-resilient, storm-resilient food systems are the future here. Florida is changing fast, but small farms keep us rooted in what this state is — wild, abundant, and capable of feeding its people if we work with the land instead of against it.”
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