Investing in the Land: Hot Spell Farm and Luck’s Commitment to Texas Farmers

As starting something new goes, farming isn’t an easy thing to tackle. Between learning how to cycle correctly and gathering enough hands to get things pulled out of the ground, anybody learning the ropes would have their hands full. Add in a tractor that’s pushing middle-aged, and you’re really fighting uphill. And still, new farmers manage anyway. 

Enter Hot Spell,  a small but mighty farm co-founded in 2023 by four first-generation farmers just outside Austin, in Elgin, Texas. They work two acres tucked within the larger 315-acre Three Creeks Farm, a place designed to give independent farmers room to try, learn, and grow. From the start, Hot Spell set its focus on Asian greens and diversified vegetables, with a deep commitment to quality, consistency, and care for the land.

What makes Hot Spell stand out isn’t just what they grow, but how they’re growing it. At a time when fewer young folks are choosing farming as a path, this crew is finding ways to bridge old-world agriculture with the modern world. Through thoughtful, honest social media, they invite people into the daily realities of farming, the wins, the losses, and the work that happens between planting and harvest. It’s agriculture as an art form and an ongoing conversation.

You can find Hot Spell out in the community too, running a stand at the Mueller farmers market and popping up at others around town. It’s not just about selling vegetables. It’s about showing up, week after week.

Like a lot of good ideas, Hot Spell grew out of a complicated moment. The pandemic pushed the founders outside, closer to the land. Add in a food crisis, rising costs, and the simple truth that affordable vegetables can be hard to come by, and farming started to feel less like a dream and more like a necessity. At its core, Hot Spell came from a desire to build something rooted in connection, access, and shared responsibility.

Back then, there wasn’t much money to work with. What they did have was opportunity. Landowner Jon Beall opened up space at Three Creeks Farm, giving them room to experiment without the crushing financial pressure that keeps so many people out of agriculture. Before Texas, they were what you might call backyard farmers, learning wherever they could. When Hayley, Liz, Priscilla, and Mo came together, they shared a belief that farming shouldn’t require sinking yourself under debt just to get started.

Like any living thing, the farm has changed shape over time. Team members have shifted as life and commitments evolve, but the mission has held steady. Hot Spell is building toward a future where they can pay field workers full-time and operate as a business that works no matter who’s clocking in that day. They’re focused on creating a space where people feel comfortable stepping into nature work, expanding who gets to belong in farming, and making the work sustainable for the long haul.

Of course, small farming comes with its fair share of challenges. Infrastructure has been a big one. Until recently, Hot Spell didn’t even have electricity or reliable cold storage. Mentorship, trained labor, and long-term planning all take time, especially when climate uncertainty keeps changing the rules. Through it all, they’ve stayed transparent, sharing both the highs and the hard days online. Prices shift. Crops fail. Weather does what it wants. Farming, as they like to say, moves at the speed of trust.

One question they keep circling back to is simple and big all at once: how do you get young people into farming? One idea is opening their doors wider, inviting curious folks to learn alongside them. Even as the realities of capitalism feel shaky at best, Hot Spell keeps moving forward, leaning on community support, creativity, and the broader Central Texas farm network. Groups like SFC and Farm Church have been steady allies, helping them navigate the road ahead.

That’s where the Texas Food and Wine Alliance grant comes in.

Hot Spell is a proud grant recipient through the Texas Food and Wine Alliance, supported by Luck’s annual Potluck Dinner. And for a small farm, this kind of backing makes a real, tangible difference. The grant will help them purchase a new tractor, replacing the finicky 1970s model they’ve been relying on. When equipment works the way it’s supposed to, everything else runs smoother - from planting to harvest to delivery.

Over the next six months, the focus is on dialing things in. Consistent cold storage is already allowing them to manage produce better and experiment with new offerings. They’re expanding their CSA program, welcoming more participants and deepening relationships with the folks who eat what they grow.

This spring marks a big moment. For the first time, Hot Spell will have four to five people on harvest days and a steady crew in the fields. With more controlled variables and the right tools in place, they’re poised to grow in meaningful ways.

At the heart of Luck, this is exactly the kind of work worth showing up for. Hot Spell Farm is proof that when you invest in people, land, and patience, good things follow. It’s not flashy. It’s not rushed. It’s just folks doing the work, one season at a time… and inviting the rest of us along for the ride.