Growing up an Air Force brat and moving nearly every two years, Maj. Brian Bergren never really got the opportunity to put down roots anywhere.

He's making up for that now, both literally and figuratively.

Bergren, a guardsman with the Western Air Defense Sector at McChord Field, and his wife, Hillary, operate a one-acre farm outside Gig Harbor which provides fresh vegetables and flowers to local residents who prepay for a set amount of weeks.

The farm, Peace of the Earth, provides 25 customers food once a week for 12 weeks during the growing season through a program called Community Supported Agriculture.

The bounty includes more than 40 types of vegetables - including 20 different types of tomatoes - ranging from the ordinary (squash) to the more obscure (Kohlrabi, also known as a German turnip).

"My role on the farm is pretty minimal," said Bergren, who works at WADS as mission crew commander responsible for overseeing surveillance and tactical response operations. "My wife should get all of the credit."

While Bergren tackles handyman-type work around the farm, Hillary, who withdrew from her graduate studies program on sustainable agriculture at the Evergreen State College to focus on the farm, handles the day-to-day operations. And while Bergren might not have the farming pedigree (Hillary's grandfather was a farmer), he is starting to catch on.

"I'm able to walk by a plant and know what it is," he said with a laugh. "I'm definitely learning."

The farm - and business - has come a long way in two years.

After spending five years on active duty as an air battle manager, Bergren decided to transition to the Air National Guard, eventually moving to Washington from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, in 2004. The couple settled in Gig Harbor and talked about one day perhaps starting their own farm. After a neighbor offered to let them use a plot of adjacent land, the plan started to take shape.

"We took that as a sign," Bergren, 32, said.

The farm started off small with just five customers, but its popularity exploded after an article on the couple ran in a nearby paper.

"It was a bit overwhelming," Bergren said.

But the couple is now getting a handle on things, and the CSA is flourishing. By only delivering to customers in a 10-mile radius, they are keeping costs low, and Bergren is juggling working 40 hours a week and helping out.

"(Hillary) and I have found a way to make this work," he said.

While the operation is currently profitable, the couple hope to continue to grow it even more. When Bergren retires with 20 years of service (in nine years), he will join on full time.

"Everybody around here is eager to participate in this," the major said. "This is a growing movement. We're getting into it at the right time - people are hungry for it."

Additionally, the husband and wife team, along with their 5-year-old daughter Madeline, now has a real chance at settling down on the farm.

"Besides providing local food ... I really want it to be a place where people can come together as a community," Hillary told the Kitsap Sun newspaper.