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YES !!!!! Every community need to start a farm like this one!!!
""It's also something local. Knowing where your produce is coming from is almost as important as being organic.""
NORTH AUGUSTA --- Brian Gandy gets rid of weeds the old-fashioned way.
"We pull them," he said, strolling between tomato vines at one of the area's most unusual gardens.
As manager of Blue Clay Farm at the Hammond's Ferry community, Mr. Gandy's mission is to develop one of the region's first organic farms.
Chemical weed killers, he said, are strictly off limits -- as are the array of pesticides used on conventional farms.
"We do use bag fertilizer, but it would come from chickens -- or dairy products," he said. "It has to be something that's not chemical-based."
The farm is a part of Hammond's Ferry's mission to blend a clean environment with a sustainable lifestyle, said project manager Turner Simkins.
The farming experiment occupies about two acres of previously unused land beneath power lines.
"You could call it an amenity," Mr. Simkins said. "But it's much more than a tennis court."
The absence of chemical pesticides makes the garden more comfortable for toads and ladybugs, which in turn consume some of the less friendly bugs, such as aphids and white flies.
"We also have a lot of dragonflies and damselflies," Mr. Gandy said. "To us, they are the cavalry -- the good guys."
On the other end of the scale, one of the least welcome visitors is the tomato horn worm -- a thumb-sized monster of a caterpillar that can defoliate entire tomato plants in a single day.
They must be removed by hand -- a task that Mr. Gandy and his girlfriend, Kate Lee, undertake almost daily, along with other chores.
Along the outer borders are "trap crops," such as sweet basil, that lure bad bugs away from vegetable plants.
Rows of globe amaranth and other flowering annuals round out the equation by providing colorful blooms for cuttings, and for luring insects needed to pollinate the vegetables.
Part of the organic approach is to build soil quality through crop rotation, composting and the use of cover crops that later can be plowed back into the dirt as soil conditioner.
"You're basically growing your own fertilizer," he said.
The farm was designed to become a commercial venture that will supply local markets and restaurants with organically grown produce, Mr. Gandy said, noting that its customers already include local restaurants and visitors to Augusta's Saturday Market.
Though the concept of organic farming is a lesson in simplicity, the process of becoming certified through the National Organic Program to market organically grown produce is complex.
The criteria include inspections, detailed record keeping and other details, including a stipulation that at least three years have elapsed since any chemical pesticide or herbicide applications were made to the soil, Mr. Simkins said.
In the meantime, as Blue Clay Farm evolves and moves toward certification, it will also be enjoyed by residents, who can learn from its organic processes and enjoy the produce grown in their own back yard.
"People get a benefit, a peace of mind, knowing there are no synthetic pesticides in what they're eating," Mr. Simkins said.
"It's also something local. Knowing where your produce is coming from is almost as important as being organic."
Reach Rob Pavey at (706) 868-1222, ext. 119, or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
YES !!!!! Every community need to start a farm like this one!!!
""It's also something local. Knowing where your produce is coming from is almost as important as being organic.""
Organic may make a good supplemental supply og vegetables but it cannot and will not be able to feed the masses. If the world went organic today to save the environment, more than half the world would die of starvation. I guess the decrease in population would help save the world.
"Knowing where your food is coming from is ALMOST as important as being organic"......... while it may not be practical to start completly organic farms it is possible to produce local or community farms that all work on and reap from........and save energy by not transporting it out of the area.KEEP IT LOCAL !!!!!
What a great idea!!! Is it possible to work it into the high school curriculum? This would be a great way for kids to start understanding the importance or taking care of our world AND the gratification of directly benefiting from their efforts! A program like that might encourage teens to grow their own when they have their own "spot of land". Or while they are still home @ Mom & Dad's. Putting in a garden at home could even be a "graded project". A different kind of science fair! UNfortunately, alot of kids grow up not having any idea how wonderful fresh vegetables are. Many kids get fresh vegetables ...... fresh out of the can! All CSRA Board of Ed's, think about this!! SO many benefits here aside from food on the plate!
Organic is a misnomer. Likely I can test the soil and ground water there and find evidence of some artificial chemicals. Not accussing them of putting them there, but the stuff is everywhere from decades of uses that travels everywhere. Chemical fertilizers aren't bad either, likely more safe than many organic fertilizers (because of parasites, bacteria, fungi, etc). The idea of planting a varied garden and host planting(not just one crop) and not using pesticides and use biologial means to address varmits is good. I wish them luck and success, but don't believe because it is "organic" it is somehow safer or better. Even foods that use pesticides have little residual in most cases, peaches being an exception. Learn to use nature to your advantage is always the best strategy.
To anwser Devonae. FFA and Agriculture Education teaches the importance of gardening everyday. You can't feed 6 Billion this way, but you can feel good about yourself, and it might get a few more students off the street in the summer
How Organic is a utility right of way? The story states: "The farming experiment occupies about two acres of previously unused land beneath power lines.", I am sure that the power company has used chemicals to keep the area clear, and when the next treatment cycle comes, they will not care what is planted under the line, it will be sprayed. It would also be interesting to know if the farmer has thought about how the power company will repair those lines. Big trucks, heavy equipment, and large poles usually destroy crops when they are planted in the "unused land beneth power lines". I would summize that reason alone will prevent this from ever getting "Certified Organic" and making a profit. But of course if the subdivision does not want to use electricity, the power company could just remove those unsightly lines and not bother the crops underneath.
All power companies are not all the ill mannered ogres people make them out to be. Deals can be made, and are made all of the time.
This little experiment will not save the world and it's not expected to. This just brings to light the fact that food was gown and did support populations before modern industrialized, chemical farming. It can still be done, maybe not to feed the entire world but at least somewhat reduce the impact of chemical farming. (Ever heard of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico? It's a lot bigger than your back yard.)
And maybe the power company won't run over it with their big bad trucks!
I find the whole notion of organic gardening absurd. Chemical and organic fertilizers composition really determines whether it is inorganic or organic. Both can contain inorganic mined source of nutrients as often potassium and potash are or organic like urea-you can't tell natural from synthetic. Organic fertilizers can contain pathogens, and usually chemical fertilzers often lack micronutrients (but most do now). Pesticides aren't necessarily bad as some are synthetic and others naturally biological. The main problem is not using on food or contanimating food but environmental as it effects other than target species and run off affecting other areas. There is little or no evidence that organic is healthier than traditional and subjective indicators that organic taste better haven't proven true-in fact traditional tomatoes tasted better than organic in one study where there were no other difference between organic and traditional for a number of foods. Organic is a myth for producing healthier or better tasting food, but organic is more "green" not using fossil fuels to produce chemical fertilizer and reduces enviornmental concerns of pesticides. But the notion is so attractive to the ignorant masses. Dumb as dirt comes to mind.
Too much information, Bizarro. This is America. Quick organic is good. Good organic is bad.
There are gardening programs for schools where kids handle it from breaking ground to harvest. Also, many communities have community gardens, even raised plantings in tires for handicapped folks to get their hands into. It would be great to see this in the CSRA. Interesting note-even in bad neighborhoods where community gardens are-the residents become VERY protective and theft, vandalism is at a minimum.
NO difference between organic and traditional is the bottom line for quality of food, but environmentally organic is friendlier. Short and sweet Patti.
Better? Myself this is the first year in over thirty that I haven't had a garden.
Organic is good but sometimes not possible....the point is to KNOW where your food comes from.... a local garden organic or NOT is a good thing...... the less distance it has to travel is the goal...got it now??????
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