“Farming” is typically thought of as raising plants or animals for profit. “Gardening” is thought of more as a hobby. So which are you? A farmer or a gardener? Before you answer, consider this: Healthy and attractive landscaping can increase the value of your home up to 11%, according to a recent study from Michigan State University. That means if you have a home worth about $150,000, with a great looking lawn, nicely maintained flowers and shrubs, and a functioning garden, you could be adding another $16,000 to your pocket should you choose to sell your house. On the flip side, a weedy and diseased lawn, with no attractive plant life (either ornamental or edible) on your property could cost you thousands of dollars by considerably lowering your property value. Also, if you’re growing fruits and vegetables and herbs in your back yard, ideally you’re going to be eating those things, right? That means those are items you won’t need to buy at the grocery store, which means that’s money in your pocket as well. So when you’re planting those flowers, or pulling those weeds, or mowing your lawn, or harvesting those tomatoes, consider the value you’re adding to your house, and consider the money you’re able to keep in your pocket when you go to the grocery store. That being said, you are potentially profiting off of the plant life in your yard. So I’ll ask you again, are you a gardener or a farmer? All things considered, I’d say you’re a farmer– a bona fide yard farmer. Now let me ask you this: Do you support organic farming? Do you appreciate the farmer who works the land the right way– sustainably and naturally? Do you worry about pesticides and GMOs (genetically modified organisms) showing up on your dinner table? If so, then it’s time you became an organic yard farmer! Buying organic produce is great, but it’s not enough. Let’s start farming our own yards the right way– sustainably and naturally. Let’s eliminate Round-Up (a product of Monsanto), let’s eliminate the chemical fertilizers like Scotts, let’s stop using chemical pesticides like Grub-Ex that offer short-term fixes but do long-term damage to the planet. If you’re interested in becoming an organic yard farmer, get in touch with us at Office@GoodSweetEarth.com, or by calling us at 616-594-0693. We can give you a free consultation for organic lawn and garden fertilization and soil conditioning. Here is more information on the services we offer.
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Here’s a challenge more and more yard farmers are considering these days: Feed your family for a year on things you grow. What exactly does that mean, though? Well, it could mean a number of things. Some people attempt to go the pioneer route: Only eat what you grow. Obviously, this is pretty hardcore. Unless you’ve got space to raise livestock, this option means you’re going vegan. It probably also means you’re not going to be eating many carbs (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), unless you can grow enough grain to make dough with. Other people go the route of only eating the fruits, vegetables and herbs they grow. This option means they can still purchase other things, like meat, dairy, bread, etc. This is entirely doable. Our family hasn’t quite made it to this point yet, but every year we’re getting closer and closer. What we aren’t able to grow, we try and buy from a local farmer. Unfortunately, our family is addicted to bananas, which means we still do have to buy some produce from the grocery store. But if you’re ready for a challenge, this is something that, with a little planning and sacrifice (and enough space), a backyard gardener in Metro Detroit could probably do. It would mean eating more things in-season, and also learning how to preserve foods (like corn or tomatoes or basil) so you could enjoy them in the winter. The third option is something of a hybrid between the other two options. Basically, you eat only what you grow– or what you can trade for. I first heard about this in the Novella Carpenter book “Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer.” Ms. Carpenter, who lives and farms in Oakland, CA, spent a year only eating what she raised (in the book, she had chickens and other livestock, so meat and eggs weren’t a problem), but she also allowed herself to trade her garden bounty to get things she couldn’t raise. She was hankering for a fish dinner, for instance, and so she traded some of her produce to a local woman who caught and fried up fish and sold it out of her kitchen. The challenge, with this option, is obviously finding someone with something you want who is also willing to trade. If you’re interested in growing enough food in your garden to feed your family, here’s some information on how much you would need to plant: Asparagus: about 10-15 plants per person Beans (Bush): about 15 plants per person Beans (Pole): 2-4 poles of beans per person (each pole with the four strongest seedlings growing) Beets: about 36 plants per person. Broccoli: 3-5 plants per person Cabbage: 2-3 plants per person Cantaloupe: figure on about 4 fruits per plant (estimate how much your family would eat) Carrots: about 100 seeds per person (1/4 oz would be plenty for a family of six) Cauliflower: 2-3 plants per person Collards: about 5 plants per person Corn: start out with 1/2 lb. seeds for the family and adjust as needed Cucumbers: 3-6 plants per family Eggplant: 3-6 plants per family Lettuce: 4-5 plants per person Okra: 3-4 plants per person Onions: 12-15 plants per person Parsnips: 12-15 plants per person Peas: about 120 plants per person Peppers: 3-5 plants per person Spinach: about 15 plants per person Squash (including Zucchini): about 10 per family Sweet Potatoes: about 75 plants per family Tomatoes: about 20 plants per family Turnips: about 1/4 lb seeds per family Watermelon: about 1/2 oz. seeds per family Obviously, you would have to adjust the list according to your family’s likes and dislikes, and substitute the “dislikes” with more of the “likes,” but as far as quantity, you would probably need to keep things pretty close to what is listed above in order to make it through the year. Maybe you don’t have the space for such an endeavor, or the time and energy, but it’s still fun to dream about living more self-sustainably — like the pioneers did! So a fourth option may be to just pick one thing off that list– tomatoes, for instance– and vow that the only tomatoes you and your family eat for the next year will be the ones you grow. And if your tomato crop craps out? Well, let’s just say you won’t be having many red sauces on your pasta. But if it all works out, and your tomatoes produce enough to feed your family for the year? Mission accomplished, and pat yourself on your pioneer-like back! If you live in West Michigan, we offer a garden consulting service, where a Master Gardener will walk you through the growing season, from planning to planting and all the way through harvest. Email Corey at Corey@GoodSweetEarth.com if you'd like more info on this service. The Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) paid out an astonishing and record-breaking $17.3 billion in claims due crops lost to extreme weather last year. And the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says much of that could have been prevented with better soil maintenance. Too many farmers use shortcuts and bad practices when it comes to their soil. They rely on chemical fertilizers, and ignore things like cover crops and mulch and natural fertilizers to add nutrients to the ground growing their precious crops. This means their soil is rapidly depleted of organisms that help soil maintain an optimal structure. Farmers also till their fields to remove last year’s crop stubble completely, which then removes nature’s moisture retention system. And when the soil can’t retain moisture, or doesn’t have bacteria and earthworms and other critters maintaining a healthy environment, it becomes more susceptible to harsh weather conditions (like drought, heat and wind). Obviously, farmers can’t control the weather, but they can control how they treat their soil. The NRDC recently issued a report called “Soil Matters: How the Federal Crop Insurance Program should be reformed,” calling for farmers to practice better soil maintenance in order to reduce the need for federal dollars to cover their weather-related losses. One suggestion is to offer reduced premiums to farmers who adopt a number of practices that will lead to healthier and stronger soil. Three such practices would be:
First and foremost, stop using chemical fertilizers and pesticides like Scotts and Miracle Gro. This is the first and most critical step to healthy soil. Instead, use organic methods of fertilizing and amending your soil, like Worm Compost. Next, cover your gardens in the winter. Protect that soil from the harsh cold and ice. You can do this by planting cover crops (like winter rye) and mixing it into the soil next spring as a mulch, or even just laying straw (not hay) over your garden soil. Finally, don’t plant the same thing in the same place year after year. Rotate your crops from one part of your garden to another. Every type of crop needs a slightly different set of nutrients to thrive, and if you plant one thing in the same place every year, the crop will drain the soil of those specific nutrients. Doing this will mean you won’t need to use large amounts of synthetic fertilizer. Compost will usually be enough. To read more about the NRDC’s report, and find out which states required the most federal dollars to cover crop losses click here. |