A positive change

After raising chickens for the last 25 years we have come to the realization that we just don’t want to take the time to do it anymore. We love the delicious, fluffy eggs they produce, and use their manure to feed the garden. When we first started with chickens, finding fresh organic eggs was much more difficult. As a matter of fact, finding fresh organic grown food of any type was more difficult, hence part of the reason for starting our now very large vegetable garden.

These days driving from work to our home we pass an organic vegetable farm with attached “farm stand”. Just next door there is a lady who raises chickens and feeds them organically. Again, there is a little farm stand attached where you leave the money and retrieve the eggs from a small refrigerator.  We also have at least 3 farmers markets within 12 miles of here. These places didn't exist 25 years ago.

We have decided that once our chickens have stopped producing, we will not replace them.  The garden is going to shrink in physical size also, but not disappear. We still find joy raising vegetables and fruit for fresh picking. What will happen is we won’t feel the need to fill up every square inch of garden space as we have in the past. It will cut down on the amount of time necessary to maintain what is a very large garden spread.  We also want to support the people who have made it their business to grow fresh, organic food.

I think as we see more locally produced organic sources of food become available you’ll see this trend grow. Some people will always want to raise their own food, and that’s great. However, I think you will see more people doing what we are doing, and as such the trend of “growing you own” food will plateau, if it hasn't already. That’s OK, since we have come so far over the last 25 years in making available organic, locally grown food. Some will still need to grow their own for a variety of reasons. We live in a very special place, and not everyone has this opportunity like we do. Still, I see this as a very positive trend.

The future of community supported agriculture

There is a lot of talk about changing the way food gets to market. It's nice to see people who are willing to put the time, and effort to see if they can make it work. Farming, whether it's "old school" dirt farming or soil less hydroponic farming is hard work. Will the younger generation be willing to put in the immense effort needed to bring our food to table?

South Fork Farm at Gold Hill is owned and operated by Jaclyn Moyer and Ryan Dorsey. The couple lease 12 acres from The American River Conservancy, which recently purchased the historic 272 Veerkamp property at Gold Hill. The property is the site of the first Japanese colony in North America, The Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony.  As we drive by the farm twice a day on the way to and from work my curiosity brought me to the farm. I was met by Jaclyn and Ryan who took the time out of their busy day to show me around.

The farm is certified organic and a Community Supported Agriculture enterprise.We walked through the fields where their first crops we're growing and being harvested. Since this is early spring there was lot's of lettuce varieties as well as other leafy greens. Onions we're planted as well as garlic. Inside a hoop house built over the soil we're young seedlings of heirloom tomatoes, many of which will be planted in the hoop house so as to provide an earlier crop.

A wood fired oven has been built to bake bread that will be made out of heirloom wheat being grown on the farm.  This is interesting  in light of renewed interest in heirloom wheat. Some people feel it may be an answer for our current problems with obesity and diabetes, which we talked about last year. They have planted the majority this year in Sonora Wheat. According to slowfoodusa.org Sonoma Wheat"comprised the majority of production by 1880 in California’s Central Valley, where 2,550,000 acres of wheat were grown, the largest wheat enterprise in history at that time...Since the 1950's "it has not been used in commercial production anywhere on the continent."

The last couple of days we have driven past the farm where we could see smoke rising from the oven as it's being "cured" in preparation for it's first loaves, this fall.  It will be fun to try the bread baked from this grain, and grown just down the road from us. I would like to see this type of enterprise replicated in other communities, both urban and rural. While there is like no doubt the commercial mega farms are not going away, the rise of these smaller farms producing organic food closer to the market should be a growing trend. Even more exciting is to find younger people like Jaclyn and Ryan who are willing to make the commitment to try this new enterprise. It's from these efforts that we will carve out a new way forward in growing our safe food supply.

What the frass?

While checking out the feeds of some of my favorite blogs I see one with the headline, "Can you believe this frass?" Carol, at May Dreams Gardens has my picture of insect frass in a bag. Seems Carol wrote a post back in 2010 titled, "Frass" in which she asks, "You know what frass is, don’t you? It’s a fancy word for insect poop! I've been looking for opportunities all week to use “frass” in a sentence…"

Imagine Carol's surprise when she see's Insect Frass being sold in  a bag. She asks, "can you imagine?  How in the world does a company get enough frass to fill not just one bag, but enough bags to market and sell it as plant food? Who came up with the idea of collecting insect poo and using it as fertilizer, anyway? In all my wildest gardening dreams, which include dreams of someone delivering and spreading a wonderful well-composted, odor free load of manure on my garden, I never dreamed of collecting insect frass for fertilizer."

What's really interesting about Insect Frass is an ingredient called, "Chitin".  According to EPA fact sheet #128991, "Chitin appears to control pathogenic nematodes by stimulating the growth of certain naturally occurring microorganisms in soil, which, in turn, release substances that kill the pathogenic nematodes and their eggs." The EPA fact sheet also say's, "Chitosan is used primarily as a plant growth enhancer, and as a substance that boosts the ability of plants to defend against fungal infections. It is approved for use outdoors and indoors on many plants grown commercially and by consumers. The active ingredient is found in the shells of crustaceans, such as lobsters, crabs, and shrimp, and in certain other organisms. Given its low potential for toxicity and its abundance in the natural environment, chitosan is not expected to harm people, pets, wildlife, or the environment when used according to label directions."

Much like mychorizzae, the beneficial plant fungus, Insect Frass may sound weird and exotic now.  Sometimes weird and exotic only stay that way for awhile. If you interested in finding out more, or purchasing some to try visit our online store at Amazon, The Golden Gecko Garden Center

Feeling crunchy?

Got my latest issue of one of the trade magazines we receive every month, Today's Garden Center.Jennifer Ploanz,

editor writes about "Going after 'Crunchy". As she explains, the term "crunchy" is a newer more positive version of hippy. It's about people who shop organic, understand what the term "carbon footprint" means, and live in a way they feel is sustainable. The whole magazine is devoted to "Green", with articles like "3 keys to make eco-friendly profitable" and "32 products to help your customers get greener". It's clear from this publication, and others like it that the nursery industry is starting to see the potential for organics, and natural products.

What are you going to do in another year when everything is "green"? How are you going to differentiate your business with organics when the box store down the street, and your other independent competition is on the bandwagon? Soon "green" is going to be "mainstream", and advertising that you carry organic products won't differentiate  you from anyone else. There may still be time to position yourselves as the "organic go to place" if your the only ones in the area that have organics. But eventually others will jump in, and your position as the only place with it will change to the "first" place that had it.

If you want to be known in your area of influence as the "go to" place for organics you will need someone on staff that lives and breathes this stuff. They need to understand about microbes, soil, pest control, and everything else concerning organics. When everyone is selling the same products all labeled organic, what will you do? Make your own fertilizer!

Have you ever made or sold "compost tea"? This stuff, if it's made correctly is a living product that needs to be used within a couple of hours of brewing. I am not going to get into the benefits of tea here. There are loads of web pages devoted to it. The main thing is it needs to be made, and used quickly. The places where it is sold brew this stuff on regular days, maybe Mon., Wed., and Friday. People bring, or buy empty gallon or five gallon containers to be filled on these days. At home they put the tea on the soil, and every couple of weeks it's spayed on the leaves for disease prevention. It's really works!

Here is why we are going to be brewing and selling tea this year. People are asking about it so the demand is there. It has to be made on site, so it becomes "Golden Gecko Garden Center Tea". That makes it one of a kind, and unique. The third reason is it involves people returning on specific days to buy more! Demand, exclusivity, and regularity are something we all would all like in our businesses. In addition it makes people feel good as they are re-using the containers to fill with the tea.

We will be setting up our tea system soon and will post pictures. We're excited as we have done research on compost tea and feel it's the way forward for many. Especially for the locally owned independent garden center it's a niche that will be hard for the box stores to compete with(for now). The tea is brewed very carefully with customer and employee knowledge on how to use it being vital. You cannot just bottle this stuff and sit it on the shelf for days on end.

The way forward for the locally owned garden center will involve more "unique" products, and methods. Here is the most important point about organics. It requires knowledge to do it right. For the last fifteen years in the nursery trade we have been told that the customer want's everything simplified for them. Don't confuse the customer, keep it simple, and sell them a bag of something. That is changing, thank goodness. Customers who are interested in this stuff want to know how to do it right, and that requires knowledge. They want to learn! Let's teach them the right way from the get go.