Organic Hobby Farming
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Copyright © 2014 by i-5 Publishing, LLCTM
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of i-5 PressTM, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tomolonis, Andy, 1955-
Organic hobby farming : a practical guide to earth-friendly farming in any space / by Andy Tomolonis.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-933958-58-3 (alk. paper)
1. Organic farming. 2. Farms, Small. I. Title.
S605.5.T66 2014
631.5'84--dc23
2013044506
ISBN: 978-1-933958-58-3 Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-62008-125-9 eBook
This book has been published with the intent to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter within. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the author and publisher expressly disclaim any responsibility for any errors, omissions, or adverse effects arising from the use or application of the information contained herein.
Introduction
Sometimes the actions of a child can inspire you to move mountains—or at least to till a patch of soil.
I was picking sugar snap peas one Saturday morning in June when my wife, Valerie, returned from errands with our two young daughters in tow. After unharnessing the girls from their car seats, she pointed down to the garden.
“Look,” she announced, “Daddy’s picking peas.’’
In an instant, Alyssa—still at the tender age of 4—tossed her box of cookies to the ground like last year’s toy on Christmas morning.
“Peas!” she squealed, as she ran full tilt to the garden.
Tiny fingers wrapped around a pod at the bottom of the trellis, and with a quick tug it was hers. In seconds, she was stuffing fresh green vegetables into her mouth and reaching for more.
I grabbed a pea pod for my own taste buds. It was crisp and sweet, with a delicate earthy finish—too perfect to resist another. So Alyssa and I both snacked as we plucked the remaining peas—one for the bowl, one for the mouth…two for the bowl, another for the mouth.
Fat bumblebees bury their faces in squash blossoms.
The choice my daughter made that morning—to toss aside her box of packaged, store-bought cookies for a fistful of organically grown snap peas—stirred my heart. Months earlier she and I had planted the seeds—presoaked overnight and dusted with natural soil organisms. The seeds sprouted like little green corkscrews, then developed leaves and clung with threadlike tendrils to the trellis I had built. We watched as the vines climbed higher and blossomed, finally bearing crisp, green pods. The moment came full circle, as we picked and ate our perfect harvest, fresh from the vine.
There was no price tag. No bar code. No plastic bag or carbon footprint. No fossil-fuel–consuming drive to the grocery store. And most important, there were no worries about environmental damage or toxic chemicals. The peas were flawless and 100 percent guilt-free.
As our daughters grew older, Valerie and I strengthened our commitment to organic growing, knowing we were producing healthy food for our children and teaching them life-long lessons. We witnessed paper wasps descend and fly away with garden pests. We watched ladybugs arrive en masse to devour aphids on a Stanley prune plum tree. We handled snakes and toads and worms and giant praying mantises. The backyard became not just a place to grow vegetables but also a thriving ecosystem buzzing with life. Carolina wrens scolded noisily from an overgrown apple tree. Fat bumblebees buried their faces in yellow squash blossoms. And emerald dragonflies buzzed along the pepper plants like tiny Black Hawk helicopters.
Every plant and animal—from microscopic soil bacteria to bug-eating birds—played a role not only in creating guilt-free peas but also broccoli, pole beans, tomatoes, Swiss chard, jalapeños, Asian greens, fingerling potatoes, and dozens of other vegetables.
When the harvest came, our bounty was often greater than the refrigerator could hold. So we shared our crops with neighbors, coworkers, family, and friends—all of whom were eager to receive fresh organic tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and greens.
But that wasn’t enough. I knew I wanted to be a farmer.
My earliest childhood memories were of visiting my Uncle Joe’s dairy farm in southern New Hampshire, watching the cows cross the street on a warm summer evening. As a teenager staying on my brother-in-law’s family farm in Le Sueur, Minnesota, I marveled at the rows of corn that seemed to reach the horizon in every direction. Later, while working as a produce manager unpacking crates of lettuce, I wondered about the farmers who grew such round and perfect heads.
So when our daughters left home for college, Valerie and I turned our food-growing hobby into a small-scale agricultural business, never leaving our suburban backyard in southern New England. I shaped gardens into efficient raised beds, equipped with hoops for floating row covers that stretched the season and guarded crops from insects. My wife added beehives to the operation. We built a chicken coop and ordered layer hens. I converted lawn to make room for more raised beds, then cleared space to plant berry bushes and fruit trees.
Why Go Organic?
The best reason for growing organic is that it’s simply healthier for everyone involved—you, your family, farm workers, and customers—thanks to a lack of chemicals and an abundance of nutrients.
It’s also economical. While organic production takes more time, effort, and understanding at the onset, sustainable practices can save money in the long run by recycling farm waste and avoiding expensive inputs. And if you’re a USDA certified organic farmer, your crops will command a higher price.
The Organic Center, a Washington-based research and education group, lists twelve reasons to go organic. Among them are the following: