Growing Practices
Three Stone Farm on Mar 28th 2010
We often use the term “Honestly Grown” in describing our practices; meaning simply, we are honest with ourselves and others in how our produce is grown and handled. If you have any questions as to how we grow, please ask!
We are committed to growing ecologically and sustainably. Growing practices that focus solely on the highest crop yields do not necessarily lead to optimal crop health, or healthy people. Our farm uses nutrient supplements (both macro and micro) in combination with compost, cover crops, beneficial insect habitat, rotational grazing, appropriate tillage, mechanical weed control and chicken- and duck-powered bug patrol.
Are you Organic?
We are not certified by any organization nor do we plan to. We choose to bypass the USDA’s “Organic” certification process because we feel the label “organic” doesn’t mean what we personally define as organic: small-scale farms, growing food in harmony with nature for their local customers. Instead, “organic” just controls what you can put on your crops, and has become a nightmare of paperwork, fees, and big agribusinesses who grow their organic monocropped broccoli on 1000 acres in California right next to their conventional crops. How sustainable is food grown as monocrops and shipped thousands of miles only to deliver old, tasteless “organic” vegetables to your plate? Not only that, but who are you supporting with your dollar?
Now all that being said, if you are in a situation where you only have the choice between cardboard conventional veggies and cardboard organic veggies, of course we’d choose the organic ones. But we think that we can do better…and that the current “organic” system as a whole leaves much room for improvement.
Flavor is a direct result of vitamins and minerals in the food we eat. Freshness is a major component in preventing loss, but “if it ain’t there, it ain’t there”. If the crops are grown on healthy soil, it shows through in the superior flavor and storage ability of the food.
To this goal we fertilize with ALL of the elements that are deficient in our soil, not just the ones that raise yields. Did you know that farmers are often warned not to apply too much fertilizer, not due to run-off concerns, but because it would be “wasted” in being taken up by the plant without raising yields? We do not subscribe to this absurd idea. We want our plants to take up all the minerals they can! It means healthier plants more resistant to disease, and hence healthier people also more resistant to disease. Our objective is Nutrient Density: food that nourishes you to your bones (literally).
Our growing methods are driven by one goal: healthy people. And healthy people need nutritious food. And nutritious food only comes from vibrant, fully mineralized soil. These three things are the heart of our farm. While our farm is still young and its soil is still far from our ideals, we are wholly focused on its improvement. We invite you to join us on our journey towards health, healing and sustainability. Soil >> Food >> Health.
