Alternative Community Farmer/WPB.FL

You do not have to SPEAK FRENCH to qualify for FRENCH FARMING.

Simply ,you can start gardening in a SMALL space and still harvest MORE,the intensive way! 

The Name French farming came from WW-II as the FRENCH started growing crops in their backyards to fill in the gap after farmers were enlisted and drafted.There was a shortage in produce and THE FRENCH Re-invented the BACKYARD FARMING by growing intensive in small spaces.They used composted manure and organic ammendments .They used rainbarrels and old farming methods that did not depend on machines.

They used to sell their products at the Village Market .There was NO CHARGE for their stands.The government wanted to help so they came and traded and bartered in the begining when money was rare to find.

They worked during the DEPRESSION times and all had bread at the table and no one was homeless or starved in the streets.They had this COMMUNITY FEELING ,so they helped each others in the backyard gardening PROCESS.

That was a COMMUNITY  way of life that we need to draw lessons from ,in retrospect or contrast to our own way of life that is governed by :STACKING MONEY or  STOCKS  !

What we need in our times a spirit of FRENCH FARMING.I go to the green market or farmers market and find NO LOCAL FARMWERS.I was one who tried by all means to have a stand and was pushed aside and denied a stand because the peopkle who run some of those markets which I tried in my area are MERCHANT MINDED.

They bring in the grocery stores who bring in the conventional produce from Mexico and other states SHIPPED and falsley claimed to be FRESH.

I sent letters to commissioners and asked for help for subsidies and support for small farmers to display their produce for FREE in a VILLAGE like markets.They call them "Thursday Markets" in France and Europe.Farmers are required to pay $ 100-150  per stand per month at the Green Markets.They barely make money selling radishes or parsley for .99 cents ...or plants in small 6" containers for $1.50 cents!

The mainstream media rushes to paint green and Organic most of those produce that are imported and sprayed with all kinds of fertilizers and pesiticides.This is the REALITY which the main stream media never publishes because they are fed by the Agr-Business advertizing money!

Bloggers now are flourishing because they are being published and edited by REAL FARMERS who are denied the VISIBILITY either in the mainstream media or the green market.

The new administration did well by starting an ORGANIC vegetabkle garden at the White House.The new administration deserves our applaud for initiating a baby step towards RECOGNIZING the IMPORTANCE of HOME GROWN FRUITS and VEGETABLES.They need our votes in the coming elections and we need their  ATTENTION NOW to send us STIMULUS MONEY.

They need to send it  NOT to the City and County officials or Commissioners for SOME of them are either in Jail or being  investigated for CORRUPTION.I say SOME and not ALL!SEEING IS BELEIVING:Come and inspect those Community gardens that were ERAZED,NEGLECTED  or DENIED budget money.

Come and inspect those farms that are being swallowed or  washed away by developers.Come and see for yourself how the small family/urban farmers live in dire need for help  !We are the weakest chain- link  in the FOOD CHAIN!A healthy nation needs a local  farmer more than an engineer or astraunout.So , show Carera the money!

They need to send direct STIMULUS HELP  to those small  family/urban farmers that have been DENIED THE RIGHT TO EXIST OR SELL OR PROSPER through a chain saw of laws that are CONTRIBUTING to  NULLIFYING their VERY EXISTENCE.There are new elections coming up in 2010.So let us farmers send our letters of concern about the new laws being drafted to silence and shut down family and small farmers.Let us make the call now while HR 2749 is still being contemplated at the Senate floor.We small farmers need to come in UNISON and why not form a UNION...A small Farmers/Urban farmers union to make our voice heard in a culture of lobbiests and special interest groups.This is Democracy in action when we practice our constitutional rights of speach and what have you.

We need to get inspired by the FRENCH FARMING just like we did when this nation fought for its INDEPENDENCE from OCCUPATION.

Is there a new kind of CONTROL sugar coated by laws that try to steal the LIVELIHOOD of Familyand small farmers?We are being forced to eat food grown on sludge or HUMAN SHIT.We are being forced(read the news of  New York health workers protesting the MANDATORY VACCINE)to get( PIGS!) SWINE FLU  vaccinations!.We are kept in the dark by a mainstream media that keeps feeding us food for thought news about EARTHQUAKES-MURDER-WARS .We are brain washed by Hollywood movies that promote violence-blood letting , FEAR and ANIMATION FICTION .Where is the TRUTH?Where are the FACTS being hidden from us?When will be the right time for us to wake up to the facts that our basic human rights to grow our own food are under seige?

Call it AMERICAN FARMING and start digging your own backyard and get inspired by the French who helped this nation win its INDEPENDENCE .The least we can say: They gave us the Statue of Liberty...the rest is left for us to make right our own STATUTES especially the ones that govern our LIVELIHOOD as FARMERS:WE THE PEOPLE  ARE THE KEEPERS OF THE LAND and GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS OUR FARMER FOUNDING FATHER AND PRESIDENT!So, Help us GOD!

You do not have to SPEAK FRENCH to qualify for FRENCH FARMING.

Simply ,you can start gardening in a SMALL space and still harvest MORE,the intensive way! VOILA!!!

The French started this intensive way of gardening after the first and second world wars to grow herbs,vegetables and flowers in the small spaces adjacent to their houses.A tribute to the lost loved ones in the wars!The intensive methods of farming -which they used out of necessity- were considered unattainable by the scientific mechanized way of mass production that utilizes vast acres of land in the AGRI-BUSINESS.

Simply they used intensive spacing for vegetables and companion herbs and utilized the FOURTH DIMENSION in their DIVERSIFIED plasnting.

Fourth dimension refers to TIME.There are crops that require more time to mature and others lesser time.By planting both one acheives more harvesting using this succession way.For example,large plants like peppers ,eggplants,tomatoes will occupy larger space comparatively and require a LONG time to mature.Planting next to them Fast maturing crops like radishes,lettuce,spinach will do the trick!

Also, they used high yielding crops like mustard ,chard,french sorrel and imployed a prolific method by cutting those greens back to 2 inches or less several times during the growing season.

Here in the South Florida hot zone ,the vegetables that are compatible to grow now, include:

Beans,cabbage,beets,celery,COLLARDS,CORN,EGGPLANTS,CHERRY TOMATOES,PEPPERS,RADISHES,SPINACH/Ca-la-loo),ONIONs,cucumbers.

The Insect repelling herbs are also popular here in the South .They are used as companions to the vegetables to help the fight against the bad bugs!Here are some samples:Marigold,chives,garlic,mint,sage,basil,thyme,oregano(Greek and Cuban),rose mary,aloe vera,parsley and LAVENDER.

If it happens that you visit France, and you are a fan of the herbs ,like I am, take the train to AIX EN PROVENCE the CAPITAL of HERBS  of FRANCE! I did the "TOUR DES HERBS "while I was in AIX EN PROVENCE...ENCROYABLE !MANIFIQUE !

You will be flooded with so many kinds of LAVENDER ...THE FRENCH use it in their EVERYTHING:cosmetics,food ,bedrooms,cupboards , ebven in their intimate clothing(CYLOTE~:)etc....

To finish up,here are some tips to start with: Use vertical farming by utilizing a double dig method if your area if  not prone for flooding .If it is , then use the riased beds method.BON CHANCE et BON APPETITE!!SALUTE!

PS:If the French could do it and start a vegetable garden with HIGH yields in a small space,sure you can too!Forget about what they teach you in the  books.Best lessons are learned in REAL TIME FROM REAL PEOPLE- NOT PAPER PEOPLE!IT does not take a rocket scientist to grow a garden...even though some gardens were tested positive for rocket fuel in their lettuce!!!!

As more and more people lose their homes and jobs in this faltering economy, we notice a new  paradigm growing from this socio-economic -cultural DILEMMA!

Urban farmers are sprouting and transforming our community and backyards as well. Edible gardens  are now everywhere replacing the lawns and neglected lands . But , the never ending challenge remains here  in Florida: What to grow and not to grow in the BLAZING SUMMER of the HURRICANE land.

Most of the new commers to South Florida fall into the JUDGE-MENTAL trap of :"Nothing Grows in the Blazing heat and Humidity  of theS. Florida Summer"....WRONG!

Education pays big difference to clear the ambiguities and provide solutions to the new gardening challenges that are rampant here.

What grows and what does not is the is most frequently  asked question in the summer garden?BUT The most hidden question remains untackled :Which are the most HEAT,HUMIDITY,and DRAUGHT TOLERANT PLANTS?GO NATIVE is the ANSWER!

There are many questions that we need to answer  to adress the challenges in creating an Organic Edible Garden in the HOT ZONE 8-9-10 .It is as easy as 1- 2 -3 only if we treat Gardening as  a PROCESS , we need to take it one day and one   step at a time .WE need to go through the learning curve and we need to LEARN patience ,tolerance and endurance instead of"I WANT IT NOW"!Let us start with the right  PLANTS  to GROW and HARVEST during the summer  here in S. Florida:

I-EDIBLE  ORGANIC PLANTS:

A)Vegetables(that DO GROW in the summer): Pepper,okra,cucumber,Caribean spinach or calaloo,Beans(ex: lima,pinto,string,pole ),eggplant,cherry /wild tomato,corn. Gourds like pumpkins and zuchini . Tubers like sweat ptotato ,yuca ,casava and calabasa).

AA)Veggetables (that DO NOT grow in the summer):

Beats,broccoli,cabbage,cauliflower,celery,kohlrabi,lettuce,onions.garlic,mustard,heirloum tomato,carrot,endive,escargot,California spinach,

B) Herbs(Most warm loving plants do grow!):Basil,bay,chives,coriander,dill,fennel,mint,rosemary,parsely,sage,thyme,ginger,NEEM TREE.CUBAN and GREEK OREGANO and much more. Florida  warm climaste is a welcome environment to most herbs .Use shade to counter excessice hot locations.Use mist to cool the temp down!

C) Fruits(Most sub-Tropical zone  trees do GROW): Coconut,banana,plantain,papaya,pineapple,litchee,mango,fig,grape,pomgrenate,watermelon.

D) Flowers: Marygold,sunflower.

E) Succulents and cacti:Aloe vera,prickly pear.

THE GOOD TO KNOW/GROW  TEN TIPS GARDEN COMMANDMENTS:

1)-Thou Shall Diversify:Diversity makes a big difference even in the garden.Example: grow cucumbers next to sunflower to allow the use of a natural trellis (sunflower) for the vine(cucumber).Xeroscaping -or the right place for the right plant- is as important.For example: Cucumber like hills and raised ground.

2)Thou Shall Use Companion Herbs with veggie plants to prevent and ward off pests.Example: Use Cuban Oregano or basil or..your favorite herb as  companion to tomato or okra or any other vegetable-to discourage bugs from attacking your plants..

3)-Thou Shall Solarize the soil prior to planting to sterilize it and wipe out nematodes.

4)Thou Shall Utilize raised beds in flooding areas ,and trenches in high areas.

5)Thou Shall MULCH.MULCH.MULCH:That will help in reducing the heat effect on the plant ,trap the moisture in the soil for longer periods and contribute in water conservation and reducing the irrigation bill!

5) Thou Shall Create  your own ORGANIC SOIL using COMPOST,Manure,Organic ammendments like lime and other minerals enhancers etc.. .

6)Thou ShallNOT ABUSE THE land by using PESTICIDES .Instead use Alternative green prevention methods to combat pests and harmful bugs like:Neem oil,Castor oil,Tea tree oil,Castile soap,cayenne pepper,etc.

7) Thou Shall Use Organic Soil enrichments as an alternative to Chemical Fertilizers.Example:Bone and Blood meal from non-bovine source.Sea weeds.Epsom salt.

8)Thou Shall Make  use of mulch,shade, and ground covers to combat weeds and  reduce heat effects.

9)Thou Shall Use garden safety gear for personal body protection while in the garden.

10) Thou Shall not abuse your body while in the farm/garden.Instead:HYDRATE , and make use of ERGONOMICS .

Happy Summer Gardening

Tony /Alternative Comminty Farmer  @

www localharvest.org/farms/M20618

Urban Agriculture as defined by Wikipedia is :"The practice of cultivating ,processing and distributing food in or around a village,town or city...It contributes to food security and safety in two ways:

-It increases the amount of food available to people in the cities.

-It allows fresh vegetables to be made more available to urban consumers through the bio-intensive method ..and is seen as susatainable practice."

Urban farming in history was predominant in ancient cultures of :Mesopotemia, the  Incas, Persians  and Egyptians .

Urban Farming is now making it  to the headline news with the decline of the economy .Income loss is forcing many middle class households to revisit their back yards /front yards and transform them -from the lawn  inefficient , unproductive and expensive water bill , not to mention  the draught and dwindling water resources side effects-to flourishing vegetable gardens .

Here in the Sub-Tropical Florida hot zone frontier , those are few of the felt impressions by some URBAN FARMERS :

A) CHALLANGES:

1-Ecconomic incentives: With the budget cuts that are prevailing now, no or less  financial aid/incentives are made available or accesible by local  public authorities or and private  organizations to small urban farmers. Green markets mostly are run to attract tourists like the snow birds during the season and they are shut down during the summer, for example.Green markets offer no affordable or subsidized stands to small urban farmers.Grocery produce stores like extensions stands are mostly invited to sell produce that is mostly conventional that has been shipped from abroad or  travelled the  road of the 1500 miles!

2-Available agriculural land:Developers and Big Agri-Business have the lion share of the land here.  Farms (mostly conventional)have been dwindling in size tremendously and losing the battle to the developers.No programs are available for urban farming such as the ones in neighboring Cuba.There are a population of hispanics and Caribean Islanders who are experienced in urban farming but have no access to agricultural land.Lots stand idle and neglected after the shrinking of real estate market .

3-Lack of Sustainable and Permaculture  Education:Even though the talk of the town is about GREEN ENERGY the reality is still :Agri-business as usual!

B) BENEFITS of  Urban Farming:

I want to relate a real story that happened to me that might draw in some meaningful gardening spiritual lessons .I facilitated a workshop on Container Gardening at a local (UMC) church that offers me a space in their backyard to experiment on my Draught Tolerant Container Gardening pilot project. 

Lately, we have been enduring severe drought conditions in Florida .Our last consecutive good rain is tracked back to Christmas Eve 2008.

That was true until yesterday, Wednesday March 18, 2009, when we had our latest good consecutive rain that made HEADLINES in the local papers.

For example, here was what the Palm Beach Post reported TODAY March 19, 2009 on its first page, "WEATHER CHANGE STALLED FRONT HELPS PROVIDE NEEDED RAIN.” We have not experienced such severe drought since 1930 here in Florida .This is how bad it is, especially for small farmers who do not exist on the list of “Disaster Help” when it comes to receiving financial or marketing support, to mention the least.

As a local ALTERNATIVE COMMUNITY FARMER, I try to raise the awareness about the importance of locally grown Pesticide and Synthetic Chemicals FREE urban sustainable farming, through a series of FREE workshops. My last one was on Saturday March 14 at the local church as mentioned earlier. The thing that motivated me to write this article is what really happened before, during and after the workshop. 

Last week, BEFORE the workshop, I was at the church preparing for the presentation, when I met a “special spiritual” friend, Rev. Jannette ,a  member of the church .I mentioned to her that I want to dedicate this workshop in my prayers for getting rain. She corrected me and suggested that I pray for NEEDED WEATHER CHANGE.

I did just that at the workshop. For a close, I asked the pastor of the church to conclude with a prayer. As we joined hands altogether, Pastor Jim did a brief prayer and ended it with “so be it”. In my heart I was praying for a needed weather change as I was told. It happened on Wednesday March 18, 2009, AFTER the workshop. 

Another significant spontaneous coincidence that happened DURING the workshop:

As I was introducing the tomato crop and mentioning the health benefits of eating locally grown tomatoes, I referred to LICOPENE the amino acid that is found in tomatoes and was clinically tested and proven to fight cancerous cells.

I stopped there to ask a doctor attending the work shop to give us her opinion about how cancer cells are formed and prevented .Dr Nadia Malik, a local Chiropractor, gave us a brief talk on the CANCER CELLS, then I proceeded. Also, I introduced a water management expert and author, Dr. Christopher who did a brief talk on using rain barrels in sustainable gardening. Dr. Christopher, his wife Kimberly and myself are experimenting and building together a drought tolerant fruit and vegetable garden to replace the grass in their front yard. One way to fight global warming, other than by words, is to grow more fruit and vegetable gardens, especially using rain harvesting. Trees and plants have been proven as best friends in replenishing carbon with oxygen besides drawing in rain. The RAIN FOREST is the living example. MEANING: FORESTS and particularly TREES …attract RAIN. On the other side: CONCRETE BUILDINGS and DEVELOPMENTS attract DROUGHT!

It was not until the end of the workshop, when Dr Nadia handed me a copy of the March newsletter that she publishes .I was astounded to read the title: “ARE YOU AT THE RISK OF BREAST CANCER?” Here is a sample from the article, I quote:” Sensitive breast tissue is being exposed to inordinate amounts of toxins in our food, air, lotions, creams, just about anything you can think of, that mimic the bad estrogen in the body. Unfortunately these false estrogens are the kind that promotes cancer development.”

She goes on to elaborate on the prevention way, I quote:”Several studies point to the value of healthy diet rich in fresh vegetables and fruits.” Unquote.

Toxins in our food: To talk about pesticides and chemicals loaded in our food is to talk about a small amount of those toxins that cause and consequently leads into a significant health damaging effect.

The list goes on to the air, lotions and creams, toys and prefabricated walls imported from China and lately toxins were found in pants distributed to firefighters!!

To find more about the least and most produce exposed to the toxins pesticides, visit this web site: ewg.org. Look out for pesticides report .You will receive a copy of the report to your email if you choose to do so. It is FREE of charge. 

Back to the SPIRITUAL frame of mind .I want to mention that my intentions and my spiritual intuitions have a lot to do about why I garden .I believe that gardening is a therapy especially if we approach it from a spiritual mental point of view.

Was it a coincidence that now hospitals in Japan and Finland are incorporating it in their hands on therapy treatments of their patients? 

Mother EARTH needs more earth keepers like farmers and gardener’s .You could be one if you tune with the new spiritual awakening that is at the works now at our present time. We waited FOUR HUNDRED YEARS to have one AFRICAN AMERICAN president. BY the way, the New York Times reported on March 19 that the Obamas are set up to start their White House VEGETABLE GARDEN.

First time since the Victory Garden was planted by the President of F.D ROOSEVELT. More details at the direct web link:

Nytimes.com/2009/03/19/dining/19gardens-web.html

The living earth can not wait for more years of irresponsible damage to the environment. I have learned that GIVING appreciation works better than TAKING advantage in our human relationships .The latter (taking) is one of many faces of the COMPETITION WAY of living. The former (giving) is one merit of many of the COMMUNITY way of living.

I SHARE my good thoughts, intentions and deeds for the benefit of all the living.

I SHARE the harvest of my garden with the needy, equally with the affluent. I give thanks for what I receive in gratitude, that may the giver have more abundance. I pray for the needed weather change and the needed economy change for a better life on earth to all my relations. Aho-meta-kwe-yasen.

Tony

Alternative Community Farmer