Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["E. E. Mitchamore Jr" <emitch@att.net>]

Struggling as I am, I'm very impressed with a "one-man operation" that can grow 170 varieties of 55 species, much less sell them.  No, make that "awe-struck".

 

E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
www.hillcountrynatives.biz

----- Original Message -----

From: Bobby G

To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2007 1:51 PM

Subject: [Livingontheland] okay, now i know it works (mini-biointensive)

we just paid a visit to a guy who lives 30 miles out
of town who we met through the local food forum
meetings that have started happening in our little
(college) town.

we caught up to him out in his sugar bush while he was
getting ready for a day of maple sugaring, and left
this guy's place convinced that you all are on the
right track here with the bio-intensive stuff.

didn't get too far into the exact methods he's using
(whether it's Jeavons raised beds or no-till or
whatever) but the part when he said he had grossed
last year $30,000 off of 1-1/4 acres was then i
realized that this get-small or get-out idea [the
Inverse Earl Butz approach?] really is working.

he invited me out to see what sort of collaboration we
could get into, involving the new land co-op we are
starting (but which has yet to own even 1 square foot
of land!) 

i asked about customers and marketing, and here's an
interesting thing:  his best customers are the
restaurant chefs, who can really appreciate the
flavor, texture and color of his organic foods, of
which he raises 170 different varieties (of 55
species).  his CSA customers are not as good
customers, because they don't take the time to learn
how to prepare these foods, or can and preserve them,
nor do they want to try new, odd and perhaps exotic
varieties of vegetables.

so, okay, this is "real" farming.  here is a truly
one-man operation where the farmer does not work
outside of the farm, because there is no need to.
small really is beautiful.

keep up the good work, y'all,

bobby g


 
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