Author and organic farmer Michael Ableman is devoted to improving cultivation methods. On his 12-acre farm in Santa Barbara, California, he conducts a variety of growing experiments on more than 100 types of fruits and vegetables. To maximize space, he intermingles fruits and vegetables and trains many plants to grow vertically. His farm feeds more than 500 families. Michael has also set up a roadside produce shop to sell portions of his harvest; the profits are invested in new experiments. Visiting schoolchildren get a close-up view of the farm, from the methods used to grow crops to the roles of the farm's horses, chickens and goats. Michael believes this kind of education is vital, as everyone, not just farmers, should understand how food is grown. Michael has traveled the world, researching and writing about organic farming techniques. Some of his techniques may seem unusual--for example, leaving wild radish weeds in the ground. The flowers attract beneficial insects, and the thick, tuberous roots actually help cultivate the soil by breaking up hard pan. It is unusual to see row crops growing in an orchard. Usually the row crops are planted when the trees are leafless so the crops can get sufficient sun and heat to become established. Michael discourages home gardeners from growing corn because it requires so much space and fertilizer. You can plant cucumbers at the base of corn plants to make better use of the space, however. The farm sells white nectarines, peaches, strawberries, plums, apricots and peaches at its own fruit stand. The peaches attain mammoth size because the fruit was thinned to just one every 8" to 10" along the branch in early March, just after the trees flowered. This may result in removing more than 90 percent of the original crop, but the resulting fruits make up for the loss. It's difficult to keep his farm going, Michael says, because of constant struggles with the climate, money and imperfect growing techniques. The thing that keeps him going is seeing the wonder in children's eyes when they taste the strawberry or carrot they picked themselves or milk their first goat.
RESOURCES :
On Good Land: The Autobiography of an Urban Farm
Model: 0811819213
Author: Michael Ableman, Cynthia Wisehart & Alice Waters
June 1998
Chronicle Publishing Company
Website: www.chroniclebooks.com
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