From little seeds …

This post was written by Betsey Brairton

February 20, 2008

Just got off the phone with the local parks service and tomorrow I go to check out the garden plots available for planting—free of charge—by Chatham County residents. The director of recreation told me these plots just west of the city used to fill up every year but that over time the number of active planters (from the “older generation”) has declined.

He hopes some new ones will crop up.

Perhaps my desire to grow my own food, and to do so organically, is just a romantic pipe dream. But I am sure it’s best to find out ASAP with the assistance of county experts who are willing to teach me. I don’t have my own acreage yet, anyway.

Georgia’s “first organic farmer,” Shirley Daughtry, got started on 20 acres in Effingham County after a career in teaching. Since 1990, Heritage Organic Farm in Guyton has been growing and marketing certified organic produce. They offer a box program, and also service area co-ops and health food stores.

Even the most established grower had to start somewhere. According to an online article at www.georgiaorganics.org, Shirley attended conferences in North Carolina and California to learn about sustainable growing practices. These days one may not have to travel so far. The site hosts an extensive listing of growing events and workshops taking place around the state. From small-scale poultry training to composting and herbs-from-seed, a lot of it may be in Decatur, but Georgia’s got it going on.

I am inspired by Shirley and others who continue to learn and draw from the complexity/simplicity of nature. Even as an amateur gardener I have discovered that if I mix up the right “batter” and “tea” for my plantings, they will thrive—way moreso than if I shower them with fertilizers. This much, at least, I have already figured out on my own.

Maybe I have started somewhere.

Photo credit: pictoscribe via www.flickr.com.

Posted in Community Gardens, Food