The farm is feeling inspired and well-travelled this fine Thursday. Just yesterday, Chris and the interns- myself included- took a van about an hour north to visit the impressive Perkins’ Good Earth Farm. The purpose of the field trip was a bit of an information exchange between Chris and one of the farm owners, Dan Perkins. In exchange for some advice on how to use his newly purchased AZS Rinse Conveyer, Dan and his work crew/family guided us on a tour of his no-till, deep compost vegetable farm and CSA. All the while, answering our questions and lending us some valuable insights on how a small farm might be successful. Success for the Perkins’ is not only measured in economic terms, but also by the impacts of their regenerative practices. For a student immersed in the world of sustainable agriculture such as myself, this farm was a very exciting place to be.
Stepping out of the van, the place felt different right off the bat. The first to catch my attention was the deeply earthy and sweet smell of pine, decomposing mulch, and leaflitter. That delicious smell only got more potent as we entered the first high tunnel where tomatoes were grown on woodchips and leaf litter rather than a plastic weed barrier. Outside the high tunnels, I felt the ground was a bit softer under my feet. Looking down, we saw sand. Unlike the dense, sticky clay soils at the student farm, the Perkins’ manage growing their crops in a completely sandy soil that drains water and nutrients almost immediately. To help make this sustainable, Dan avoids overapplying water and fertilizer by incorporating deep layers of compost into the soil profile of his beds. I wondered how deep the layer was. Sifting my hands through the dark, organic soil, I felt how light and aerated it was. I tried to reach the bottom layer of sand, but failed to find it before my hand was wrist deep in compost.
I was pleased to see swarms of pollinators and other insects, particularly the iridescent, emerald-green June beetles I look forward to seeing each summer. Hedgerows of native wildflowers, shrubs, and small trees were alive with clumsy June beetles, small birds, and an uncountable number of bee, wasp, and fly species.
Lacking a proper manual, the bin washer seemed to be an incredibly exciting puzzle Dan was looking forward to solving. So, as we happily experimented on some carrots with pressure dials and nozzle angles, Mason(mostly) and Chris shared what they know about the bin washer from a season or so of experience. It was fun to watch them dance between question and answer, sidestep to a different component, step back to realize a problem, and twirl around possible solutions. On the other side of the wash pack, the rest of the interns and I chatted with the Perkins family and a few farm workers who had stayed to join the tour. It was wonderful connecting with other farm workers in a slightly different environment. We laughed about the differing quirks that come with growing in two opposite extremes on the spectrum of soil types and shared all the funny farm stories we could think of.
Overall, the whole visit was excellent, and I’ve decided that I need a candle that captures the sweet, organic, woody smells of Perkins’ Good Earth Farm. I have so much more I could write about the place! If you’re as curious as I was, you can read more about what the farm does on their website: Perkins’ Good Earth Farm