While I know not to judge a book by its cover, what about judging a farm by its pollinators?
This year I’ve noticed more bumblebees than in previous years. I’ve never seen so many as those on a beautiful row of Thai basil growing at LOOP Organics. The dense purple flowers were absolutely buzzing with the large happy pollinators.
It was a beautiful sight, as were the tidy rows of other lush produce. This is the first season of LOOP Organics, and farming partners Scott Stuart and Daniel Bonasso have already accomplished more than they anticipated.
Both avid home gardeners, Daniel and Scott decided to start a business of farming with an emphasis on soil health.
Via a grant from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) they put up a 120-foot-by-30-foot high tunnel with both ground and aerial irrigation, tilled the ground and applied compost and mulch.
“We don’t want to come back in and do any soil disturbance,” Daniel said.
Scott added, “we won’t ever go back and till those beds again.”
They’ll keep these permanent beds, and test their soil annually so they can help it be healthy in whatever way it needs.
They struggled finding good, local sources of compost, which inspired them to consider making craft soil blends for sale as well. This led us to digress on the subject of persistent herbicides. Daniel and I share this as a major fear.
He recommends growers test any composted manure they bring in for herbicides by putting several sample scoops into water, and then using that to water some bean sprouts as they are sensitive but easy to grow. If the beans die or do not look healthy, do not use the compost/manure in your garden.
Daniel said they use organic amendments as necessary. “I don’t mean organic like certified, I mean organic like feather meal and fish bone meal,” he added.
They chose soil health as a basis for their farming practices out of rationality. “If you just think about how a plant eats, it’s common sense,” Scott said.
Scott and Daniel had planned to start slowly. At first they thought they would plant greens in the spring, and then a cover crop for the rest of the season.
But the greens grew much better than expected, and now they’ve found themselves on their third and fourth plantings in each bed and attending two markets — the WVU Medicine market and Cheat Lake farmers market.
“We knew we could grow stuff, but I thought there would be more challenges,” Scott said. So far their biggest challenge has been getting all their produce to consumers. In the spring when their spinach and other greens were growing like crazy, they ended up composting some of their harvest.
While that may sound like a shame, those greens that didn’t make it to people’s tables made lovely meals for worms – which results in nutrient rich compost which will go right back in to feeding the soil.
Scott said part of what drew him to the emphasis on soil health is the relationship between the digestive system and soil — a multitude of flora are vital to both systems.
Healthier soil geared to the needs of plants provides grows healthier plants. Healthy soil can lead to fewer pathogens and diseases. It also means healthier food for us to eat, and for pollinators to enjoy.
