We are a sustainable farm and orchard located in the southwest United States in the Rocky Mountains of Northern New Mexico.
Sustainable farming is a lifestyle choice providing a sense of well being with a connection to the land. The sustainable farm movement has grown in popularity as people become aware of the food quality grown by small farmers. Produce is easier to get at growers markets and people are starting to buy local.
People are starting to wake up and raise their own produce just like their grandparents did fifty years ago. You are starting to see a resurgence in the backyard garden with a natural progression to sell or give the excess to the neighbors.
By sustainable farming we minimize the use of synthetic chemicals, herbicides, and pesticides. We try and grow a product with minimal impact on the environment at the same time trying to turn a profit. At La Tierra Farm we advocate Environmentally Sound Farming Practices. People should be involved with the food they eat and how it is grown.
Sustainable gardening is the exact same as regular gardening except that no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides are used. Sustainable also means using heirloom seeds and restricting the use of Genitally Modified or Genitally Engineered plants (GM or GE). This can make certain aspects difficult, such as controlling disease, insects, and weeds. Sustainable gardening also requires more attention to the soil and the many needs of plants.
Sustainable gardening starts with the soil. Gardeners must add organic matter to the soil regularly in order to keep the soil productive. In fact, compost is essential to the healthiness and well being of plants. Compost can be made from leaves, flower material, vegetable scraps, fruit rinds, grass clippings, manure, and many other things. The ideal soil has a dark color, sweet smell, and is full of earthworms. Some soil may need more natural additives than regular compost can give, such as bone meal, rock phosphates, or green sand. A simple soil test will tell you the pH balance and which nutrients you will need to use.
One thing that makes even gardeners that are very serious about gardening reach for pesticides is insects on their plants. The best way to defend plants against insects is to take preventative measures. One thing that can be done is to make sure plants are healthy and not too wet or dry because insects usually attack unhealthy plants and if healthy, they can often resist insect damage. A diversity of plant types is also a good idea to keep pests of a particular type from taking out the entire garden.
Perhaps the best way to defend against insects is to make your garden is enticing to insect predators, such as ladybugs, birds, frogs, and lizards. You can do this by keeping a water source nearby or by growing plants that attract insects who feed on nectar. Other ideas are sticky traps, barriers, and plant collars. There are some household items that hinder insects too, like insecticidal soaps, garlic, and hot pepper.
To avoid plant disease in your sustainable gardening, choose disease resistant plants and plant them in their prime conditions and at the correct time. Many diseases will spread because of high moisture, bad air circulation, or because of weak plants so the site of your garden and the way it is watered can help ensure against diseases.
Weeds can be an annoying and frustrating part of sustainable gardening. Organic mulch can act as a weed barrier, but for even better protection put a layer of newspaper, construction paper, or cardboard under the mulch. Choose your materials carefully, ink is now made from soy. This sounds great, soy replacing oil, until you realize that 90% of soy is GM. Organic corn meal gluten will slow the growth of weeds if spread early in the season before planting. There's also the old-fashioned art of hoeing and hand pulling that always works. Your best bet in weed prevention is persistence. Mulch well and pull and hoe what you can; after a few seasons you can beat the weeds for good.
Sustainable gardening is an excellent way to assure that your plants will be free and clear of all pesticides and other toxic materials, if taken care of properly, will be healthy and nutritional. Sustainable gardening may take a little more time and care than regular gardening, but after gardeners get the hang of it and figure out all the quirks of their garden, it is definitely worth the extra time.