Holistic Approach.

Permaculture is an agricultural method that fosters ecosystems to be sustainable and self-sufficient.  This approach guides us to mimic the patterns and relationships we can find in nature. Here are a few examples of methods:

Food Forest

Perennial beds

Hugokultur beds

Sheet composting

Mushroom cultivation

 The focus of permaculture is not on each separate element, but rather on the relationships created among elements, by the way they are placed together; the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. 

What is a pest anyway?

An insect that is in the wrong place and the wrong time?

We do not use any pesticides on the farm. Chemical or Organic 

(Yes, there are organic pesticides)

This means that we do step in fire ants from time to time but we also get to be witness to lady bugs eating aphids, as well as wasps and spiders taking care of hornworms and lacewings. 

We use no till methods and tarps to help keep weed pressure down. 

 We also use mulches, cover crop, and hand weeding. 

 We see all plants as an important part of our healthy soil ecosystem, and always want to have "roots in the ground". 

Plants that are green are better then bare ground, and we often don't weed when it is too wet or too dry. The overall soil health is more important, and roots=life in the soil. 

We do not use any GMO seed or plants. We use many heirloom seeds and love to save seeds and share them. We also purchase Organic seeds 

(all organic seeds are GMO free).

Seeds are not always labeled as GMO, instead they are often labeled as a protected or selected variety by the seed company. Ask your farmer if they ever buy a trademarked or protected plant variety? Please ask your farmer if they ever purchase treated seeds? Also, ask them if they start all their own transplants or if they purchase them from a nursery? When purchasing from a nursery you are not in control of what methods they are using and what seeds they are using. 

We use a combination of compost, cover crop, companion planting, and crop rotation to help feed our soil.  

We allow our soils to rest and plant cover crops year round that will add organic matter and nutrition back to the soil.

Fertilizers may not seem as dangerous as pesticides to our health, but they are detrimental to our waterways, and with such a shallow water shed these Fertilizers are adversely affecting our Indian River each day. Please check out more information at floridatoday.com & planetnatural.com 

When dealing with plant diseases we use compost to make teas to strengthen the plants. We rely on the strength of a healthy plant to recover, while we may have to prune back unhealthy parts and compost them.