HOOK

HOOK 53 1980's - Kutzville Pa, Rodale Farms develops "regenerative organic" farming principles, which means or- ganic but especially rebuilding sus- tainable soil etc; scientific testing proving it competetive with huge Agri-business chemicals methods in prior 30 years (from 1947 to 1980) of research and mathematics compar- isons (Rodale's Farming Systems Tri- als (FST)) Continuing 1980s through today UC Davis School of Agriculture and Environmental Science espouses re- generative farming. California farm- ers quickly adopt, also Vermont, Maine, Iowa , and more states slowly have farmers join throughout USA. 2016 Netherlands and Sweden adopt and become leaders in Europe. 2018 Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC). 2000's Community Farming by individuals in some communities beginnng to solve urban food scarcity, climate change, and to sup- port sustainability at the grass roots level depending on local gov- ernment infrastructures. As one farmer, Kenneth Keavy of Green Earth Organic quips, "Why do we have to call our farm stand carrots 'organic carrots', whilst carrots grown with chemicals get to be called 'carrots'." There should be two categories: carrots and chemical carrots. No wonder we are warned to thoroughly wash big-box produce before eating. son Valley, and munching a crisp snow- pea every now and then as a treat; we gathered baskets of green beans, not by a tractor but by hand, trimming the ends at the kitchen table right before cooking the meal. Today, rather than wai3ng for govern- ment which s3ll subsidizes the ways of mega-agriculture, the new trend is for ac- 3ve local community and individual in- volvement toward sustainability as best we can. Instead of the limited choices in super- markets making only certain items avail- able, with the appearance of being less expensive, but with all the transpor3on, not to men3on funding for their methods, which ul3mately ci3zens pay for. But today, hope inspires as small farms and personal gardens are now on a comeback. Take for example, the would-be farmers in the Hudson Valley's urban food deserts. In Yonkers, the YMCA sponsors free raised bed community gardens where families grow their own fresh food. On the west coast, Ron Finley went a giant step fur- ther. He showed apartment residents they could easily be permi4ed to raise fresh vegetables on 3ny city-owned plots abandoned to weeds, or by owners of row-homes in LA's city neighborhoods, re- placing front lawns with a4rac3ve gar- dens of vegetables and bee-invi3ng flowers. Because grass lawns use up much more water than crops, the drought- prone ci3es and suburbs even gave cash grants and rebates for switching from lawns to family grown gardens. You may not want to plant a front yard garden, but you could join the growing trend to replace some turf in your back yard. You could have fresh, tasty, truly farm-to-table food right here in the Hud- son Valley and as early as this summer. Of course, to replace machines and chemicals with individual labor on a small plot of land, the novice farmer needs to learn how to raise truly organic clean food. Florida community farmer Jetson Brown, who trained in California at the UC Center for Agro-ecology and Sustainable Food Systems, manages a one-acre farm that is tended by local volunteers. He ex- plains, "Between work sessions on the farm, free classes are held covering com- pos3ng, natural pest control, plant species suited to our loca3on, even yeasts suitable for making kombucha. And the farmer/trainers themselves are available for one-on-one assistance in where to lo- cate a garden in a volunteer's own yard and how to get started growing those first crops." As volunteer Yesenia Badia notes, "The farm is our place to come out on a Satur- day, catch up with friends while enjoying nature (many of us work during the week inside offices or stores), kids can come and learn where their food comes from or play and cra$ or some3mes even help out their parents in the field." They grow up seeing how food is grown and how to do it when they establish their own lives as adults. So this year 2026, what could be more encouraging on a day you might be snow- bound inside this winter, than to plan and read up on growing your own fresh-from- the-garden vegetables and greens, sus- taining the earth AT THE SAME TIME as enjoying Mother Nature's bounty. The Regenera3ve Garden: 80 Prac3cal Proj- ects for Crea3ng a Self-sustaining Garden Ecosystem by Stephanie Rose, Beverly, Massa- chuse4s : Cool Springs Press, an imprint of the Quarto Group, 2022. yoymca.org/commu- nity-gardens; westgatecra.org/our- impact/westgate-community-farm; ronfinley.com; greenearthorganics.ie Milpa or Three Sisters gardening is a symbiotic relation- ship between corn, bean and squash benefit- ting the growth and devel- opment of each species. Illustration courtesy of alife- offlux.com and a reprint in "Food Forest" HOOK 2022

• Cover