Everything Under The Sun: The Beauty In An Atlanta Farm

Saturday, May 7, 2016

The Beauty In An Atlanta Farm

Neighborhood children helping to build a mound.

Back in 2014, two people, with similar experience sets, got together and developed an urban farm on the west side of Atlanta, the GOOD SHEPHERD AGRO ECOLOGY CENTER. Their land includes a community center, along with the farm, situated next to the Good Shepherd Community Church.

Both Eugene Cooke and Nicole Bluh came from farming backgrounds and had experience with organic farming techniques. Now, when planning urban gardens, there can also be plenty of room for artistic and design sensitivity.

So, when it came to the land being utilized for the farm, this twosome decided to use a farming method, called hugelkultur, based on mounds. The technique takes woody debris, like logs and fallen tree branches, with other organic debris and soil filler, and places the soil on top of them to create a source of growth nutrients right under the plants.

In addition, because the land had been farmed previously and was also prone to flooding, the mound technique helped to raise that land and also was able to recycle three trees on the property that had died. Volunteers helped with the hard labor of building up the mounds, also giving them a stake in the project. According to Mr. Cooke, "When people build mounds together, they want to touch them, eat from them." Added Ms. Bluh, "When people learn about feeding this giant living organism that feeds us, it's really powerful."

There is one other plus to the mound strategy, as well. The mounds are approximately three feet off the ground. Local seniors, who may not be as spry as younger neighbors, don't have to bend over to tend the crops. And children are attracted to the mounds, which become playground challenges, places to climb, when the soil is fallow, blending into the city park across the street.

Also, among the design features is a medicine wheel, which was built in the center of the property. It is surrounded by three spiral-shaped mounds. Both Nicole and Eugene stated, "Just as the garden can be the grounds for all subjects in life, the Sacred Wheel is a representation of all cycles in life. By entering into the wisdom of the cycle, we may align our physical being with the cycles of nature to gain peace and harmony from wherever we are at."

Plants get a head start in the greenhouse.

In addition, both Nicole and Eugene have developed a website that documents some of the growers around Atlanta, KNOW YOUR GROWER ATLANTA. That's quite a lot of work in just a few short years, done with the help of volunteers, and the enthusiasm of being at one with the land.