Connections in Ag: An Interview with Miriam Pérez of Café Orgánico Marcala (COMSA)

By Monica Ponce 

Monica Ponce is a Worker-Owner at Love is Love Cooperative Farm and has been on the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics since 2020. 

Miriam Beté Perez and Finca Clave de Sol. Photo courtesy of COMSA. 

Monica Ponce. Photo courtesy of Love Cooperative Farm.

For years now, I have been getting my hands dirty on the farm. It’s been a long exploration of different landscapes, soils, plants, and practices. Along the way, I have had the chance to connect with farmers near and far, and I continue to be wowed by the stories I hear and the things I learn from fellow farmers.  

I was recently invited by Café Campesino, a Georgia-based organic coffee roaster and wholesaler, to interview Miriam Pérez a member of Café Orgánico Marcala S.A. (COMSA). COMSA is a group that has been a partner of Café Campesino through their importing co-op, Cooperative Coffees, since 2014. As a member of Love is Love Cooperative Farm, a worker-owned cooperative on 70 acres in Mansfield, Georgia, I was thrilled to have the chance to connect with another cooperative grower to learn more about her work! It’s awe-inspiring to see the care put into the plants and the alignment of her growing practices with the lunar calendar and larger ecology of the farm. 

If you want to support COMSA, pick up a couple of bags of Café Campesino Coffee. When you purchase Café Campesino’s Georgia Organics Special Blend Coffee, a portion of sales will be donated to Georgia Organics, so it’s a great way to support regenerative and organic farmers in Georgia, too! 

I hope our conversation inspires you to savor your sip. 

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Monica Ponce: What certifications or third-party labeling do you have that has helped increase your markets? 

Miriam Beté Perez: Organic and Fair Trade certifications.  

Monica: What is it like to cultivate coffee? 

Miriam: Cultivating coffee is a passion for me! 

I started at the age of 6 on my grandfather's farms. For me and my cousins, going to the coffee farms meant hiking along trails, running, playing, and having a free life. We would arrive at the farm to harvest coffee beans and be in contact with Mother Earth. 

The cultivation involves several processes which we call cultivation tasks. We start by harvesting and selecting the seeds of the plants that have had the best development in the farm, after being cultivated for more than 3 years. Next, we create a coffee nursery, where the babies grow for 2 to 3 months. Then we continue with the selection and transplant the strongest and best-developed plants to the soil prepared with organic ingredients. These plants grow there in the nursery and/or shed for 3 to 4 months. Then they are transferred to the definitive field and the small trees are planted in a previously elaborated and prepared hole, where organic fertilizer was also added the previous year. 

Image: Miriam Perez. Photo courtesy of COMSA. 

Monica: How long does it take for the crop to be ready for harvesting? 

Miriam: The coffee crop is ready for harvesting in the third year. 

Monica: In what season of the year is the coffee harvest? 

Miriam: The harvest season in the Marcala region begins in November and ends in April. 

Monica: What is the harvesting process like? 

Miriam: When the collection begins, two containers are used, they can be bags or baskets. These are attached to the body of the person who is going to carry out the coffee cherry collection task. These containers are used to deposit the green, dry, and over-fermented beans on one side and the red cherries in the other container. 

At 3 pm, the coffee is received by the harvesters, weighing the coffee cherries and keeping a record of the daily deliveries for each person who harvests them. 

The red coffee cherries are placed in a sieve to continue with the selection of green, dry, and fermented beans that are mixed at the time of harvest. Then the depulping process is carried out to obtain a honey-processed coffee and/or it is taken to the sun-drying patio to obtain a natural, dry cherry coffee. 

Monica: What types of soils do you have and what are some of your practices to enrich/maintain the quality? 

Miriam: A large part of our soils is sandy loam soils. The good agricultural practices we use to nourish the plants and soil include: 

• Preparation and application of organic fertilizers based on organic matter, mountain microorganisms, minerals, and living molecules. 

• Application of bio-preparations. 

• Sowing of Healing crystals. 

• Pranic Healing meditations over the plants. 

• Sowing of trees. 

• Planting of coffee varieties resistant to pests and diseases. 

Cultivation tasks using the lunar calendar (Cleaning, pruning, de-leafing, sowing and re-sowing of coffee plants, application of solid and liquid organic fertilizers) 

Coffee cherries and green, dry, and over-fermented beans still on the branch before harvest. 

Monica: What are the ideal conditions for cultivating coffee? 

Miriam: Under a microclimate where there are trees, bushes, fruit trees, birds, animals, and diversity of living beings in balance. 

Monica: Has the weather become more unpredictable for you and how have you adapted/managed? 

Monitoring the temperature, relative humidity according to each season of the year, the movements of the moon and the stars in the cosmos are indicators that allow us to manage the diversity and times in the coffee farm.  

Monica: How many people work on the farm and do the farmers live on or near the farm? 

Miriam: Temporarily, 6 people work on the farm, and up to 20 people work temporarily, especially during coffee harvesting and processing. Two families live on the farm, and the other families are neighbors, while others live away. 

Monica: How did you find this cooperative as farmers? 

Miriam: We didn't find it, we started it, thanks to the importance of benefits received from being in a farmer organization. 

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To learn more about COMSA and Finca la Fortaleza (Marcala) visit coopcoffees.coop/comsa or follow the co-op on Facebook (COMSA - Marcala) and Instagram (@comsamarcalaoficial). 

To learn more about Café Campesino visit cafecampesino.com or follow the Georgia roastery on Facebook (Cafe Campesino Roastery) and Instagram (@cafecampesino). 

To learn more about Love is Love Cooperative Farm visit loveislovefarm.com or follow the co-op on Facebook (Love is Love Farm) and Instagram (@loveislovefarm). 

To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics). 

Farmer Field Day Review: Crop Rotation at Oxford Organic Farm

By Lauren Cox and Porter Mitchell (former Farmer Services Coordinator) 

Lauren Cox is the Director of Farmer Services and Porter Mitchell was previously one of two Farmer Services Coordinators.

In December 2021, Georgia Organics partnered with Oxford Organic Farm located at the Oxford at Emory campus in Covington Georgia to host an on-farm Field Day and crop rotation work session. Roughly 20 farmers from across the state—from Atlanta to Athens to Albany to Blackshear—gathered on the farm on a frosty morning.  

The day began with a tour of the farm led by farm manager Daniel Parson and his farm crew. Attendees walked the farm to see Oxford’s rotation in action and discuss the specific benefits of cover cropping. Parson also showcased the farm’s riparian buffers and shared his experience with using flowering cover crops to attract beneficial insects.  

In the second half of the day, attendees headed to a classroom with a presentation by Parson followed by a hands-on work session where farmers could work on their own rotations with help from Oxford Organic Farm and Georgia Organic Staff.  

Here are some key takeaways and a step-by-step process for beginning to create your own crop rotation! 

Courtesy of Oxford Organic Farm

Why have a rotation?  

A rotation is a key component of a sustainable farm. It is important to rotate between crop families, incorporate cover crops, and rotate heavy feeding crops (crops that have high nutritional needs or are in the ground for more than 60 days) with light feeding crops and short crops.  

Example of pest control hierarchy pyramid, courtesy of Penn State Extension.  

A crop rotation is a part of what sustainable, regenerative, and organic farmers call a “cultural practice.” This means that it is a foundational tool for a healthy farm and does not rely on chemical/biological inputs for fertility and pest/disease control. Cultural practices form the bottom of the pest control hierarchy pyramid, meaning it is the one you should use most often and as your first line of defense.  

A crop rotation can help prevent pest issues, replenish nutrients in the soil, create a healthy soil ecosystem, and can help defend against soil-borne diseases.  

Interested in organic certification?  

Having a crop rotation and using cultural practices as a first defense is a requirement for farms to earn and keep organic certification!  

Courtesy of Oxford Organic Farm

Building a Crop Rotation 101 

Step 1 (in the field): Divide your fields  

“You need to go out and measure your fields. I guarantee if you guess you’ll be wrong every time,” says Mary. Use a walking measurer to measure the length and width of your fields. 

Step 2 (in the field): Standardize, standardize, standardize!  

Try to make all of your bed sizes, rows, row spacing, and field sizes as identical as possible. If your fields are different sizes, divide them into similar units. For example, if you have three 50 foo50-foots and then two 100 fo100-foots, divide your hundred food fields in half to make 50 foot sections.  

Step 3 (on paper): Decide on your crops 

Write out a list of all of the crops you want to grow and the season when you will plant them. Even if you have sequential plantings, identify the season in which they’ll go into the ground first.  

Step 4 (on paper): Calculate how much space each planting with take up 

Think about the yield you would like from each crop. Then, calculate how many row feet you’ll need of that crop to grow your desired yield.  

Step 5 (on paper): Start to plug and play on a spreadsheet that represents your fields! 

Download this rotation template, based on the Oxford Organic Farm model or create your own in Excel. Begin placing crops in your fields based on when they will be planted in the ground. Divide your cash crops across all your fields and mix up the planting pattern (ex. Field 1 has a summer cash crop; Field 2 has a spring and fall cash crop. Do this until you have 75% of your cash crops in the rotation then move on to fill in your cover crops. Also, do not place crops from the same family or heavy feeders in fields near each other. 

Step 6: Plug in your cover crops 

Identify the date(s) you would like to harvest your cash crop (based on when you plant them in Step 5. Then, slot in an appropriate cover crop based on when you’d like the next cash crop to be planted in the field. *Your goal is to have the cover crop reach its full potential, sometimes this is right before flowering, sometimes this is based on height. IDEALLY, you would have 1-2 cover crops in each field per year. This may look like:  

Step 7: Return to filling in cash crops, taking the rest of your list and filling plantings in behind your cover crops.  

Guess what? Now, not only do you have your rotation, but you have your planting schedule too! 

Crop Rotation Tips and Things to Remember:  

• Update your rotation as needed. No one needs to tell a farmer that it’s an unpredictable endeavor. Life and Mother Nature throw all kinds of things your way! Update your rotation to account for changes like crop failures, adding new land, changing which cash crop to plant, etc.

• If you have short-term crops that don’t need entire beds, you can group them by how many weeks they’ll be in the ground and can pair them together within one bed, flip-flopping them as you clear the bed and then replanting. 

COVER CROPPING

Cover Cropping on Raised Beds by Kayla Williams

A crop rotation allows you to plan for cover cropping rather than treating it as an afterthought. There are cover crops for every season and for the different lengths of time you want them to be in the ground. With all cover crops, putting the maximum amount of nitrogen and bio-mass they offer back into your soils is key so use them wisely and based on how long they need to be in the ground before you plant your next cash crop. *This is true even if you crimp them and use them for mulch. 

• If you want to plant an early spring cash crop, then consider a prior winter planting of: winter oats, Austrian winter peas, or crimson clover. 

• If you want to plant an early summer cash crop, then consider a prior winter planting of: hairy vetch, winter rye *Abruzzi, and clover. 

• If you want to cover crop in the summer in a 1-1 ½ month window between spring and summer crops (for most Georgians this is in May), then consider using: buckwheat or millet. 

•  You can also do the same for the window between summer and fall.  

• If you want to cover crop in the summer for 2-3 months between an early spring planting and a fall crop consider using: sorghum sudan, cowpeas, or Sunn hemp. 

• A good rule of thumb for winter cover crops is to plant both a legume to increase nitrogen in the soil and a grass for increasing bio-mass and organic matter. 

You can always check your local ‘feed and seed’ for cover crops. Just make sure they’re untreated and not GMO. Otherwise, you can also find cover crops that ship from: Welter Seed Company, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Seven Springs,

Want to learn more about cover crops? Check out the excellent resources at SARE: sare.org/resources/managing-cover-crops-profitably-3rd-edition/ 

And check out this episode of the “Tractor Time” podcast on cover crops, soil health, and no-till farming Tractor Time #65 Rick Clark on Soil Health.

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

Farmer Field Day Re-cap of Tractors: Soil Health and Safety with the Little Fox Tractor School

By Kayla Williams

Kayla Williams is a Georgia Organics Farmer Services Coordinator.

Attendees getting ready for a lesson in tractors!

On Sunday Nov. 14, Georgia Organics Farmer Services brought together Little Fox Tractor School and Sedrick Rowe of Rowe Organic Farm for an afternoon of Tractor Safety and utilizing tractors to optimize soil health. 

Sedrick started of the afternoon with an overview of various tractor attachments and their functions in regards to creating optimal soil health conditions.  

Daniel Guzman sharing tractor safety knowledge with the attendees 

Next, beginning and advanced farmers alike gained invaluable experience from Lindy Kloepfer and Daniel Guzman’s innovative and in-depth curriculum on tractor safety. Lindy owns Little Fox Farm, currently located in Douglasville, GA and Daniel has worked for several years nearby at Rodgers Greens and Roots farm. Their combined knowledge made for a teaching style filled with specificity and real world examples.  

Daniel Guzman, Lindy Kloepfer of Little Fox Tractor School and Sedrick Rowe of Rowe Organic Farm.

The Little Fox Tractor school is still holding classes, follow along for more information on their Instagram. You can follow along Sedrick’s journey on Instagram and on their website.  

Organic Certification: The Trace Back Audit

By Porter Mitchell  

Porter Mitchell is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics.

For many fruit, vegetable, and row crop farmers, the records check is the most daunting part of an organic certification inspection. During an inspection, your inspector will review your records. They will perform what is called a “trace back audit,” which some certifiers call a “mass audit.” If they are not able to complete the audit, you may not be able to be certified. But never fear! The trace back audit is not as overwhelming as it seems, and if you keep decent records you’ll be able to pass with flying colors! 

What is a trace back audit?  

A trace back audit is a required component of the organic inspection process. The audit is designed to help prevent fraud and keep the integrity of the National Organic Program. During a trace back audit, your inspector will trace a product from when it left the farm all the way back to when you planted seeds or purchased transplants.  

Your inspector will look at your sales records and pick a crop. Let’s say they pick 20 lbs of arugula you sold during a farmers market. You and the inspector will trace the crop all the way back to seed purchasing and will check your records for each step. Here’s an example of how the process could go: 

Do I need to keep digital or paper records?                                              

Although digital records might be more searchable, paper records are perfectly acceptable and many certified organic farmers use them. Records don’t always have to be written either—photos taken with your phone in the field can be great records, especially since your phone will automatically record the date. 

How long do I have to find a record during the audit?  

Ideally, you would have your records prepared and ready to look through before your inspector arrives—however, you know things aren’t always ideal and your inspector knows too! The National Organic Program rules say you must be able to find your records in a “reasonable” amount of time. What’s considered “reasonable” varies, but a good rule of thumb is about 30 minutes. 

What if the organic inspector can’t complete the trace-back audit?  

Never fear! Your inspector will just move on and try to conduct a trace-back audit on a different product or from another time period. Although the number of attempts varies from certifier to certifier, many inspectors will typically try to conduct three different audits and will record the most complete one. 

If the inspector can’t complete an audit on any product, a few things may happen. Keep in mind, each farm, situation, certifier, and inspector are different, so don’t take the following information as a guarantee. Like most things in farming, the answer is “it depends!” 

If your inspector can’t complete a trace-back audit, they may: 

• Ask you to send the missing record as a follow-up if you need more time to find the record.  

• Put a note on your file that you were not compliant to the National Organic Program standard of record keeping and check that you improve your records for next year’s inspection 

IMPORTANT!  

Keep in mind that your inspector CANNOT approve or deny your request for certification. They simply report what they see during the inspection to the certifier. If the certifier decides your records are not adequate to prove that you are following the National Organic Program rules (called “in compliance”) they may deny your request for certification.  

How long do I have to find a record during the audit?  

Ideally, you would have your records prepared and ready to look through before your inspector arrives—however, you know things aren’t always ideal and your inspector knows this! The National Organic Program rules say you must be able to find your records in a “reasonable” amount of time. What’s considered “reasonable” varies, but a good rule of thumb is 30 minutes.

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org, and follow them on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

Leah Penniman and Matthew Raiford Discuss Opportunities for Equity, Justice and Food Sovereignty in the Farm to School and Early Care and Education Movement

By Yaza Sarieh

Yaza Sarieh is a contractor for Farm to School at Georgia Organics and a Childhood Health and Wellness intern at the Georgia Department of Public Health.

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To learn more from Leah Penniman and Chefarmer Matthew Raiford’s perspective, join educators, school nutrition staff, early care providers, and agriculture professionals for the 8th Georgia Farm to School and Early Care and Education Summit to be held virtually April 27- May 1.

Visit farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org/summit to view the agenda and register!

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“Agroecosystems have a lot to teach us about equity. Generally, non-human beings are pretty good at collaboration, cooperation, and fairness. For example, a tree in the forest (or an orchard) will take its excess sugars and share them with other trees, kin, and non-kin, via a network of fungal mycelium. Humans have a harder time seeing resources as the commons that they are. Through a practice of cultural biomimicry, we can approach the just society we claim to desire.” - Leah Penniman 

In communities throughout Georgia and the United States, racial inequities create food insecurity, and food insecurity creates racial inequities. During this year’s Georgia Farm to School and Early Education Virtual Summit, Leah Penniman and Matthew Raiford will teach us how Farm to School and Early Care and Education strategies can work to develop an equitable, just, and culturally responsive food system for all.

Courtesy of Leah Penniman

Leah Penniman has been a leader in the food justice movement for many years. Growing up in Albany, New York, Leah lived under food apartheid, the systematic destruction of food sovereignty and self-determination in minority communities. In a food apartheid environment, large corporate organizations exploit food-insecure conditions and racial disparities to make inexpensive, unhealthy food the easier, more accessible, and affordable option. As a result, these communities are vulnerable to chronic diseases that develop over time, such as diabetes, heart disease, or obesity.

Inspired by her food apartheid experiences, Leah established Soul Fire Farm as a “farm for the people.” Located in Petersburg, New York, Soul Fire Farm is committed to educating diverse communities about sustainable agriculture, connecting People of Color with local foods, restoring the natural environment, enhancing positive health outcomes, and pursuing complete self-determination with regards to food choice and accessibility.

Courtesy of Soul Fire Farm

To root food sovereignty and grow a more equitable and just food system for generations to come, Soul Fire Farm emphasizes engagement with young folk living in food apartheids. “Liberation of the Land,” a one-week program for youth, brings together around 500 young people each year from across the region to learn about farming, food preparation, arts, and activism. Leah reflects, “Connection to land is fortifying physical, emotional, and spiritual levels for young people. There are few things more empowering than learning to grow your own food, prepare it for your friends and family, and take care of an ecosystem.” Working with the youth has allowed Leah to experience firsthand the chance for the Farm to School movement to build a just, dignified and inclusive food system. 

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Courtesy of Matthew Raiford

Another Farm to School Champion who believes Farm to School and ECE is a key opportunity to enhance equity in food accessibility is Chefarmer Matthew Raiford. Gilliard Farms has been in Chefarmer Matthew’s family since 1870, when his great great great grandfather Jupiter Gilliard obtained the land in the post-Civil War era. Stewards of this land for over six generations, the descendants of Jupiter Gilliard have worked to build a sustainable, organic farm based on Gullah Geechee cultural practices. Matthew believes Gullah Geechee traditions of farming are applicable to Farm to School and ECE, mentioning, “The practices that we use are based on working with nature not against it, creating compost for better nutrient-dense foods and ensuring the food is relevant to the people eating it.”

During his Summit Session, Chefarmer Matthew Raiford will be discussing how ‘school is a farm,’ using references to the Union Schoolhouse that is on his property. This schoolhouse was the only educational space for African Americans in the community for a 20-mile radius for nearly five decades. The location was chosen specifically to connect students with the farmland so that no matter how far away they lived, they always had accessibility to a meal before and after their school day. In addition, the student’s educational experience was also centered around the farm, using the environment to learn concrete skillsets, knowledge, and lifestyles.

Chefarmer Matthew hopes to use this narrative to inspire the Farm to School and ECE movement to enhance food sovereignty and equitable access to healthy, fresh foods.

Matthew states, “I see where more school systems are working on providing culturally relevant food selections; I believe that is a step in the right direction because it causes us all to take a pause, I think about what’s on the plate from seed saving to cooking to eating.”

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To learn more from Leah Penniman and Chefarmer Matthew Raiford’s perspective, join educators, school nutrition staff, early care providers, and agriculture professionals for the 8th Georgia Farm to School and Early Care and Education Summit to be held virtually April 27- May 1.

Visit farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org/summit to view the agenda and register!

Good Food for Thought: Spring Forward - Planning & Prepping Your Summer Garden with Joe Reynolds & Special Guests

By Caroline Croland

Caroline Croland is the Fundraising Coordinator at Georgia Organics. To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit www.georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Instagram @GeorgiaOrganics, Twitter @GeorgiaOrganics, and at www.Facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. 

Spring is upon us, and Georgia Organics was lucky enough to ring in the season with a gardening workshop! On March 14, farmer and former Georgia Organics Board Chair Joe Reynolds and co-manager Demetrius Milling of Love is Love Farm at Gaia Gardens shared their green thumb expertise in a live virtual demonstration, demonstrating how to plan and prepare a successful spring garden. Additionally, Laura Diaz-Villaquiran, FoodCorps Service Member, shared some tips and tricks on how to get your little ones in on the gardening fun by demonstrating how to create seed tapes and transplant lavender. This event was free for Georgia Organics members; if you want access to free and discounted events, sign up as a member today!

"We are at a critical time for getting ready for gardening- the days are longer, the sun is shining brighter, the soil is beginning to warm, and our very important planning time is beginning to ebb away," said Joe.  

With that in mind, let's dig in! Here's a rundown of a few of the planning tips covered in the webinar.  

Photo of Love is Love at Gaia Gardens, courtesy of Jenna Shea Photography.

Having a Game Plan

Step one for starting a garden is creating a game plan. This plan's level of detail will vary from garden to garden, but it all boils down to tracking your planting activities. What are you planting? Where are you planting? When are you doing your planting and harvesting?  

The sophistication of your plan is up to you! You can create notes in your phone, keep a journal, a spreadsheet, or sketch it out on a legal pad- the point is to start your gardening journey off with the habit of creating a record of what you did, and ultimately, what did and did not work for you. This will ensure that you can create a more informed gardening plan in the years to come.

Where to Plant?

To ensure healthy plants, be sure to choose a space that gets 8-10 hours of sunlight. If you find yourself tethered to an area that gets less than that, you may need to make some adjustments regarding how many plants or which plants you choose to grow. Herbs, for example, are much more tolerant of low light

Another consideration is your orientation. A southern orientation is going to give you more sunlight.

Water is another essential factor. Are you putting your garden way out in your yard in a place where it will be inconvenient to water?

Once you find that perfect spot and build or mark your perimeter, take your tape measurer and divide that space into a grid divided by the square foot. This grid will help you determine the number of plants you can fit into your space. Once you map out your space, you'll be ready to start thinking about what kind of garden you will plant.

Raised Beds vs. in Ground Planting: What kind of Garden to Construct? 

Demetrius Milling demonstrating how to grid off your raised bed. Photo from Spring Forward.

One popular gardening option is to construct a raised bed. To do this, you need to place a tarp over the native soil of your yard. Next, you will create a buffer. In the webinar example, Joe and Demetruis used concrete blocks to construct their bed, but you can use a wooded boundary box, logs, or even stones. Finally, you fill your raised bed with compost.

In addition to compost, you can add peat, which assists with water retention. You could also add perlite or vermiculite to add air content into the soil.

Raised beds can be a great option because they are relatively easy to construct, and there is no need to loosen up the soil. However, there can be added cost to sourcing the materials you need to build these beds. 

In contrast, you could plant in the ground, directly into the native soil. The first step here is to mound the soil up so that you have a clear spatial distinction on where the plants go and where you can walk.

If you are in Mid-Georgia we have a lot of clay, and if you're in the south, you're going to be working with a lot of sand. This soil will have to be broken up, which you can do with a pitchfork or broad fork. 

The next step will be getting a soil test, which your local extension agent can provide. You would want to check your PH, your phosphorus levels, and your potassium levels. These tests will also give you information about your soil nutrients.

PH is the most important. Vegetables thrive in slightly acidic soil, between the 6 to 6.5 ranges on that 14 point scale. Adding live compost can also be an excellent option when planting directly into the soil, as this adds biological organisms, nutrients and increases water holding capacity.

To further increase the fertility of your soil, you can add organic fertilizer. These options include:

• Plant & animal meals to add nitrogen

• Alfalfa meal to add nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium

• Lime- will change your soil PH

• Kelp meal- adds nutrients and it will give a full range of all trace elements to their plants

If you are gardening in a residential area, be sure to get your soil tested for toxic elements such as lead.

Getting in the Weeds

Everyone needs a plan for weed remediation! Weeds not only compete for nutrients with your plants, but they also provide shelter for pests and even carry diseases.

The plan could include pulling the weeds manually with your gloved hand or hand-tools. You can set a time to weed, either once a week or each time you harvest.

Mulch can be a great option for controlling your weeds while helping your soil moisture while also helping keep dirt off your picky plants (looking your way, tomatoes.) You can use plastic or paper mulch, which is available at your local hardware store. Alternatively, you could use good old fashion wood chips or pine straw.

What to plant?

Love is Love starter plants. Photo by Caroline Croland.

The question boils down to a simple determination- what would you like to eat or provide for your neighbors and community? What are your intentions and objectives for your garden? Do you want to grow herbs or edible flowers that you can pick nightly to accentuate your meals? Are you going to be drying and preserving herbs or vegetables? Some crops can grow prolifically in a small space, so having an idea of your objectives will help inform your plan of how much to grow. 

Again, utilize your notes here to track your progress so you can adjust your planting plans each year.

Please note that spring in the Atlanta area tends to be relatively short, so some things you plant in spring won't last as long as your summer crops. However, all of these crops do have to be planted at the same time. Make a note when planning your garden that you will be turning the space where you grow spring items over more quickly than your summer crops.

Are you stumped on where to start? Here are some suggestions from Joe:

• Cherry tomatoes

• Arugula

• Radishes

• Turnips

• Bush beans

• Peppers

• Edible herbs and flowers

These can be planted directly from seed or by purchasing starter plants from your local farmer. Click here to access Love is Love's plant sale or search the Plant Sale tag on our Good Food Guide to purchase from a farmer near you!

In addition to Joe and Demetrius teaching us to plan our garden, Laura provided a demonstration on how to involve your kids in gardening. Check out this resource from Foodcorps on creating Seed Tape to replicate that activity at home.

Planning a garden can be daunting, but by taking some thoughtful planning steps, you will be well on your way to growing your food.

Happy planting, ya'll!

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Visit gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events to view upcoming GFFT events and register. 

Stay connected to Georgia Organics! If you are not yet a member, you can join at membership.georgiaorganics.org/!

Buy your starter plants from local farms by searching the “Plant Sale” tags in our Good Food Guide

Learn more about Love is Love Farm: loveislovefarm.com and check out their plant sale!

Check out Love is Love’s General Growing Guide for additional tips!

Good Food for Thought: Dish Dive into Wholesale and High-End Wholesale

By Kayla Williams 

Are you a farmer that sells to farmers’ markets or have a CSA but are ready to get into the wholesale market, either to restaurants or institutions? Luckily, we have some tips for you! On Thursday, February 26th, Lauren Cox, Organic Procurement Coordinator at Georgia Organics along with Zac Harrison, owner of Fresh Harvest, and Neil Ringer, Director of Operations of The Common Market Southeast shared knowledge on what the processes look like to enter the wholesale market in Georgia in a variety of ways. Previously, Lauren managed Woodland Gardens, an organic mixed vegetable farm in the Athens-area that sells to many restaurants in Atlanta and Athens. At Georgia Organics, Lauren works  closely with farmers to help them sell to  larger institutions and restaurants, from helping them crop plan to organizing QuickBook trainings, improving their marketing skills and more. Lauren shared her knowledge about some pros and cons of selling to restaurants and larger wholesale markets in general, as well as best practices – we’ll share some here.

Whichever way you decide to “slice your pie”, your farm will become more resilient if you have multiple revenue streams. Maybe you attend one farmers’ market on the weekend, have CSA (community supported agriculture) pick up on Tuesdays, and deliver to restaurants in your closest larger city on Wednesdays. Or maybe, you sell to one large wholesale customer on Thursdays, delivery to restaurants on Fridays and do a CSA pick up on Saturdays, skipping farmers’ markets all together! You can choose how you slice your pie, but it’s important as you scale up, to add more revenue streams so you can be flexible as needed. So how do you choose?

Restaurant Walk-In. Photo credit: Bailey Garrot.

Although restaurants can be unreliable customers due to frequent menu and staff changes, you can usually get the best wholesale price available and because you are harvesting to order, you won’t have any leftovers. If you decide to sell to a larger wholesale customer, like grocery stores or distributors, you may have to settle for the lowest price point for your goods (as compared to the retail farmers’ market price) but the transactions may be more reliable working with a larger institution, and they may come pick up the products from your farm rather than delivering to a restaurant. It’s important to remember that the type of operation you run may be a better fit for some wholesale than others – if you are small and very diversified farm, you may be a better fit for a high-priced restaurant that uses smaller quantities of many products. If you are larger and specialize in (let’s say) tomatoes, you may be a better fit for a local pizza joint that makes huge quantities of sauce daily

Quick Cleaning Turnips. Photo credit: Lauren Cox,

. No matter which revenue streams you choose, recordkeeping is essential. From knowing where things are in the field, to making sure you have a consistent inventory for your customers, to knowing the prices each item sells for through your various streams, to telling your employees where to harvest what, recordkeeping can only make your life easier and more organized. How you harvest, package and clean your products also make a difference in the world of wholesale. Minimize handling your products because the more you touch it, the more degraded it gets,  especially when wholesalers are aggregating, repackaging and redistributing. Cleanliness is key and minimizing moisture in washed greens, for example, extend the shelf life of your produce.

The Common Market, a non-profit aggregator and distributor, works with many institutions such as private schools, hospitals, universities, food service providers and municipal offices. The Common Market Southeast Headquarters are in East Point, GA but they also have a program based in Houston, TX and Philadelphia, PA. The Common Market wants to lower barriers and provide the infrastructure for local farmers to be able to sell to these institutions. The requirements for working with The Common Market Southeast are as follows: farmer must be in a 250 mile radius of their offices, must have sustainable growing practices, proof of liability insurance, be involved in a food safety program, and have a post-harvesting handling and packing system. Additionally, you must pack your products in wax boxes with your contact information on the label. During COVID-19, The Common Market Southeast received a USDA grant that allowed them to deliver over 96,440 boxes to families across the state, partnering with over 45 community organizations and purchasing over 964,000 pounds of local food purchased and distributed. Their systems and infrastructure made that work possible. A big thanks to Neil Ringer and Common Market for sharing with us and doing incredible work every day to make it easier for local producers to be involved in larger institutions!

West Georgia Farmers Coorperative Delivering to Miller Union. Photo Credit: Bailey Garrot.

Fresh Harvest, on the other hand, is solely residential. Each week, Zac Harrison texts all the farmers in the Fresh Harvest network (some big, some small, but all organic) and finds out what their availability is for the week. Based on which farmer has what products, he compiles weekly boxes that are delivered to homes around Atlanta. In addition to a weekly produce box, customers can add on other local goods, like local dairy, eggs, meat, prepared foods and more. Fresh Harvest’s offices are in Clarkston, GA and they employee many refugees that are based in Clarkston. Zac’s goal is to expand the reach and sale of the farmer, not to infringe on their other revenue streams and he wants to crop plan with farmers at the beginning of the season, so they can be guaranteed a revenue stream from Fresh Harvest.

No matter which route you decide to go down for slicing your pie, utilizing the tips from Lauren and working with folks like Neil and Zac who have the farmers’ best interest at heart, choosing to diversify your revenue streams can only make your farm more successful and resilient.

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Interested in learning more about Lauren’s work? Check out farmtorestaurant.georgiaorganics.org/, follow Georgia Organics on Instagram @georgiaorganics, and Facebook at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics/.

Want to see if The Common Market may be a good fit for you or support their work? Check out thecommonmarket.org, follow them on Instagram at @commonmarketse and Facebook at facebook.com/thecommonmarketse.

Ready to work with Fresh Harvest or purchase a box? Visit them at freshharvestga.com/, follow them on Instagram at @freshharvest and Facebook at .facebook.com/freshharvestga.

Good Food for Thought: How We Slice Our Pie—Choosing Markets and Managing Revenue Streams

By Lauren Cox 

Lauren Cox is the Organic Procurement Coordinator at Georgia Organics

Aluma Farm’s very organized harvest board. Photo credit: Bailey Garrot.

Small farms operate much like other small entrepreneurial businesses. In addition to producing food, a farmer must also be a self-promoter, a marketer, their own research and development team, and very often juggle the wants and needs of a variety of customers. In the 6th installation of the Winter Webinar series, Farm to Restaurant’s Organic Procurement Coordinator leads a three-part webinar covering these activities: deciding on your basket of goods and services and creating a value statement, managing your weekly farm flow, and understanding how you divide up your farm based on your revenue streams.  

Whether you sell at the farmers market, to restaurants, wholesalers, or through a CSA program, you should aim to know your customer base and plan for moving product. Photo by Lauren Cox.

There are multiple ways for farmers to get food to their final customers. This ‘farmer to eater’ supply chain can include processors, wholesalers, restaurants, grocery stores, and retailers or simply go directly into the hands of an eater. Farmers can sell to each of these groups and should understand that each one of them has different wants and needs, including where they hold value and what they are looking for when buying from a farmer. 

This ‘basket of goods and services’ can also change over time depending on the farmer as well as the customer. While planning for the year ahead, ask yourself: What am I selling and why is it important to my customer? Remember, what is important to you isn’t necessarily going to be important to everyone else. Maybe your customer values being able to talk to you each week and ask questions about what they’re buying while you prioritize paying your employees fair wages and growing organically. One does not necessarily exclude the other but again, your customer’s values and where they’re prioritized might not be the same as your own. 

Thinking about a value statement or value proposition is also important. This can change with your customers and correlates to your basket of goods and services. If you can’t make money from your basket of ‘goods and services’ then don’t do it and always make sure you have a feedback loop to understand if your customer’s values are changing. Easy ways to do this include talking to your customers directly as well as conducting surveys to market-goers and CSA members. Also watching what sells quickly and what doesn’t is a non-verbal way to assess your markets. No matter what, having a feedback loop gives a farmer the advantage to help plan for growing any of their revenue streams. 

Planning for growth is important. Photo by Lauren Cox.

As you think about the year ahead and decide which customers and parts of your business will shift or grow, consider your current weekly farm schedule. Taking on more revenue streams could mean you take more time off the farm for market days. It could mean more time spent harvesting and delivering to wholesalers or restaurants. While planning, try this exercise: Make a column for each day of the week and then fill it with the general tasks you do consistently, for example, Monday’s are bookkeeping days, and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are workdays while Friday is a harvest day for Saturday market. Once this is done ask yourself, “Does my weekly flow feel well-paced? Is it packed in one part of the week and less busy in another? What if there were an emergency? Do I have enough time, in that case, to react? And finally, “Could I take on another sales channel?” Depending on your customer’s needs and values, you might be able to shift your schedule to take on new opportunities or give you that much-needed time on the farm you’ve been looking for.  

 Listing out your top sellers across your different markets can highlight your resiliency in withstands shifts in market demand. Photo by Lauren Cox.

How do we bring what we know about our customer base, our weekly bandwidth, and how we want to grow our business together to refine our systems and plan for the year ahead? First and foremost record-keeping is our biggest asset! Thinking about your ‘top sellers’ for each customer base and looking at your books to see if you’re making money on them can give you valuable insight (no pun intended) into whether or not you’re on the right track. Ideally, you should plan for growth and have multiple customers that are interested in the same thing in case one of them falls through. In addition to QuickBooks and surveys, keep a notebook with your weekly sales information. Walk around the first day of your workweek and write down what you need to sell, how much you have, and to whom you plan to sell it to (CSA, restaurants, markets, or otherwise).

This exercise will help you get better at understanding quantities of what you have to offer and how much space you are allocating on your farm for each sales outlet. As you think about the space on your farm and how it relates to your customer base ask yourself these questions: What isn’t selling to multiple customers? Are there other things I could use that farm space for? Are there other things I could sell to the same customers that also sell at other markets? Asking yourself these questions explicitly with give you a leg up in planning for growth and managing your revenue streams. 

This Good Food for Thought event was a workshop exclusive to Georgia Organics Farmer Members. Interested in becoming a farmer member for just $12 per year? Visit membership.georgiaorganics.org/farmer-membership. Join us for more Good Food for Thought by visiting gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events.

Good Food for Thought: Culture and Connections—Farmer Organizing the SAAFON Way

By Kayla Williams

Kayla Williams is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics.

In this series, we’re revisiting our most recent Good Food for Thought conversations. To register for Georgia Organics’ upcoming Good Food for Thought events, visit gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events.

On February 10, the Southeastern African American Organic Farmers’ Network (SAAFON) partnered with Georgia Organics for a Good Food for Thought Webinar. Dr. Jahi Chappell, the new Executive Director of SAAFON, along with Tammy Harris, the Agroecology & Education Resource Coordinator. SAAFON focuses on supporting black farmers in the southeast, with member affiliates from Maryland to the US Virgin Islands, through direct services, community building and resource sharing.

Dr. Chappell shared his background in the world of sustainable agriculture that led him to SAAFON, the organizations’ values and its history. Tammy shared the ways in which those values are implemented into SAAFON’s programmatic work and more about specific initiatives they are currently working on.

I’m not going to spend time summarizing the content of the webinar, because it would be doing Dr. Chappell and Tammy Harris a disservice to the knowledge they shared about SAAFON. Instead, you’re encouraged to watch the recorded webinar, click below!

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Want to learn more about SAAFON’s programming or become a member? Visit saafon.org, follow on Instagram @saafon_grows, and on Facebook at facebook.com/SAAFONgrows Want to support SAAFON’s work? Donate at saafon.org/donate.

Join us for upcoming Good Food for Thought sessions in our Winter Webinar series for farmers! Upcoming dates and registration links at gfft.georgiaorganics.org/virtual-events.