Written by Ain Chiké and Lauren Cox
Ain is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics.
Lauren is the Farmer Services Director at Georgia Organics.
Farmer Field Day attendees gather for a hot, farm-fresh meal at the Hasan’s Harvest Kitchen and Market, a proudly black-owned restaurant and farmers market in Sparta, GA.
On October 4, 2023, participants of the Small Engine Repair Farmer Field Day walked into Harvest Kitchen and Market and were greeted by the smell of freshly baked biscuits and coffee prepared by our chefs, farmers, and hosts, Micole and Musa Hasan. After fortifying themselves with various breakfast biscuits, Micole led attendees on a three-block walk highlighting the history of Sparta, GA, and the second location of Bread & Butter Farms. Sitting on nine acres split between two plots of land across the street from one another, Bread and Butter Farms grows produce for one CSA, the Peachtree Farmers Market on Saturdays, and the restaurant. To keep up with the various demands of their markets, a hallmark of their farm business is having efficient systems such as an online sales platform and using a fertigation system to get micronutrients to their crops.
Micole Hasan (far right) of Bread and Butter Farms explains the concept of flushing hoop houses to the Field Day attendees.
Medicinal Herbs and Perennial Spaces
Micole’s interest in herbs has been lifelong since her parents’ families believe in herbal remedies. When she started farming, Micole considered herbs another crop. Although she doesn’t plant enough to include in the crop plan, she plants annual herbs each season. In the spring, she makes a salve for cuts, scrapes, stings, bites, etc. As part of their farming practice, the Hasans don't heavily weed plantain and chickweed because of their medicinal properties. One intentionally planted herb was comfrey. Comfrey makes a good ground cover and mulch and also has medicinal properties that are good for salves, ointments, and creams. In addition to its healing properties, comfrey (as just one example) has broader implications for the farm’s management systems. Comfrey is used as a companion plant next to fruit trees. With its long tap root, comfrey helps young trees access micronutrients in the soil that are not otherwise available to their shorter root systems. Having perennial spaces also means less disturbance to the farm’s soil structure and keeping the management of certain spaces to a minimum.
Flushing HOOP HOUSES
Bread and Butter Farms has the market advantage of having four hoop houses for season extension. A practice Micole and Musa stick to in maintaining a balance of nutrients in these areas is called flushing. Of the four hoop houses on the main site, one remains uncovered at any given time during the growing season. Flushing is the process of uncovering a hoop house and allowing rain to fall into the garden beds. This process dilutes and washes away some of the salt and mineral buildup out of the otherwise covered area.
By using the principles of sustainability, such as aiming for minimal ground disturbance and flushing hoop houses, Bread and Butter Farms continues to produce nutrient-rich crops and herbs while maintaining production for their various markets.
Digging Into Small Engine TROUBLESHOOTING and Repair
Matthew Bagshaw demonstrates how to troubleshoot gas-powered small engines.
After the farm tour wrapped up, Matthew Bagshaw, a former farmer and current manager of the Piedmont Park Green Market, greeted the crowd. Surrounded by a small arsenal of gas-powered tools, Matthew opened the workshop by identifying the difference between two and four-stroke engines.
The oil and gas are mixed in two-stroke engines and go into the same compartment.
Two-stroke engines include:
String trimmers
Leaf blowers
Chainsaws
Sighting how many people are intimidated by mixing oil and gas, Matthew pointed out how much more expensive purchasing premixed fuel costs. He then showed everyone how simple it is to follow the guidelines printed on the containers to manually portion out gas and oil to the manufacturer's requirements.
Four-stoke engines have separate compartments for oil and gas.
Four-stroke engines include:
Lawn mowers
Tractors
Various Tillers
No matter the engine type, Matthew recommends using ethanol-free or premium gas to fuel gas-powered engines. These gas types have less water and are less likely to cause corrosion within the engine.
Farmer Field Day attendees gather to learn about diagnosing engine problems.
In addition to a mechanical crash course on small engines, participants learned how to troubleshoot common problems by listening to their motors. A loud reeving sound most likely means oil needs to be added. It’s always important to stop the machine immediately to prevent metal parts from melding together. A sputtering engine could mean too much air is getting mixed in with the carburetor, and the choke needs to be adjusted, or the air filter needs to be replaced, or the carburetor needs to be cleaned.
Diagnosing an engine problem isn’t an exact science, as the example above makes clear, but the field day attendees learned what steps to take when their machines aren’t working properly and while they did not learn how to clean a carburetor, they did learn how to test and replace the spark plugs.
Educational Takeaway
It’s important to understand your small engines even if, ultimately, you may need to take them to a mechanic. You can do the first pass in troubleshooting on your farm, which has the potential to save you hours in downtime and money spent on potentially simple repairs.
Follow the hyperlinks to get in on the action and learn more about mixing gas and oil, how to change the primer bulb, and spark plug replacement. Remember, before beginning work on any piece of equipment, reference the owner’s manual for part numbers and operational tips.
To learn more about Brean & Butter Farms visit breadandbutterfarms.com, or follow on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok.
To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Are you a current Certified Organic grower in Georgia? Visit Georgia Organics’ GO Organic! page for cost-share resources and more information on joining the Georgia Certified Organic Network (GCON).