Robert and Juan Carlos apply permaculture and a tradition of sharing at Sobremesa Farm, simply outdoor Bloomington, Indiana. On this episode, Robert talks about taking the time to look at the land prior to leaping into farming and ready yet another yr prior to placing any force on promoting anything else from the land. Juan Carlos issues out that neither of them knew a lot about farming however got here into this paintings via their hobby in nature and flora and fauna and, sooner or later, the relationships they constructed at a Bioneers Convention. That permaculture mimics nature made it a herbal have compatibility for his or her land-management philosophy.
Pay attention in regards to the steps they took to carry municipal water to a assets that isn’t fitted to a neatly however didn’t have a municipal-water meter. (Listeners: Maximum people would have walked clear of this assets. You need to listen about their adventure!) Robert additionally talks about how they gather and stay rainwater at the land, plus two springs that experience come to the skin since they bought the valuables.
Juan Carlos talks about the concept that of “volunteers”–in particular plant volunteers as a way to scale back dependence on off-farm seed assets. He additionally talks in regards to the more than a few animals they preserve and the rolls every fills at the farm, plus one of the most extra untypical tropical plants they develop in greenhouses and the fields. You gained’t to find soursop, bananas or pittaya rising too many different puts within the Midwest!
Pay attention, too, about their fellowship with Midwest Grains, the milpas they’re experimenting with, and their hobby find and studying from different small-scale grain growers within the area.
From CSA to an on-farm marketplace, Sobremesa Farm makes an attempt to attach their shoppers with how their meals is grown. Robert talks about getting grant cash to enlarge manufacturing by means of mini manufacturing contracts for a neighborhood meals pantry in 2023. He will get actual in regards to the rising pains for farms as small as theirs when attractive with grants.
After all, Juan Carlos talks about their option to instructing their shoppers and college teams, in addition to multicultural farming workshops they host at the farm. Pay attention, too, in regards to the fertility strategies they’ve used to supercharge the soil natural topic on their farm.
When you’re curious in regards to the identify Sobremesa Farm, pay attention to the very finish to listen to Juan Carlos’s clarification of the Latin American idea of sobremesa.
Observe from the host:
Something we didn’t get to discuss on this episode used to be Sobremesa Farm’s function throughout the 2023 Farm Help receive advantages live performance. Make sure you watch the video, connected underneath.
Hyperlinks from this episode
The ABC of Natural Agriculture, Chromatography and Sustainable Cattle Control workshop with Jairo Restrepo, September 3-6, 2024