VABF Conference Recap

Before we jump in to my report from the 2009 VABF conference, I wanted to draw your attention to the organization as a whole: the VABF is, according to the website, "an active network of citizens in and around Virginia whose primary focus is to provide information and services to farmers, gardeners and consumers about biological agriculture. Biological agriculture involves the use of natural methods and materials, and focuses on soil building, recycling of organic farm materials, and protection of wildlife and water resources." It's obvious the VABF and the Richmond Food Collective share some important goals. So with that in mind, you won't be surprised to hear that the conference was great!

Speakers I heard included the following:

Gary Scott, owner of Twin Springs Farm in Nelson County, VA. Since they are located outside the range of Richmond farmers markets and natural foods stores, I had never heard of Twin Springs, but it turns out they are a great little organic farm dedicated to 'ecological' farming practices, working towards sustainability and avoiding the use of pesticides at all costs. Scott's lecture was focused on production: the practicalities of growing crops for market. Though I'm not running a farm, I liked this lecture because the realities of making a living as a market farmer were set in the context of sustainable practices. Twin Springs focuses on high value cash crops like blueberries, strawberries and salad greens. Ron and I just bought a bunch of blueberries from Edible Landscaping (also in Nelson County) last week, so the detailed information on blueberry growing was very timely for me! I'd also like to mention that Twin Springs does U-pick blueberries in June and July...guaranteed clean fruit and a nice drive: can't beat that!!

Michael Clark of Planet Earth Diversified, a specialty produce operation with a focus on hydroponics located in Stanardsville, VA, showed a video from his project Meet the Farmer TV. Sporting a jaunty straw hat, Clark showed us around his own hydroponic greenhouse and introduced other farmers, chefs and extension agents. Check out the pilot episode:



Later on in the day, I noticed Clark interviewing Keith Langley of the Virginia Farm Bureau about his own green project of the moment: Save our Food, an effort to "educate consumers about the foods they eat and encourage everyone to seek out and sauté, bake, roast, fry and otherwise enjoy all of the delicious locally grown foods available." The Farm Bureau has just come out with a glossy mag called Cultivate, available to all Farm Bureau members, featuring local foods and farmers.

David O'Neill, owner of Radical Roots Community Farm, a market and CSA farm located in the Shenandoah Valley with a focus on education, including 3 interns each season, and permaculture design and practice. O'Neill explained some of the basics of permaculture, then went on to demonstrate how they are implemented at Radical Roots. There were some neat illustrations of the 'concentric circles of use' often seen in permaculture designs, wherein the resources on the farm most often needed are located closest to the living quarters, while rarely needed components are placed on the edges. We also saw some swales and some nice solar buildings. Very inspiring. I will say that it seems that whenever I talk to people or read about permaculture, there is some discussion of the impending agricultural apocalypse...the idea is 'peak oil' and 'peak soil' are either drawing near or have already occurred, and we urgently need to learn skills and implement systems that will allow us to live without oil and replenish soil as we look toward the greener lives we will be forced to live...it's definitely something to think about. Though folks disagree as to when these peaks will occur, these are very real concerns and permaculture is an amazing ideal I think we could all aspire to. O'Neill is doing some great things on his farm, and also happens to be a teacher at the Blue Ridge Permaculture Network, which is currently running an intensive course in permaculture design.

Will Allen of Growing Power Inc, an amazing urban farming and composting group located in Milkwaukee and Chicago, was the keynote speaker for the conference. Allen was a candid and warm speaker, inviting questions from the audience throughout his lecture. He talked about his massive composting operation in Milwaukee, where he collects food waste from all over the city and combines it with brewery waste and woodchips to generate massive amounts of compost. He discussed the importance of engaging the community, especially when initiating controversial urban projects. I was amazed to learn of Allens aquaponics projects (growing thousands of fish for local restaurants) and Growing Power's outreach programs.

That was Friday. On Saturday, we started bright and early with more Will Allen, and a workshop on vermiculture. A big part of Allen's farming operation uses worms to digest precomposted waste, transforming it into an ideal fertilizer. In the keynote speech we saw pictures of Allen's home 'worm bins,' which were atually huge wooden boxes full of dirt and worms. Here at the conference, he showed us how to make a small bin for home use. Owning worms, one must keep in mind, is like taking care of any small livestock -- you need to feed and monitor them frequently. However, there is nothing better for fertilizer, claims Allen, than fresh worm castings. Growing power has its own page about vermiculture: check it out here.

After Allen's lecture, we moved on to a really fun workshop on Farmscaping for Biological Insect Control by Dr. Richard McDonald, a passionate entomologist who energetically lectured on how to plant trap crops and control common crop pests. McDonald runs his own business doing consulting for insect control called Symbiont (check out their website: it's a great resource). I was really excited by his recommendations for different 'filter crops' and 'trap crops' to attract bad bugs away from cash crops, and draw predatorial insects onto the farm to eat the bad bugs. McDonald is clearly excited about his work and his mood was infectious.

The final lecture of the day turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected. During lunch on Saturday, I ended up with a winning raffle ticket, meaning I got to choose from an array of prizes donated by attendees and speakers at the conference. When I got to the table, I knew what I wanted: a 5 pound bag of oyster mushroom spawn! I've been interested in the idea of growing oyster mushrooms for some time now, and free spawn was just too good to pass up. I ended up getting to personally chat with Mark Jones, the owner of Sharondale Farm in Keswick, VA and a serious fungi fanatic. He gave me some tips on how to inoculate a log with my newly acquired spawn, and told me how long I'd have to wait before harvesting some delicious mushrooms (6-9 months). I was so excited I headed to Jones' mushroom lecture for my final session of the day, where we learned about different kinds of mushrooms and how to grow oysters and shiitakes. I hope to experiment with both kinds of mushrooms soon, though we won't know if we're doing it right until September, since it takes the spawn quite a while to grow through the log and put out mushrooms. Jones will hold a workshop on his farm on March 14th for those interested in further investigating mushroom growing. Click here for more information.

That final lecture brought the conference to a close. I really enjoyed all the lectures, as well as my visits to the Trade Show, where I chatted with folks from the Permaculture Activist magazine, Dominion Harvest (featuring home-delivered produce in the Richmond area), Cindy Connor and the Backyard Gardeners. All in all, a great time, and very inspiring! Now, if this darn snow would just clear up...we could get to planting!