Farm Review: Plant It Forward Farm

"Food is power. Are you in control of yours?" – John Jeavons

I really like Plant It Forward. I first discovered them at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market in 2013, I think. I began patronizing them after the owner of Single Man's Kitchen recommended them as a good farm to buy from. And I have never stopped! God bless him!!

Since I am novice to agriculture and have a keen interest to learn, I decided the quickest way to learn would be to volunteer at a farm. An opportunity popped off with this farm and have been volunteering at the 3-acre farm since June 7, 2014 on any Saturday morning I am available. Although I do not feel like I do much (mainly weed control), I learn something new each time. They are not organic "certified" but they are definitely a toxic-chemical-free farm and practice sustainable farming methods compared to how the produce at your grocery store is grown. Also, they are a non-profit entity. You do not have to take my word for it. Go check them out if you live in Houston! 

Here are some photos over the past months:

Getting my gloves dirty

The weeds I had to remove from this raised bed

 Just one pile of the weeds I removed

Compost bins

 Compost pile - which contains soil, weeds, fruit/vegetable scraps, insects

Fresh Edamame

 Sweet potato vines

Kind of cool to see how sweet potatoes are grown. Buried in the soil

Preparing the soil for new seeds

The farmer is adding rainbow carrot seeds to the soil. I wanted to plant them but they are super tiny.

Date: 8/23/2014 - New Cucumbers and okra plants

Date: 9/13/2014 - grew fast, right?

They grow herbs, like lavender, next to their crops to ward away certain insects.
They also grow flowers to attract pollinating bees and beneficial insects.

Another farm location they run is next to University of St. Thomas, which is half an acre in size. It opened up Spring of 2013. Below are some photos from the farm tour I attended back in May of this year.

Herbs - Lavender, basil, rosemary

I think these are scallions

I think they are growing dinosaur kale and some other green leaves

Not sure what they are

If you have noticed, they use a lot of raised beds because of Houston's soil. There are other benefits as well.

If you are a resident of Houston, please support them if you can. Think LOCAL, buy LOCAL, Be LOCAL. The more people who can support these great local farms, the more they can grow and revolutionize the community. They say for every $1 spent locally, 45 cents is reinvested locally. For every $1 spent at a corporate chain, only 15 cents is reinvested locally.