“I am an engineer by profession and nature lover and gardener by heart. We come from a family of farmers and spent summer vacations on farms with grandparents. Growing food comes very naturally and we are continuing the tradition to some extent.
We live in Texas and our growing space is around 1000 square feet. We grow food to get the best nutritious, organically grown non-GMO fresh food, to preserve soil and to reduce the environmental impact of commercial farming practices.
We like to grow anything and everything possible in Zone 8A focusing on varieties not usually sold in stores like Atomic grape tomatoes, fresh goji berries, Purple okra, Longevity, and water spinach, Tamarind, etc.
For soil, we rely on homemade hot and vermicompost, deep mulching especially with Comfrey to add extra nutrition and organic fertilizers made through Korean natural farming techniques. Food scraps and garden waste is composted instead of sending it to landfills we are not only helping control greenhouse gas emissions but also building a healthy soil structure. We have very hard clay soil so it took a long time to bring back nutrition and structure for abundant growth. For pest control I make my own liquid sprays with neem oil and soap nut.
I am learning about permaculture techniques to be sustainable with minimal intervention. We have started saving a lot of the seeds and sharing seeds and produce with friends and family.
I have been able to grow Saffron which is the most expensive spice in the world and it was really rewarding. Inspiring others to grow produce is really rewarding.
We volunteer at BontonFarms. We manage two community plots established by the city and some of the produce from it goes to local food. If you want to beat the stress and get good exercise look no further and start growing your own food. You can make an impact on climate change from your own backyard.”
