“It’s all a big experiment,” said Steve O’Shea, as he and his wife, Mandy traipsed through their 9-acre farm just outside of Athens, Ga. While they identified the trappings of their land, two cool blue guineas paraded across the lawn near their house, stopping occasionally to pluck at the ground.
When the guineas are not crowding and making a ruckus outside the O’Sheas’ bedroom, they eat deer ticks, other bothersome insects and small rodents. Occasionally, they kill a snake.
The guineas are one of many variables in the 3 Porch Farm experiment. They are an alternative that allows the O’Sheas to remain true to their virtue of organic farming and to further exemplify the potential for effective green solutions.
These progressive environmental values are what brought Steve and Mandy together years ago.
The couple met at a vegetable demo in Athens. At the time, Steve was at the tail end of his national tour on a biofuel-converted school bus with environmental activists Woody Harrelson and Julia Butterfly. Mandy was studying horticulture at the University of Georgia and working on local farms.
“She was the first peer I knew who was farming,” said Steve, “And I was inspired by her and what she was doing.”
Steve returned to California and began work as an apprentice on a farm. Mandy also moved to continue her farm work through WWOOF, or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.
Soon came a time when they were ready to apply their skills to land that was their own, but the option to purchase and work land in California was meager.
“The competition is huge,” said Mandy, “and the price of property is grand.”
Readily armed with new skills and big ideas, they headed South.
They were prepared to face a major change from agriculture in California, which leads the nation in organic farming. They hoped to promote a wave of change in Georgia, where organic farms account for less than 1% of the state’s agricultural acreage despite a 2,000% increase in the state’s certified organic farms since 2003*.
They returned to Athens determined to set an example with all that they had learned, but soon came to realize there are many reasons why the organic farming movement is slow to catch on in the South.
“There’s like a ten year lag here,” said Steve. “There’s a lot more cultural gravity here. There’s heritage. You have to fight harder to break out of old ways here. Out [in California], it’s a lot more transient, so you’re free to question without pressure from your peers or people to tell you that you’re going to Hell or whatever.”
Not to mention the difference in climate. Insects prefer the subtropical temperatures and humidity that the deep south is known for, making pest control a daunting task. Plus, the weather itself is more unpredictable in Georgia than under the consistent California sun.
But even in the face of swarming bugs and farmers rooted in their ways, the couple bought land from a former UGA horticulture professor in Comer, GA and started the renovations and buildings that have been an ongoing project.
Their progress was prolific. Already, 18 solar panels at 250 watts each line the roof of a shed and provide energy to the farm. Last year they produced 4.5 kilowatts and used 60 %, and the excess went back into the grid. They are making a valiant effort to be carbon neutral with the use of Steve’s background in green energy and biofuels. Their truck runs on grease from the kitchen of World Famous, a popular bar and restaurant in downtown Athens.
Their effort to be self-sustaining is not limited to energy production and use - they’ve learned a lot about construction, plumbing and mechanics too.
“You have to know a little bit about a lot of things, because we couldn’t afford to hire people to fix or build things. We just don’t have the finances, and there’s always shit that needs to be built or fixed,” Steve said.
Although their innovations and green ventures have been increasingly successful, it isn’t always easy.
Steve remembered spending the first spring on the farm, squatted, hunched and shuffling next to Mandy as the two picked what felt like a never ending field of strawberries. The work was so physically tolling that he recalls curling into the fetal position at night and wondering whether it would always be that hard.
While chopping down a tree, Steve misjudged its path and crushed the pump house he’d arduously built. He had no choice but to rebuild from splinters.
They recently applied Surround, a broad spectrum crop protectant made of kaolin clay, only to find it washed away in one of the rainiest summers the state has ever seen.
But in the face of mishaps and setbacks, they’ve learned to be resourceful.
“There’s a lot of thinking on your feet,” said Mandy, “because you can’t be that structured when you come into farming, because you’re depending on nature, which is incredibly variable, especially here with the weather changing the way it is.”
So they figured out ways to add value to crops that would otherwise be tossed. They are now able to make, package and market almost all of the products coming off their farm, including some of their best-known items: honey pops, seasonings, preserves and syrups.
“I have this dogged determination to figure stuff out,” said Steve, “and she often times comes up with the creative ideas."
The couple also makes and sells value-added products for the good of the community. Oversaturated markets mean less profit for all local farmers, and Steve and Mandy didn’t want to step on any toes. So, rather than competing with nearby farmers to sell traditional, seasonal row crops at restaurants and farmer's markets, they offer these value-added commodities that aren’t being sold elsewhere.
Using this mutual ingenuity and Mandy’s keen sense for finding beauty in the ordinary, the O’Sheas also hope to specialize in organic flowers.
“Organic flowers are about 10 years behind in terms of public awareness,” said Mandy, as she walked through a small shed, beautifully adorned by flowers hung from the rafters to dry. Mandy will cut and arrange the dried flowers to sell for events and decor at restaurants including Five & Ten in Athens, GA.
Store-bought, cut flowers are routinely dipped in methyl bromide, a pesticide deemed toxic by the EPA*.
Yet, the fields of flowers growing on 3 Porch Farm grow tall and richly colorful, unscathed by toxic chemicals.
Their success is a testament to their creativity, determination and indomitable teamwork. And on both the best and worst of days in the field, the plight of this progressive farm is noble.
“If nothing else,” said Steve, “we just want to set an example.”
* - http://georgiaorganics.org/2013/08/59191/
* - http://www.epa.gov/ozone/mbr/qa.html
Story by Jodi Cash
Photographs by Paige French