Who Is Eliot Coleman, And Why Should You Know Who He Is?

Who is Eliot Coleman, and why should you know who he is?

He is an American farmer, author, agricultural researcher and educator, and proponent of organic farming. Back around 1969, he taught himself how to farm organically in the sometimes harsh Maine climate and developed the cold climate farming techniques that he's known for. In 1989 he wrote his first book, The New Organic Gardener. It would be one of many that would change the minds and methods of gardeners everywhere, including myself.

Eliot advocates for feeding the soil, thereby manipulating weed growth, disease, plant health and our eventual health as a result. You might say he was organic cool before it was cool. Eliot taught me what sustainable agriculture was, and the hook was set. I've been an enthusiastic student of his ever since, even when I couldn't garden in the traditional sense. In his quest to understand the land better, he has often turned to published works on agriculture in an effort to continually improve his farming methods. A method of learning I've adopted from time to time. Over time, Eliot has become a mover and shaker in the organic world, as well as the market farming community. He is a mighty voice and a well-respected advocate for healthy soil.

So what difference does this make to you, a humble blog-reader?

No matter if you have a backyard garden or a collection of pots where you grow some salad greens on your balcony, Eliot Coleman's wisdom can teach us all about how simple soil can make us healthier people. Over the next few weeks, I'll be studying as much of his written works as possible, discussing them here and trying to understand how I can utilize his wisdom here on our less-than-an-acre property.

Along the way, I'll be writing to Eliot here on this blog, as if he and I were on such terms where correspondence back and forth might be possible. (Yes, I know it isn't) Much like the foundation for 'Letters To A Young Poet' in which ten letters were written to a young man about to enter the German military. His name was Franz Kappus, he was 19 years old, and he wrote to R. M Rilke looking for guidance and a critique of some of his poems.


Or more for my purposes here, 'Letters To A Young Farmer'. This book was written by some of the most influential farmers, writers and leaders of our time. They share their wisdom and insight in an anthology of 36 essays and letters. Barbara Kingsolver speaks to the tribe of farmers—some born to it, many self-selected—with love, admiration, and regret. Bill McKibben connects the early human quest for beer to the modern challenge of farming in a rapidly changing climate. Michael Pollan bridges the chasm between agriculture and nature. Dan Barber, Temple Grandin, Wendell Berry, Rick Bayless, Marion Nestle and more offer advice and inspiration. And in the spirit of this endeavour, I'll be writing the next series of blog posts to not just Eliot but to all these other learned and wise proponents of the land and farming.


So as we settle in for an interesting conversation with Eliot, Barbara, Michael, Marion, Wendell and the rest, tell me...do you garden?

It's Time To Look At Agriculture Differently

Sometimes certain posts, with bits of wisdom that need to be recovered, bears repeating. Here's one that I've had a lot of comments on...

My partner and I were talking about our future one day when she made a statement that still has me thinking weeks later. I was telling her about my plans for the not-quite-an-acre property, and how I plan to eke as much food from it as possible. She nodded and said, "Your job will be growing the food and mine will be preserving and cooking it" Now, obviously there will be more to it, but she has the essence of it right. With the core of our new roles put like that, I realized I can't take a break from learning all I can about agriculture.

John Michael Greer talks about two agricultures in his blog entry, Two Agricultures, Not One 

He talks about how the mega-farming as we know it today is an industrialized and chemicalized version of the intensive farming that fed our ancestors, and he also shares the opinion that intensive gardening is going to help us pad our food shortfall, 

"A team of researchers at pioneering organic-gardening group Ecology Action found, on the basis of extensive tests, that it’s possible to feed one person year round on a spare but adequate vegetarian diet off less than 1000 square feet of intensively gardened soil... In the more troubled parts of the future ahead of us, some of us may have to do just that; a great many more of us will need to be able to garden in order to pad out potential irregularities in a food supply that’s desperately vulnerable, over the short term, to fluctuations in the price and availability of fertilizer feedstocks and fossil fuels. The victory gardens of past wars are likely to be a useful template for the survival gardens of the deindustrial future."

 
I completely agree, and I've begun to see it already. All of that only frustrates me on another level, because here, I can hardly grow anything, facing north and being in shade. So on one hand, I could sit and whine about it, or I could shut up and do something. Months ago, I chose the latter. So it has become my secondary job, if you will, to learn everything I can about growing as much as I can on very small acreage. Starting with the soil. I already knew that compost is better than any chemical fertilizer we can manufacture. It's better all around, for the plants and for the environment, and it goes hand-in-glove with the various micro-environments in one's garden. I've been learning exactly how earthworms break down plant matter, how plants use the nitrogen from the air and how the no-till method is better than churning up our soil every spring and fall. I've also learned quite a bit about why seaweed is a better fertilizer than one that relies on ever-diminishing oil supplies. Did you know that plants require not only the big three (nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium), but also micro-nutrients? Without those micro-nutrients, the plant cannot grow to its true potential, and the resulting food lacks nutrients also. Hence the mystery of the tomato with less Vitamin C.

So, the answer then I think, is to go back to farming, or at least gardening, the way we used to. Those that can need to turn away from chemical fertilizers, away from row gardening, away from the way 90% of all gardening books tell us it should be done. We need to learn all we can about organic gardening, intensive gardening, square-foot gardening, composting, vermiculture, soil tilth, extending the growing season no matter where we live, and the value of the old-style farmsteads. The inter-relations of soil, air, food, animals, trash and what our culture has done to our planet cannot be overstated. But in the end, we will all come to a point where we must put down the books, turn away from the computers and do something about it. More of us need to focus on food production in a way that will not poison ourselves and our environment. We need to get back to basics, we need to take that first step.

Once we take control back over our food, we can begin to take more control over our lives and hand less of ourselves to the government. Once we get back to basics, many of us will need less and be happier with less and realize the folly of our culture's demand for the latest, best and fastest gizmo of the week. (I write this while admitting I spend more time on my computer than I probably should) I also admit that getting back to basics will inevitably improve our health, give us clearer vision when we look at what's going on around us, and in many cases, shift our priorities.
This is only the tip of the iceberg, it's true. We all need to start thinking about what's coming and how we might each be responsible for changing our corner of the world.

What do you think?