SPIN farming : Think small community advocate Mark Jones

WILKES-BARRE – Ellen Flint and other environmentally minded people at Wilkes University aim to put a new spin on what it means to be a farmer.

You don’t need a gas-chugging tractor, they say. No sprawling field, either.

On a pea-sized parcel of the downtown campus, formerly used as a parking lot, student “farmers” will demonstrate later this year an emerging technique called SPIN farming; the acronym stands for Small Plot INtensive.

Proponents of this unconventional veggie-raising method say it’s better for the environment and eaters’ health. Plus, it can be profitable. People at the root of the SPIN farming movement say a 1/2-acre enterprise can generate gross sales each year of $50,000 or more.

At Wilkes – where SPIN farming will be the focus of a two-day workshop this spring – Flint indicated that the college’s food service provider, Sodexho, might ultimately buy the fresh vegetables and serve them in the campus cafeteria.

“The idea of taking a parking lot and turning it into a sustainable garden that will provide food for students, faculty and staff here on campus is really alluring,” she said.

Pending results of a soil test, the mini-farm probably will be located along South Franklin Street. An initial planting of herbs and fast-growing edibles such as spinach and radishes is planned for early April.

Passersby might be puzzled by the high-visibility project, in which ivory towers meets silo.

But Flint, who coordinates a program for first-year students, and campus collaborators Marleen Troy and Dale Bruns, both of the university’s Institute for Environmental Science and Sustainability, view the project as part of Wilkes’ ongoing effort to be more “green.”

That’s the current catchword for using less energy, recycling and adopting other Earth-friendly habits. Flint referred to the SPIN garden as “a visible, tangible reflection of Wilkes’ commitment to the environment.”

“Hopefully, this will create a buzz,” she added. “People will wonder what’s going on and ask themselves, ‘Can I do this in my yard?’”

Raising greens for cash

Area residents curious about urban farming – or simply hungry for basic backyard gardening tips – will be invited to visit the SPIN garden.

Bugged, for instance, by tomato-spoiling insects? The SPIN farm’s budding network of student green thumbs will serve as a resource for dealing with pests, solving water issues and otherwise helping your garden grow with natural methods.

“This can be a living classroom and demonstration site,” said agronomy specialist Andy Pressman, of the National Center for Appropriate Technology’s regional office in Shavertown.

The center’s staff will be co-hosting the upcoming SPIN workshop in Wilkes-Barre and providing expertise during the project’s startup.

Its supervising “expert farmer” will work closely with a Wilkes student “apprentice farmer,” or manager, and a handful of student interns. Stipends will be paid to the students during the summer months.

Pressman emphasized that SPIN farming is a market-driven activity, not a hobby. “You can have your backyard garden,” he explained, “but this teaches you how to make a living at it.”

Wally Satzewich and wife Gail Vandersteen, who live in Saskatchewan, Canada, co-created and continue to merchandise the SPIN farming method. The duo touts its concept on a Web site, accessible at www.spinfarming.com. Satzewich is expected to be a workshop presenter on May 19 and 20 at the Wilkes campus.

Of course, SPIN farming isn’t the first backyard fad to send people outside clutching their organic guidebooks, rakes and spades. In the 1890s, for instance, the French practiced a “biodynamic farming method,” said Flint, a Hunlock Creek resident who dabbled in urban gardening years ago while living in Richmond, Va.

“SPIN farming is a reincarnation of practices that seem to surface every 50 to 70 years,” she said. “Although, it’s happening more quickly now because of concerns about global warming, our food supply and the environment as a whole.”

Tracking your tomatoes

Supporters of the SPIN method, including Pressman, say it has many benefits. It decreases the distance that food typically travels from farm to table. It buoys the local economy, Pressman said. And it builds trust among consumers who are concerned about food safety.

“Folks need to be aware of where their food comes from and how it’s raised, not just focus on the price,” he said.

Some shoppers balk at the produce prices charged by Somerton Tanks Farm, an experimental SPIN farm in northeast Philadelphia, according to a September 2003 newspaper account. Potatoes were marked then at $2 per pound. Salad mix sold for $8 a pound.

Overall, however, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the 6-month-old farm “is flourishing, with two full-time workers churning out everything from tomatoes to cilantro – and a salad mix that has already become legendary among its devotees.”

Think this could be a career calling? Well, before dropping your day job, you’d better realize that the life of a SPIN farmer is no easy row to hoe.

The news article stated: “Unlike a community garden, where a recreational gardener can spend a few hours a day pulling weeds and plucking flowers, this is ‘stoop labor,’ with long hours, low pay and lots of frustration.”

Sewing seeds of change?

At Wilkes, Pressman predicted the farm will produce about 50 different vegetables this growing season.

Much pre-planning occurs before seeds get poked below terra firma, ensuring the crops don’t compete but rather complement one another. Radishes, for instance, can help to deter cucumber beetles, Pressman said.

Whether vandals can be prevented from spoiling the patch remains to be seen, said Flint, who added that fencing is a possibility. “Maybe it’s na�ve and idealistic of me,” she said, “but I would hope our students would take such pride in the garden that they would discourage that kind of behavior.”

No official announcement has yet been made to the general campus community about the pending SPIN farm. Yet people have approached Flint, telling her they’ve heard about the project and want to dig in.

She’s optimistic that the trial will succeed, spawning similar farms in other parts of the community and possibly elsewhere on campus. Said Flint, “We’re eyeballing some plots.”

GET INVOLVED

Attend a SPIN farming workshop. For details and to register for the event on May 19 and 20 at Wilkes University, call 408-4427. Or send an e-mail to ellen.flint@wilkes.edu.

The $250 registration fee includes meals, presentations, a hands-on demonstration and SPIN farm workbook. Limited to 60 participants.

Get facts on sustainable agriculture. Call the National Center for Appropriate Technology’s regional office near Shavertown at 696-6786. Or visit www.attra.ncat.org.

Try a more traditional garden project. Start a veggie patch with other recreational growers at one of the Wyoming Valley’s community garden sites.

• Wilkes-Barre City Community Garden, near the South Street Bridge. Plots available for individuals and Scout/youth/religious groups. Free. Call Paul Ginter, city health educator, at 208-4287. Or send an e-mail to pginter@wilkes-barre.pa.us.

• Good Shepherd Lutheran Church’s garden, in the city’s Miners Mills neighborhood. Plots available. Participants pay nominal monthly water fee. Call the Rev. Janell Wigen at 824-2991.

Visit the American Community Gardening Association’s Web site. Go to www.communitygarden.org.

Mark E. Jones, The Times Leader’s community advocate, can be reached via e-mail, at mjones@timesleader.com, or by calling 831-7305.