Blue Horizon Farm
For the past three growing seasons, Laura and Brendan Sutton were growing produce exclusively for chef Nivel Patel’s Ghee Indian Kitchen. Then came the pandemic.
Before they met, Laura and Brendan were already deeply engaged in organic farming. Laura was canvassing for Greenpeace, where she learned about the detrimental effect of industrial agriculture and decided to become an organic farmer. She moved to an organic farming community on Kauai in Hawaii. She learned to grow vegetables biointensively, using a sustainable system that focuses on getting maximum yields in minimum space, and sell produce directly to consumers at the farmers markets. There, she met her now-husband, Brendan, who had apprenticed on a 10-acre organic vegetable farm in Oregon. They moved to various states in the U.S., Costa Rica and India, always dreaming of becoming farmers and living sustainably, and ended up in the Redland in 2011. Laura is a fermented foods and beverages artisan who makes sauerkraut as her German grandfather did, pounding cabbage and spices in a ceramic crock. She also homebrews other fermented foods and is a team member of Counter Culture Kombucha, the longest running kombucha company in South Florida. Other items she sells to consumers are value-added farm products, such as dried fruit, dried butterfly pea flowers and homemade comfrey salve.
Their philosophy: Brendan – I approach farming as a quest for sustainability. I’m working to create a model that is not reliant on fossil-fuel inputs and ultimately bringing off farm inputs as close to zero as possible. I’m influenced by the bio-intensive method as espoused by John Jeavons.
What they’re growing: Brendan –This year we are planting a variety of vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers along with the tropical fruit orchard we’re establishing.
On the state of farming here: Laura – I worked for a few different farmers market vendors. I noticed that at the south Florida markets, it seemed like most of the produce vendors were primarily produce distributors, not the actual farmers. If more people seek out locally grown produce, there would be so many great benefits: higher nutrient content, eating seasonally, better flavor, improved food safety (not so many possibly contaminated hands touching your produce), preservation of small farmland (small organic farmland provides animals, insects and birds a place to live), decrease in carbon emissions, decreased dependence on fossil fuels, reduced air pollution, increased demand for more diverse varieties of produce. Buying produce directly from your local farmer provides a sense of belonging and builds relationships, and knowing that you’re contributing to your local economy leads to an improved sense of wellbeing.
Where you can find them: To buy directly from the farm, email babahini@yahoo.com to get on the mailing list. Find them at the Palmetto Bay Farmers Market on Saturdays. Follow @earthlingfarmer11 on Instagram for updates.
