“Harmony Farm” doesn’t exist yet, except in the mind of Harmony Hall owner Bill Lee. It’s aspirational, a dream of sorts arising out of recent reading done on the subject of “Market Garden” farms pioneered by visionaries such as Eliot Coleman - an American farmer, author, agricultural researcher and educator, and proponent of organic farming. His book The New Organic Grower is important reading for organic farmers, especially market gardeners.

A more recent adherent to small-scale, intensive growing practices is Jean-Martin Fortier. “JM” as he is known, is a farmer, author, educator and advocate for ecological, human-scale and economically-viable sustainable agriculture. He is the founder, with his wife, Maude-Hélène Desroches, of Les Jardins de la Grelinette, a certified organic market garden in Saint-Armand, Quebec. JM’s seminal work is his book titled “The Market Gardener”.

The property designated to one day become Harmony Farm consists of 4 acres across the road from Harmony Hall. The parcel is bound to the north by Cedar Rock Road (runs east/west), and to the east by Harmony Church Road. The parcel sits diagonally across Harmony Church Road from Harmony Hall.

To this point, the land has served as an open pasture though no livestock have grazed it in at least the past 7 years or so. The slight westward slope and generous southern exposure should make for an excellent setting for establishing a market garden bed structure.

Market gardening is associated with several growing principles:

• Permanent beds, 30” wide by 100’ long (18” aisles for walking/tending)

• Minimal tillage practices to maintain soil structure

• Use of cover crops

• Crop rotation practices

ELIOT COLEMAN’S FIVE PRECEPTS:

FIRST, for uncompromised nutritional value all crops must be grown in fertile soil attached to the earth and nourished by the natural biological activities of that soil. There are so many vital aspects of soil processes that we could not replace even if we wanted to, because we are still unaware of how they all work.

SECOND, soil fertility should be maintained principally with farm-derived organic matter and mineral particles from ground rock. Why take the chance of bringing in polluted material from industrial sources when fertility can be created and maintained internally?

THIRD, green manures and cover crops must be included within broadly based crop rotations to enhance biological diversity. The greater the variety of plants and animals on the farm, the more stable the system.

FOURTH, a plant-positive rather than a pest-negative philosophy is vital. We focus on correcting the cause of problems by strengthening the plant through optimal growing conditions to prevent pests, rather than merely treating symptoms by trying to kill the pests that prey on weak plants. Extensive scientific evidence is available today on the mechanisms by which a biologically active fertile soil creates induced resistance in the crops.

FIFTH, livestock must be raised outdoors on grass-based pasture systems to the fullest extent possible. Farm animals are an integral factor in the symbiosis of soil fertility on the small mixed farm.