How We Stay Green:

COVER CROPPING –  Also known as Green Manures, we use these every year at Whitton Farms.  Examples of what we use are: clovers, vetches, buckwheat, & rye.

CROP ROTATIONS – We wholeheartedly believe in the practice of crop rotating simply because it protects your crops from diseases, pests & maintains soil nutrition. An example of how we practice crop rotating would be to plant “heavy feeders” such as corn, tomatoes, squash, lettuce, cabbage one season, and then follow up with “heavy givers” like: peas and beans. Learning the art of crop rotation is a long & timely process, but necessary for all sustainable farms.

COMPOSTING – Keith really takes pride in collecting compost! Fortunately for us we have several farmers in our community that keep horses and allow us to take all the aged manure we can get our hands on! We place our larger compost pile of leaves, aged manure, & other organic materials in strategic locations around the farm so that we can have easy access to the “black gold” when working beds for our crops.

PEST & PLANT DISEASE PRACTICES – At Whitton Farms we are committed to using organic & sustainable farming methods. Even though it is a tough challenge to farm organically in the Delta, we are vigilant when it comes to showing others in our community that pure & natural methods of farming can & are being accomplished in our region. We have spent the past several years implementing beneficial insect habitats on our farm, & we believe because of this, 90% of our crops do not require anything but sun, soil, rain & love! If we have to spray for pests or disease we use OMRI approved solutions such as: Azaguard, Pyganic,& Safer Soap, and diatomaceous earth!

MULCH – Another measure we take in protecting our soil & plants is totally avoiding the use of plastic mulch in our fields. To us, less plastic means less waste. We prefer to mulch with untreated baled hay, rice stalks, and pine needles. It is certainly more work to mulch in this manner, but in the long run, our mulch will decompose & add nutrients to our soil. No need to dispose of huge sheets of plastic.

Perennial Beds – Over the years we have established HUGE perennial wildflower, herb & vegetable beds at the farm to increase beneficial insect populations & to keep from tilling the soil. Examples: Rudbeckias, Echinacea, asparagus, sunchokes, peonies, & a wide variety of culinary herbs.

Trees, trees, & more trees – For the past 6 years, Keith & Jill plant anywhere from 500 to 1000 trees at various locations around the farm, each year. Our first year at the farm we planted 500 Pine Trees. We did this to create a small camping area for family & close friends, and it now is home to our shiitake mushroom farm. (Pine needles are used as mulch too). Over the past few years, we have collected acorns & seedlings from trees in our community, & planted cedars, mimosas, & oaks to serve as windbreaks, and bird habitats. This spring we are focusing our efforts on creating a series of small orchards with figs, heirloom peaches, & heirloom apples already in the ground. This year we will have planted well over 100 Vitex trees primarily for beneficial insects, medicinal qualities, cut foliage, & beautification of the farm. We LOVE TREES!

Bees – Whitton Farms lies in the middle of a community of novice and professional beekeepers This year we are partnering with our close neighbors to learn a lot more about the art of beekeeping for ourselves. This year we will have our very own hives. Look for some delicious Whitton Farms honey this fall!

Farm Recycling – We love to reuse/recycle just about anything we can get our hands on.  Whether it be wood, bricks, metal, water, plants, glass, cans, paper, & organic materials – Keith states “Everything has a use.” In fact, that line of thinking stems from Keith’s grandfather Jess, who built the house in which we now reside out of torn down homes from Memphis, Tn. From the beams to the floors, we live in a recycled home.

Seeds & Saving – One of the main reasons we grow heirloom vegetables is so we can save the seed for the following year’s crop. We believe it to be the fundamental goal of our sustainable farming operation. If we haven’t saved the seed from our own farm, this is where we go to order seeds: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, &Seed Saver’s Exchange.