June 2022 - 5

PATCHWORK
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Grown website (www.cngfarming.
org/), farmers using the certification
don't use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides
or herbicides and the crops are not
genetically modified. The main
difference between Certified Naturally
Grown and organic is the certification
model, " which relies on peer inspections,
transparency and direct relationships, "
according to the website.
" We (humans) were organic before
organic was a thing, " Norman said. " For
me, it was about going back to how
things were. "
Industrial agriculture's herbicides
and pesticides are a recent development
because in most of the world's history,
people have grown food without
chemicals, she said.
Norman and her neighboring
growers learn about production
techniques through community sharing,
understanding what works on one farm
won't necessarily work at another.
" It's important to be open to that kind
of experimentation and paying attention
to your unique site, " said Norman.
To promote soil health, Norman's
operation does a lot of companion
planting, crop rotations and composting.
Productive soil
Patchwork plants onions in the same
beds of broccoli, kale and collards.
Onions repel insects that like to feed on
Brassica crops. For tomatoes, Norman
plants lettuce or radishes on either side
of tomato rows because those plants
aren't competing for the same nutrients.
Tomatoes also consume significantly
more nitrogen than radishes, she said.
Because of the smaller
non-monocultural cropping scale of her
growing operations, Norman's crops are
exposed to many pests. After witnessing
an aphid infestation, instead of panicking
about needing to treat the entire field to
avoid losing all of the broccoli, Norman
decided to pull those plants.
Using space more efficiently and getting
more production out of a smaller area
also helps with pest control, she said.
" We have a lot more flexibility in being
able to get rid of insect pressure without
necessarily feeling like my whole farm is
about to go under, " said Norman.
Weeds, however, are another story.
Norman must pull weeds by hand.
The company transitioned to a woven
plastic mulch where the cover helps
suppress weeds.
" We uncover the beds if needed to
rotate the crop to the next part of the
farm, " said Norman. " We implement a
bunch of different techniques. I am always
observing, figuring out what works best
where. We make numerous adjustments
within the season and year to year. "
Georgia red clay
Crop rotations help break the cycles
of soil disease influenced by repeated
plantings of the same crop or same
crop families.
" The focus is making sure our soil is
healthy and robust and adding a lot of
Patchwork City Farms is an Atlanta urban farm that grows a variety of vegetables
and fruit, including radishes, baby beets, parsley, lacinato kale, baby greens,
mushrooms and rainbow chard.
Jamila Norman of Patchwork City Farms. She and
her neighboring Atlanta urban growers learn and
share growing techniques.
The founder of Atlanta's Patchwork City Farms uses
sustainable farming practices to grow crops that feed
impoverished communities.
compost to it, " she said. " When you have
healthy soil, you have healthy plants. "
Because Georgia's red clay soil lacks
organic matter, at the end of the season
she composts plant residue and adds
compost to the beds after every crop.
Local tree companies supply wood chips
for walkways, while local mushroom
farms and peanut hullers and shellers
supply compost material.
" It has been good being able to
utilize those resources on the farm and
help divert a lot of those nutrient-rich
materials out of our landfills, " she said.
Because urban environments contain
many hard surfaces that cause runoff and
chemical infiltration, Norman's water
engineering experience helped her take
an empty lot and turn it into a productive
farm that captures rainwater.
This is helpful to the environment, but
also nutritious for nearby residents.
" It's important for us to say we are
taking land in those communities and
transforming them into healthy and
productive useful spaces by producing
foods that are healthy, too, " Norman
said. " It's important to implement
those sustainable practices in those
communities that have suffered over the
years from the ill effects of unsustainable
operations in a bunch of different ways. "
Food is Life
Of Caribbean lineage, Norman
Patchwork City Farms promotes soil health via companion planting, crop rotation and
composting on vegetables including purple kale and green onions.
grew up in a part of Atlanta where food
options were limited. Her interest in
farming began with some friends growing
produce for her family.
In 2007, working as a state engineer,
Norman farmed one acre on weekends
and after work, sold her production at
farmers' markets. After being downsized,
Norman continued part-time. Working
with other neighborhood growers, she
organized the Southwest Atlanta Growers
Cooperative, which she managed.
After that and a second site's leases
weren't renewed, Norman purchased
undeveloped land and began production
in 2018.
The farm produces for working class
communities with limited food options
outside of corner stores and fast food.
Older residents recalled a time of many
backyard gardens, with visits to grocery
stores only required for meat and staples.
" Food is life and is culture, " Norman
said. " It's what gives us the energy we
need to be our best selves and to be
healthy and not be in school hungry
and malnourished. Communities that
have been marginalized do understand
the importance of food. They want
good, healthy, safe and nutritious
food. They have a legacy of that in
their history. We just want to make
sure it's available and happens in the
communities that need it. " VGN
VGN | JUNE 2022 | 5
Patchwork City Farms grows vegetables in a 1.5-acre urban farm in the
Oakland City neighborhood of Atlanta.
http://www.cngfarming
June 2022

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