Organic certification has existed for more than 20 years. Still, many misconceptions surround the United States Department of Agriculture’s distinctive green “Certified Organic” stamp. The myth has been busted—painfully so for ecologically minded and health-conscious consumers—that all organic produce is grown and processed without synthetic chemicals. It turns out that organic farming practices aren’t necessarily more sustainable than some still deemed “conventional,” and the jury remains out on whether the food on the organic shelves packs more nutrition than the cheaper stuff one shelf over.
If you’re feeling disillusioned by what the “USDA Organic” promise really means, don’t despair. Take a trip to Gamble Creek Farms in Parrish instead. As a certified organic farm, Gamble Creek Farms upholds the USDA’s rigorous standards for soil quality, seed sources, fertilizers, water sources and systems, and safe pest and weed control. With its market now open to the public seven days a week, visitors can take home the goodness grown directly in its fields, food forests, and new microgreens nursery.
And you’ll take home an education, too. Here are five exciting vocabulary terms that Gamble Creek Farms is helping to elevate to their rightful place alongside organic in the natural food lexicon.
Syntropy
Agronomist Ernst Götsch developed the agroforestry concept of syntropy as he revived more than 1,000 acres of Latin American waste-land, previously considered irredeemable after years of destructive farming and logging practices. Syntropic farming aims to imitate and accelerate natural succession cycles among different plant species in a forest. Grasses and ground covers allow shrubs to take root, giving way for mature trees. And when one of those kings of the forest comes down, what’s left is a sunlit patch of soil that happens to be perfect for growing fruits, vegetables, and greens.
“When you first see the syntropic work being done, it’s kind of appalling because it uses machetes, saws, and chainsaws,” says Farm Manager Zack Rasmussen. “Taking down massive apex trees doesn’t seem like reforesting at first, but then you start to understand that these interventions are needed to move these systems along and give a farmer profitability faster.”
Agroforestry
There are sections of Gamble Creek Farms where multiple species of trees shade thickets of riotous foliage and flowers. While they appear uncultivated, these groves comprise an important part of the working farm. Administrative Farm Manager Natasha Ahuja explains that reforestation lies at the heart of agroforestry:
“Reforestation happens naturally,” she says, pointing to a stand of eucalyptus trees on the farm’s eastern perimeter, already showing signs of bounce-back after last year’s hurricanes toppled more than half of them. “But if humans can understand and harness the reforesting process themselves, you can speed it up five to 10 years.”
What’s the point of reforesting a farm? It’s below the surface. Ahuja says a viable produce harvest comes from soil composed of at least 6 percent organic matter.
“We did our soil test recently,” Ahuja says. “On average, our organic fields were above 8 percent, but our agroforestry beds were 18 to 22 percent organic matter. So that shows you agroforestry has the power to regenerate the soil. We’re seeing proof from the lab report.”
Regenerative farming
Ahuja and Rasmussen frequently speak of “healing the land” when they talk about their holistic farming approach, which incorporates a host of techniques to rebuild an ecosystem down in the dirt. Citrus trees covered the 26 acres of Gamble Creek Farms for more than 40 years, and like any monoculture (where only one crop is cultivated) this degraded the land’s fertility while it increased all the growing things’ susceptibility to pests and disease. Disruption of the natural ecosystem drove out many pollinator species that contributed to fruit production.
“It seems like, day to day, we see an increase in complex pollinators,” Rasmussen says. “Every week, we see new species that we’ve never seen before. We see a progression in the size of larger animal species. “It really is complexifying by the day.”
Real Organic
A little over 1,000 farms in the United States can claim Real Organic certification, with just six in the state of Florida. Gamble Creek Farms joined the Real Organic ranks last July. The Real Organic Project designates itself as more than “another certification,” rather a “farmer-led rebellion against the industrial co-option of organic principles” with standards that expand on USDA Organic requirements to “represent a profound commitment to holistic farming that goes far beyond checkbox compliance.” The Real Organic mandate that crops grow in living soil (not hydroponic systems or sterile substrate containers) illustrates the movement’s first core value: soil health. Another core value, farmworker welfare, is essential to the culture at Gamble Creek Farms.
“It’s also about taking care of the people who are cultivating the land,” Ahuja says. “I truly believe our amazing team is part of the reason why you see the abundance here. Of course, our practices are a big part of it, but the people who are doing it love their work, and they do it with so much passion that their energy is transferring into the produce.”
Keep an ear to the ground for these buzzwords in your own quest for the best in healthy foo—the kind of fare that nourishes a community and supports a thriving workforce. It’s good for the body and good for the soul.
