Corona Farm - Port Townsend, WA

Farmers: Robert and Darby Greenway, Adam Blake and Emmy Graham, one intern, and local volunteers.

More and more of an unlikely occurrence, a in-city farm! Three and half cultivated acres of no-tilling goodness. The Darby's have created a unique form of agriculture on land that was, hard as rock glacial till, horse pasture.

Adam and the Darby's invited my into this space, and were a pleasure to spend time with. Kind and generous, open and joyful, it was an inspiration to be with folks that are releasing the stresses of the farming life in creative ways by living in the deeper mysteries of connection with the Earth. As well as sharing this connection and being extremely giving in creating a home for Adam and his family to make a living off of their land, and taking enjoyment in seeing a young farmer blossom.

Farming Practices:
"The sustainable farming practices which we use at corona farming have evolved from various gardening styles , tailored specifically to meet the needs of our unique geography, climate and resource base. Having started with land that was deficient in topsoil (the glaciers scraped it all away) with six inches of standing water through much of the spring and winter, raised beds was the most practical way to go. Utilizing organic matter from the community that would otherwise enter the waste stream, we have an intensive composting program. Fish waste from the port, sawdust from a local mill, and vegetable scraps from restaurants and the Food Co-op, transform into rich soil loaded with beneficial microbes, earthworms, and mycelium."

Lead by Robert and his "small farm as art form" concept, they have worked for 17 seasons cultivating, nourishing, and living in relationship with the land. Here are a few quotes from Robert, expanding upon his beliefs and vision:

"It started out as neither "art" nor "science" -- not an ecopsychology project, nor a subsistence garden. It just started one day, when I began digging next to the house with a simple shovel."

"The garden was not planned in advance, or designed. I simply followed the contours of the slight slopes, preferring straight lines for tilling and weeding purposes."

"But we have created lives that - consciously or not – presume nature and culture to be separate realms, and we often find difficulty in joining the realms. And then, in this illusion of separateness, we act 'as if' it were true; we allow "mental assumptions" to dominate our relationship with the earth, to exploit and degrade the natural systems of the earth for short-term benefit, for wealth, or merely out of a kind of crazed, hungry greed that more and more obviously functions like an addiction."

"We realize, also, that relationship is not between entities, but between systems, and when the human-as-system (or culture-as-system) and "nature-as- system" are fully realized, there is one system, and there is the relationship. It is a systemic relationship, through which the energies of mind, nature, the universe, and the deeper mysteries flow."

"Our dominance as ‘creator’ of the garden is softened by the realization that no matter what we do, we cannot create the basic elements of the farm. We can help, enhance, even facilitate, but we do not create, and here is the partnership. Here is the "bridge" between culture and nature, a partnership further enhanced and validated when the food we grow passes from our hands to our neighbors."

If your interested in structure, take a look at the photos in the galleria of the cob buildings they've made: a shower house, sauna, and composting toilet.

Contact:
http://www.coronafarm.com/