Our Story

Mission

Taking the long view means choosing future benefits over short-term payoffs.  At Longview Farms that means we are committed to:

* Practicing innovative, sustainable farming methods to build the soil and produce healthy vegetables free of pesticides and chemical fertilizer

* Raising healthy, grass fed and grass finished Devon cattle without adding hormones or antibiotics

* Restoring our longleaf pine ecosystem through fire ecology and annual replanting
    
* Reducing our carbon footprint by sequestering C02 in the soil as biochar, offsetting our energy consumption with solar power, and producing biodiesel from waste vegetable oil
    
* Using the farm as an outdoor classroom to immerse students in nature and to introduce them to sustainable farming and land management

 

Sustainability

 

Biodiesel

One of Longview's sustainability goals is to reduce our use of fossil fuels by using alternative fuels or power sources whenever possible.  Biodiesel is our alternative fuel of choice because most of our farm vehicles and machines are diesel engines that run well on biodiesel.  We use the BioPro 190 processor, manufactured by Springboard Biodiesel in Chico, California.    

 

              

Solar

We have a 16 kilowatt, grid-tied solar system that offsets the electricity we use in our house.  The grid-tied system allows us to sell the energy we produce directly back to our electric cooperative.

 

Spring Garden Resources

A few resources for starting your spring gardens…. These days, as the threat of frost passes, we’re focusing on preparing garden beds for seeds and moving plants from the greenhouse into the beds. That means we’re also thinking about 3 keys to our garden’s success: improving the soil, controlling weeds, and getting enough water to the plants and seeds.  Below is a short list of useful resources for each.

Soil: We make compost and buy some locally to build or amend our beds.  We test the soil and look closely at the compost analysis to see what nutrients we need to add. Local Compost Sources: Quincy Soils (spent mushroom compost) Ed @ 850.447. 4756 for semi truck loads.  Blackstar Organics for worm compost (minimum order 1 pallet) 727.709.3398. Graco Fertilizer in Cairo for several varieties of finished compost  (229) 377-1602.  Smaller quantities for compost-Native Nurseries, Espositos, and Tallahassee Nurseries. Soil Tests: Your local extension office or Waters Agricultural in Camilla, GA: watersag.com

Irrigation: We use drip irrigation and micro irrigation sprinklers.  You can find these at local hardware stores, as well as Lowes and Home Depot. But, for the best selection and for helpful videos, try www.dripworks.com.

Weed Control: We’re using straw and hay (without seed heads)  between beds after covering the ground with cardboard and feed sacks first.  We found wheat straw at Heinz Nurseries Phone:(850) 668-0961 and we buy field stored hay from The Feed Store in Havana 850.539.3337.