Eve Samples: Martin farmer touts urban farming
PALM CITY —
Something unusual is happening on a patch of land in western Palm City.
Carrots, kale and all manner of edibles are growing — above-ground, in row after row of black sacks.
No pesticides are needed here. Instead, companion plants such as scallions and lemon grass keep the bugs away.
No giant tractors are in sight either. A cluster of solar panels and
calloused hands are the main sources of power on John Mackenzie’s farm.
The farm and its market — at the corner of Martin Highway and Boat
Ramp Avenue — is a place where you can walk in and pick up fixings for
dinner, then put the food on your family’s table within hours of its
harvest.
It’s healthier than most supermarket produce, and it tastes better, too.
Yet this is not how most of us eat in America.
Mackenzie thinks it should be.
With that in mind, he’s hoping to bring more farms to urban areas of Martin County.
The 48-year-old Palm City resident is a former big-city consultant
to the finance, Internet and apparel industries who became increasingly
troubled by the unsustainable way the world consumes energy and grows
food.
The very definition of modern agriculture bothered him. It requires
huge tracts of land, massive irrigation systems, lots of ground water
and chemicals.
Mackenzie knew it couldn’t last forever.
“If you think about our food system, it’s kind of tragic the way it operates,” he told me while perched on a table at his farm.
An example: Growers ship greens from across the continent, even
though we can grow them right here. By the time they make it into our
salad bowls, they have lost many nutrients — and required lots of fuel
for transportation.
So Mackenzie is growing close to home. Depending on the season, he
harvests everything from macadamia nuts to some 20 varieties of
tomatoes.
The above-ground growing method he developed helps keep pests at bay
and allows roots better access to oxygen. Eventually, he plans to start
harvesting rainwater to avoid using ground water for irrigation.
His farmer’s market — called Miller Mackenzie — is a short drive
from most homes in Palm City. But he wants to be even closer to the
heart of our community.
He wants to see agriculture integrated into our urban and suburban lives.
“My goal is to end up in Stuart,” he said.
For now, he’s working with homeowners and two private schools to set
up farms on their property. In recent years, he has helped residents
plant hundreds of gardens on the Treasure Coast.
His goal is simple: to enable more people to grow their own food, enjoy it and make it part of their lives.
“Even if you’re growing 12 heads of lettuce a month — it’s something,” Mackenzie said.
To him, it’s about nutrition and efficiency. It’s about knowing, no
matter what happens in the global markets, you have food close to home.
And it’s about creating local jobs and keeping money in our community.
Plus, there’s something broader driving Mackenzie.
He’s fed up with the polarized debates being waged in politics and
government. He wants to help bring people together around common
causes. And what’s more common than food?
Within a generation, he thinks we can put ourselves on a better course.
“We’re just going to have to get a lot closer to the Earth, and be much more conservation-minded and work together,” he said.
Mackenzie will kick off a series of lectures on the topic at the Blake Library next month.
Eve Samples is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers.
This column reflects her opinion. For more on Martin County topics,
follow her blog at tcpalm.com/samples.
Lecture series
“Obligations: A Series of Serious Discussions”
6:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 9
Blake Library, Stuart
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