ORGANIC GROWERS AND CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION OF BARBADOS

 

Getting to know the Farm

 

Location

 

Walkers Bay, St. Andrew

 

Background and history of the farm

 

Walkers Reserve was created in 2013.  For several generations the 300 acre estate was one of the few on the island that was not used for sugar cultivation as the sandy soil and proximity to the wind battered Eastern Coast was not a good site for sugar cane. Instead the area was known by locals as an area abundant in Cashew, Sea Grape, Tamarind and Fatpork fruits. These trees are well suited to the area and many families still forage in and around the land, harvesting the seasonal fruits.

The high quality silica sand that lies all over the estate has been used for building roads and homes throughout the island for many years and as this process of mining is declining, Ian has committed to regenerating the landscape.

 

Kinds of produce

 

Cashew Fruit, Sea Grape, Fatpork, coconut, Tamarind, pigeon peas, watermelon, Sweet potato

 

Where can you find his products

 

Cheapside, in season

 

Why organic farming?

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In attempting to regenerate soil from sand there is a crucial need to increasemicobiotic life in the soil. Organic farming emphasises this reality. The area cannot use toxic chemicals as the incorpoation of lakes and various ponds on the site would be compromised by such inputs

 

 

 

Challenges

Working with Silica sand which lays on a clay base, the proximity to the Atlantic  Ocean sea salt blast and the variance in slopes from dunes to grassland Savannah, makes for a pleasantly challenging environment where all manner of permaculture techniques are put into practise.

 

 

Special practices

 

Ian is dedicated to the permaculture approach to organic farming and has facilitated the organic farmers that work with him to be trained and certified as permaculturalists. The use of swales, vetiver and fast growing nitrogen fixing crops are used to stabilize and enrich the soil on slopes while various edible crops like Cassava, melon and pumpkin are grown to help cover the delicate sandy soil.

 

Contact

 

phone # 252 -2227   email: imacneel@mac.com

 

Fertilizing method

 

Nitrogen fixing legumes, Azormite and mulch

 

Pest methods

Uses newspaper and smelly chicken manure to keep back the monkeys

 

Special practices/tips

 

He cover crops his empty beds with buckwheat which improve the phosphorus content of the soil. When the buckwheat is mature, cut it, and turn it into a foliar spray for the other crops. Troy noticed that in general, crops planted near the edges of the garden grow better, probably due to the presence of bushes and tall plants around the plot. Thus, he created rows of cassava every 10 beds, to create shade and windbreak for the surrounding crops. Those are intercropped with okra and melons, because those crops don’t use the same vegetation layer and thus don’t compete among each other. Plus, the okra attracts spider which is a good predator of the white butterfly.