Michelle Gomez

TLH blogger

These are not your typical plowboys. Blake Canter, 24, and Phil Rosner, 26, owners of Owen River Farm in east Tallahassee, are newcomers to the farming scene.

Sons of doctors, lawyers, writers and midwives, the two friends grew up far removed from a life led outdoors. Spurred by a taste for good food and a philosophical bent toward a healthy natural system, these guys found their own way to the field.

“My mom is a great cook,” says Blake, whose mother is Greek and Italian. “I figured out that the best-tasting food is fresh, and grown at home.”

Blake, who has lived in Frenchtown since 2008, planted a little hobby garden and everything did well. He attributes that success to the rich, fertile soil common in the neighborhood.

Phil came by last fall to help, and the two transformed the small plot into a mini front-yard farm with carrots, beets, spinach, garlic, onions and chard. The day’s work produced more food than they could eat.

“We sat on the porch looking out at the garden,” says Phil, “and we started thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if we had more sun, more land, an irrigation system?’ ”

Less than a year later, they have a small farm, a third of an acre on leased land, fully cultivated and producing colorful heirloom vegetables that would inspire the creativity of a home cook or lauded chef.

Phil tells a favorite story, one that suggested to him they could make this farming thing work. Blake had planted some tomatoes — just stuck them in the ground with no structure, no support. The resulting jungle produced intense, delicious fruit.

Soon after, someone gave Blake tray of sweet potatoes that he set on the edge of the garden. Before he got around to planting them, they were swallowed by the tomato jungle.

Once the tomato plants had run their course and died, a car-sized plot of sweet potatoes emerged from the ground. The forgotten tray of starts produced 50 pounds of potatoes, without any attention.

Not all of Blake’s skill, however, is luck or magic. He has studied at organic farms in Petaluma, Calif., and Hawthorne, Ga. He also interned at Ten Speed Greens in Tallahassee, where he picked up ideas for marketing and small farm business strategy.

The very different operations helped him to develop a farming philosophy that incorporates the health of the surrounding environment as well as crop yield.

Owen River Farm does not use fertilizer or pesticide. Their idea is that farming should build the microbiotic elements of soil and the whole ecological system will benefit. The farmers feed the soil, so the plants can take what they need.

The duo has produced an aerobic compost tea, without the odor or potential danger of anaerobic choices like manure or compost. Virtually all of the elements on the periodic table are represented.

They route it through the irrigation system that Phil designed. The resulting soil is rich and spongy, alive with microbiotics, and produces happy crops.

“The greatest sign of health,” says Blake, dreaming of a larger farm in the future, “would be panthers in the woods, bobcats and bears. Our entire food chain starts in the soil.”

Is it a farming revival? A counter-culture response to the ills of Big Ag? That the 20-somethings are onto something is evident every Saturday in their inviting display at the Frenchtown market, their smiles and easy conversation.

They are doing what they love, and it shows.

Michelle Gomez is a KCCI Catalyst serving on the Frenchtown Heritage Marketplace Action Team.

Grilled Eggplant

In honor of Blake’s mom and our quickly departing summer, here’s a yummy and healthy alternative to burgers on the grill.

Ingredients

Eggplant

Olive oil

Minced garlic

Tomatoes

Fresh mozzarella

Fresh basil

Instructions

Slice eggplant in rounds. Make shallow slits in both sides and brush with a mixture of olive oil and minced garlic.

Grill, covered, for 20 minutes, until tender and browned. Turn and brush with oil mixture a few times during the cooking process.

Slice tomatoes and brush with the oil mixture. Grill them too, alongside the eggplant.

Layer with slices of fresh mozzarella and garnish with fresh basil for a mouthwatering non-burger worthy of any backyard on an end-of-summer evening. Enjoy.