By Susan Schaul
The green oasis dug into the urban landscape should have been called Surprise Farm instead of Blue Pike Farm. Yep, in the most unexpected place, crops are growing organically without pesticides. Among street traffic, dirt and construction debris, brick apartment buildings, a convenience store and warehouses sits over an acre of fenced in, cultivated soil at St. Clair Avenue and East 72nd Street in the St. Clair-Superior neighborhood.
Not only does this farm harvest rows and rows of different fresh fruits and vegetables, it also supplies fresh eggs. When the 90+ hens are not perched in the chicken coops on top of freshly laid eggs, they are free ranging over the property. Two proud roosters also hang out here. Carl Skalak, owner and farmer extraordinaire, first started plowing this land back in 2006, the first for-profit farm of the 21st century in Cuyahoga County.
Why did Skalak, a solid-looking, 64-year-old, 6-foot tall man with a gray-haired ponytail pulled back choose the Blue Pike Farm name? “Back 150 years ago,” explained Skalak, “blue pike fish swam in abundance (declared extinct in 1983) in Lake Erie and many working farms planted crops here. The farm’s name is my-tip-of-the-hat, a shout out, to them acknowledging their hard work.”
And for Skalak, the sole proprietor who leases the land from the owner, this farming start-up company is definitely hard work. “I am not a Facebook or Google millionaire,” he smiled. He is solely supported by selling the farm crops at farmers markets (see schedule and location) and from the farm’s CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) memberships. His first crop was construction debris clearing a lot of rocks by hand from the land. Like many farmers before him, in Spring, Summer, and Fall, he works dawn to dusk. With no employees, he does appreciate the help of volunteers.
Seven years ago, Skalak started his new business by locating minimally shaded, fenced-in land with a fire hydrant showing water access. He took soil samples, sent them to Ohio State University, who sent them to the University of Massachusetts Soil Test Lab. “I had to be sure there were no warning flags for contaminants, heavy metal, or other nasty stuff,” he said. “Their soil analysis reported the nutrient levels and gave recommendations for what needed to be added. I collected and composted organic matter like leaves and food scraps, and then mixed it all in with top soil using my plow, a borrowed tractor, and an industrial strength rototiller.”
“I eat better than anyone I know,” he boasted. “I know where the food comes from. My fruits and vegetables have no pesticide residue, no soil contaminants, are not genetically modified (non-GMO). My chickens are free range and eat non-GMO grains.”
Skalak, a former magazine freelance photojournalist, has read a huge amount of farming information and talked to many experts about soil, water, light, and growing fresh crops and raising chickens.
“Good soil makes for healthier plants more resistant to bugs and disease,” he advised. “Organic matter keeps the soil refreshed, invigorated, and rejuvenates the soil for the next year’s crops. “
He employs strategies like companion planting, pairing different plants together because there is a synergy between them. They grow better, like corn, squash, and beans. Tomatoes and carrots grow better together. He says it’s nature’s way. As a pest management technique, he lays down red plastic film around the tomato plants and black plastic for weed and water management around other vegetables.
For watering, he also has a customized irrigation system from an 85-pound water pressure hose siphoned off to a smaller 12-pound pressure hose, and then to a drip tape running along each line of plantings. His system is customized based on the needs of the plants. He follows the guidelines and practices of organic farmers but is not certified as organic because the harvest comes with a higher price.
“You know how to make a small fortune in farming?” Skalak asked. “You start with a large fortune,” he smiled. In season, he operates a farmers market at the Blue Pike Farm on Thursday afternoons 4-7pm. He also sells fresh eggs and produce at the farmers markets at the First Baptist Church on Fairmount Blvd. and downtown at the Galleria.
For more information about the Blue Pike Farm and membership in its CSA, please visit http://bluepikefarm.com.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Susan Schaul, who says the act of writing is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. The challenge lies in getting the pieces to fit together and make sense.
Cleveland, OH 44103
2 Responses to “Blue Pike Farm: An Unexpected Green Oasis”
bob
GOT a WHOLE CITY or PART of it can function in….. some use…you can raise goats and create cheese,wool,and keep lot of city cleaned out…a pain running goats at nite and got cars to coyotes running around but hey…if stuff OUTSIDE the fence Oh well…life…
bob
Kudeos…..wish best….