City of Dunwoody Council Member John Heneghan may be going bald come St. Patricks' Day, but I have big, fat news about something going green right around then! Avril's Car Wash at the corner of Holcomb Bridge Road and Spalding Drive is owned, drumroll please, by Farmer D's parents, just like the Avril's on Briarcliff at Lavista. And since the Farmer D Organics retail store at that location is going gangbusters (I was there last week and the flurry of activity is unprecedented in a retail location right now), Farmer D and his dad "Stan the Man" (woodworker extraordinaire) have decided to bring Farmer D Organics out here to this location as well. As Stan told me, "So many of the Raised Bed Gardens to Go we're building are for people out there anyway, it seems to make sense to bring the store there as well."
I think I hear my friends in Peachtree Corners cheering already, the ones who unloaded CSA farm box shares so diligently week after week and plotted their own kitchen gardens, only to find that supplies (and expert help!) were a wild goose chase to acquire. Now, we will no longer be in an organic gardening desert out here, stuck with Home Depot's lame chemical-laden root-bound transplants and nonorganic seeds, or having to make the trip to Brookhaven's Hastings Garden Center, where half the time what I need is sold out already or more often than not "hasn't come in yet," or dealing with the unpredictable delivery schedule of Seeds of Change catalog orders.
Farmer D Organics has High Mowing organic seeds, a wide variety of heirloom organic transplants (in fact, D told me that he'd like to get into contract growing for home gardeners, where you order the specific transplants you want six weeks in advance), quality tools, organic fertilizers, books, the most clever chicken coop I've seen yet, compost tumblers, and, of course, Farmer D's signature branded biodynamic organic compost. Oh, and yes, you can order custom-sized cedar Raised Bed Gardens to Go from D and Stan. They are working nonstop to keep up with the demand at the intown store. Want to check out the product offerings online? See the new Farmer D website here and check out D's show on the Mother Nature Network here.
For those who don't know, Farmer D started the farm at Serenbe (see last week's New York Times article about Serenbe here), Full Moon Biodynamic Farm and Research Center (in Athens), and Hampton Island Preserve and Trustees Garden (both in Savannah). Plus, he has designed farms for Richard Branson (of Virgin Atlantic fame), for New Orleans recovery efforts that incorporate a variety of food security solutions into new community planning, and for schools and prisons. He designed the children's garden at Zaban Park (and, in fact, he and I are about to clean that garden up and get it ready for the new season--come dig with us and learn first-hand about children's gardens, especially if you have interest in being part of one at any of our Dunwoody schools! Check back here for the date and time soon).
Farmer D designs farms and gardens not just with productivity in mind, but also with aesthetics. I hope he doesn't cringe when I say this, but he is the Martha Stewart of farming. If we ever decide to turn an acre or so of that Donaldson Chesnut House horse farm into a market garden (featuring heirloom Southern crops to tie in with the historic significance of that space), I would highly recommend it be designed and managed by Farmer D since I know we would get a beautiful and useful addition to Dunwoody as a result.
In the meantime, head on up to Farmer D Organics at Avril's Car Wash (which uses nontoxic biodegradable cleaners, naturally) and finally get that veggie garden going. Look for the bright green paint (no VOCs, of course) coming soon, and get ready to green up your life, the Farmer D way.
If you haven't met Farmer D yet, here's a glimpse:
Why Do You Do What You Do, Farmer D? from Pattie Baker on Vimeo.
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