At Frimmer Family Farms we’re all about experimenting with new ways to grow.  We first started out doing hydroponics for a season, and then were wooed by aquaponics, and tried that for a season as well.  This year, we’re taking a vertical gardening approach using soil, compost and coir to fill vertical stacking pots and raised beds, and grow absolutely as much food as possible in our small city row house yard.

We grow everything organically, although we’re so small we’ve never thought about getting certified.  Maybe someday!  Although the more and more we learn about farming, the more we are realizing that organic farming – while using approved chemicals that are much more safe than conventional herbicides and pesticides – is still pretty big on the application of chemical treatments.  We strive to do everything the old fashioned and low tech way, Integrated Pest Management.  We plant lots of wildflowers to attract predatory bugs to eat the ones we don’t want.  We use our 20 high tech insect killing machines (those are our fingers, by the way) and get out there for a smush fest every few days in the spring, before the beneficial bugs are out.  We want our food as safe and natural as it gets, and that’s what we strive to do for everyone who eats from our farm.

Here’s a picture of our vertical greenhouse in the Summer, with another picture of Spring of 2014

3 raised beds and vertical pots

High tunnel in Spring. Cover is off, and greens are sprouting.

And here’s a nice shot of our old NFT hydroponic system, from 2013.

How we grow at Frimmer Family Farms.  This is an NFT system that Farmer Ben has custom fitted to work with aquaponics.