FARMING IS A NATURAL FOR PATTON FAMILY

Allen Hollcombe, left, hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father, Gary, who began farming organically in Texas in the 1970's.

From left, Ann, Jane and Gary Hollcombe man their fruit and vegetable stand on a recent Saturday monring at the Cape Girardeau's Farmer's Market.

Gary and Allen Hollcombe check broccoli plants. The plants are covered with milk jugs to guard against insects and cool temperatures.

You don't have to know much about farming to know the Hollcombe family farm in northwest Bollinger County is a little different than most.

There is a yellow metal shop building which has become the family home and a greenhouse jutting from the side of an otherwise ordinary barn, but the farm, nestled among gently rolling hardwood hills, is different from its neighbors in more than just appearance.

The Hollcombe farm is an organic one, where the herbicides and fertilizers common in conventional agriculture are replaced with a combination of composting and crop management.

Growing crops in this way makes for higher quality produce without the risk of polluting the produce, the land or nearby ponds and streams, says family patriarch Gary Hollcombe.

Hollcombe, his wife Jane and their children, Allen and Ann, moved to the Patton area in 1990 with a desire to escape the hustle and hassle of the city and to grow foods naturally, or "organically."

"We were eager for a change from the city," Gary explained. "We used to live in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and were growing organically there but I wanted to expose the children to a quieter lifestyle so we moved here in 1990.

"Land is cheap here," he added. "It also has pitiful soil but we knew a lot of people here who, you could say, conducted their affairs in a similar manner as us."

The Hollcombes had been farming organically for 10 to 15 years before moving to the area. The occupation began as the extension of a hobby. Gary and Sally began growing organic foods as home gardeners and their hobby soon grew into a livelihood.

"It's all I knew," Gary recalled. "I don't do this now because it's the thing to do. I do it because it's all I know how to do."

The 10-acre farm the Hollcombes bought was a far different plot of land than it is today. In 1990, the gravel driveway was obscured by weeds and the fields had been left uncultivated for years.

Today, however, the farm is in full operation and the family grows more than 100 different varieties of vegetables including peas, beans, asparagus, tomatoes and potatoes as well as cut flowers. Their crops differ from conventional produce in that they are sold directly to the consumer. The family sells produce in season during weekly visits to the Cape Girardeau Farmers' Market and the Hazelwood Market in St. Louis.

The sale is the last step in a long chain of processes which contrast sharply with the conventional American method of farming. This chain begins long before the first seed is planted. The organic farmer, says Gary Hollcombe, must pay closer attention to the soil than the conventional farmer, who uses herbicides and pesticides to prevent crop damage and to nourish his crops.

The organic farmer must be a very involved soil manager, taking into careful consideration the level of microorganisms and organic material in his soil, the kind of crop which was grown on the land before and the nutritional needs of the crop to be planted.

"The soil condition is of first importance," he said. Much of the growing season is spent doing things such as adding composted material and other natural fertilizers to the soil.

This process began almost as soon as Hollcombe took possession of the farm. The organic content of the soil, the part that makes plants grow, had fallen below the 2 percent mark. Through an involved enrichment process over the past four years, the Hollcombes have managed to raise that level to more than 3 percent and hope to eventually reach the 5 percent mark.

In addition to composting stalks and other organic by-products of farming, the family further enriches the soil and encourages microorganism growth by adding a tremendous amount of manure to the land. Of more than 30 tons of manure brought to the farm during the last growing season, more than half has already been worked into the soil.

"The soil isn't good here," said Gary Hollcombe, "but it is buildable. The concern of organics is to ensure that the life of the soil is there."

The soil gets its "life" not only from the nutrients, compost and manure that are in it, but also from microorganisms which digest organic matter and other waste to produce more nutrients.

"Most people think of soil as dirt and dirt is what a housewife sweeps from the kitchen but we grow in soil that has microorganisms in it," Gary Hollcombe said. "That's the construction crew. They are the stomach of the soil. They digest whatever comes their way and have excretions which enrich the soil."

Scientists have estimated that the weight of all the microorganisms in an acre of soil seven inches deep is equal to that of two fully-grown Belgian draft horses.

Along with manure and compost, the family also takes advantage of the nourishing qualities of particular plant varieties to help boost the quality of the soil on their 10 acre farm. For example, only a portion of the land -- typically five to seven acres -- is used to grow cash crops. The remainder is kept in "rotation" for a time during which replenishing crops such as rye are grown to prevent soil erosion and add beneficial minerals to the soil. Rye, Gary explains, not only boosts the level of nitrogen in the soil in which it is grown, but also emits a small amount of toxin which prevents the germination of small seeds such as those of nuisance grasses without harming any cash crops grown there the following season.

"Mechanical" methods of weed control -- hoeing and cultivating with a tractor-drawn implement -- are other ways the Hollcombes control weeds without the use of chemicals.

Pest control is another area in which organic farming stands out from other forms. No chemicals are used here either. Instead, the Hollcombes use other plants and, at times, the weaknesses of the pests themselves, to combat losses to insects.

One of the best ways of controlling pests is one Gary Hollcombe calls "interplanting." Along with the cash crop, another plant which tends to repel insects is grown to discourage the bugs from attacking the cash crop. For instance marigolds are typically grown alongside tomatoes. The marigolds emit an odor that is offensive to blister beetles, which like to eat tomatoes. Blister beetles generally avoid tomato plants located near marigolds. In a similar manner, cucumber beetles tend to avoid areas near radishes.

Another pest control method is growing "trap crops." Trap crops are plants grown alongside cash crops but rather than repel harmful pests, trap crops attract the pests and draw them away from nearby vegetables.

Biological methods are yet another of controlling pests. Hollcombe says that natural sprays containing viruses or diseases are sprayed onto target plants. These sprays are completely safe to humans and even family pets which might play in and around the crops. The sprays generally target a particular insect species and may home in on the insect only during a particular phase. For instance a spray may only target male cucumber beetles or only blister beetles in the larval stage.

The sprays are just as expensive as conventional farm pesticides, said Hollcombe, but are only used in the case of insect infestation. Conventional farm pesticides are sprayed to protect against infestations. If there is no insect infestation, the organic farmer does not apply a spray.

Gary Hollcombe agrees that vegetable growing is a labor-intensive form of agriculture but says there is just as much work in producing vegetables by conventional means. The same is true in other forms of agriculture, he maintains. While the methods are different, the work is generally the same, he explained, adding that a number of conventional Bootheel farm crops are now being grown organically and in quantity. There are organic farms in southeast Missouri ranging from 600 to 2,000 acres in size producing soybeans, cotton and corn.

However, Holcombe feels quality, rather than quantity should be the aim of organic farming.

"Our goal is to provide good, clean food of a higher quality," he said. "It's like the American dream [in conventional farming] to produce more and more and more and there's no real regard for quality."

The Hollcombes say that the conventional farm market does not reward higher quality, paying the same price for organically-grown fruits and vegetables as for those grown with normal methods. However, there is a growing market for organic produce.

"It seems like more and more people are becoming chemically-sensitive and require foods grown without chemicals," said Sally Hollcombe. "That type of food is not readily available in this area."

The reward for the organic farmer is walking away from a market knowing that he or she has sold pure fruits and vegetables to the buyers, said Gary Hollcombe.