Organic Farming - A Family Affair

by Amy Lange and Michael Shore

Up at 5:45 and in the fields by 7am, or tending to his organic tomatoes growing in the greenhouse - 82-year-old George Carpenter takes his dinner at noon surrounded by what he loves: asparagus, blueberries, rhubarb, sweet corn, cucumbers, beans and beets - for starters.  

“Our specialty is the sweet onion,” says Carpenter, whose farm is in Allen, Michigan.  “We have about 30,000 planted this year and we’re harvesting now.  Every week we pull – while they’re still green and about the size of a baseball.”

Farming is in Carpenter’s blood – his father farmed full-time and he was reared on their land in Ohio until the age of 13.  His family moved to Detroit and Carpenter eventually went off to war – flying planes during WWII.  As soon as he returned he went back to Ohio and purchased a 217 acre farm near his father’s home – but it wasn’t very successful.

“So I moved back to Michigan and worked in the shop.  I had to buy a place in Wayne, Michigan and while working for Ford I was also gardening.” 

Carpenter and his wife Norma were selling their crops at farmers markets in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor off and on from the early 1960’s until 1982.  Of course his sons helped him. 

“They earned a lot of spending money and school money,” he says.  “I retired from Ford in 1980 and got into the farm where we are now.”

And now he’s gone organic.

“I thought it was good for my health - there was a lot of interest in the market,” he explains.  “People would turn us down because we sprayed so we were looking for something that was safer to eat.”

And that’s what he found.  Carpenter Farms has been certified organic for two years now - growing cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce in the greenhouse.  And they’re in their second year growing organic in the field.

“We use all the practices - no spraying, organically grown seeds, and certified fertilizers like chicken manure,” he explains.

Whatever they’re doing – it’s working.  Carpenter Farms has been a big success in its first year at the Farmington Farmers and Artisans Market in downtown Farmington where he and his family sell every Saturday.

“The tomatoes that we grow have excellent flavor - most of our buyers are surprised at the flavor,” he says.  “We're able to sell more than we can produce on most of our items right now.”       

The fact that it’s a family affair is a source of pride for Carpenter.  They’ve trained 15 of their 21 grandchildren to farm the fields and now have a couple of great-grandchildren working for them.

“I made good money in the factory and I raised six children and I needed the income but I could hardly wait to get out of the factory,” he says.  “I retired at 55 because I wanted to do something else - we haven't made as much money, but I really enjoy this work and my wife really enjoys it too.”

Amy Lange is a reporter with Fox 2 News and a columnist for Real Detroit Weekly.  Photographer Michael Shore is a photographer with Fox 2 News who freelances for Real Detroit Weekly and owns Michael Shore Photography.  Both Amy and Michael are volunteers with the Farmington Farmers and Artisans Market for more information on the market log on to www.downtownfarmington.org