{"id":9621,"date":"2021-11-10T11:20:12","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T15:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/?p=9621"},"modified":"2021-11-10T11:20:37","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T15:20:37","slug":"meet-the-farmer-phillip-edwards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/10\/meet-the-farmer-phillip-edwards\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet The Farmer-Phillip Edwards"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Phillip Edwards left the computing sector and is now a full-time farmer; a challenging transition from working behind a computer to working with the soil. He has been maintaining two different farms, one at Mirabeau, St. Andrew, and another at Westerhall, St. David.<\/p>\n

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While admitting that the transition was hard, he said maintaining a small garden plot helped. \u201cWhile working in information technology, I always maintained a small portion of Chives on the side of my house. After two years I was able to reap big from planting Chive alone,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I left the computing sector and started searching for a job, after 3 months, the idea came to me. I got some tomatoes and started from there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Edwards explained that this journey took him on an educational path, as he sought advice and support from other farmers. Realising that Agriculture is a business, to maintain his weekly demands, he started planting more, to be more consistent. With the onset of COVID-19, productionlevels increased further.<\/p>\n

One of his best practices, especially for tomatoes, is planting a border of corn. \u201c This is a protection for harvesting time,in case anything has to fly and I\u2019m very particular with that because I have to eat from it too. We know that corn is also something that would put back nutrients in the soil.\u201d<\/p>\n

One\u00a0 of the biggest challenges explained by Edwards was the White Fly. \u201cThey suck the tomatoes, and prevent them from reproducing as much; so if you don’t have it under control, you might be affected a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The farmer explained that due to demands, he decided to plant in stages on his various plots.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cevery week I need produce for my markets. I also know what day every week\u00a0 I need the produce, so I started doing the stages to be more consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

His crops include carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, beets, pakchoi, pumpkin and others.<\/p>\n

This Farmer advocates for greater emphasis to be placed on Agriculture and for farmers to receive greater recognition for their roles in society.<\/p>\n

Things to note about Phillip Edwards<\/p>\n