What they grow and why
Martice Scales sees the future in farming. It’s his peace, his therapy, and now his full-time job.
Four years ago, he hadn’t ever planted anything on his own. Growing up in Racine, he didn’t know any farmers who looked like him. Still, farming called him.
Working his way into the role of aspiring farmer, he joined a program at the Eco-Justice Center in Racine. Next, he found a plot of land through the Fondy Farm Project. Now, Scales and his wife Amy, along with a bit of help from their children, 5 and 1, run Scales Family Farm on an acre of land in Mequon.
This year, they expanded their community-supported agriculture project to 32 families, and sell produce at Alice’s Garden (alicesgardenmke.com) and Riverwest Gardeners Market, which runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 25 at Pierce and Center streets.
Finding farming
I was going to school for computer networking and engineering and had about finished. Something just clicked. It was like a call from the gods that you need to know how to grow food and preserve food, then you need to teach people that look like you how to do that and take that power back from the time when we were forced to do the agriculture work.
Since then, it has been central in my life. I convinced Amy it was a good thing. I had to quit my decently paying job as a case manager, and I worked with the Eco-Justice Center to intern. From there, I found the incubator farm through Fondy Farm Project. We have been renting land, now we’re up to a full acre in Mequon, right on the Mequon Nature Preserve land.
Why he does it
What makes it worth it for me is reclaiming that choice to actually grow my own food. Especially nowadays, I am thinking a lot about my ancestors and society in general, and I think a big reason why many Black people don’t grow their food is it is stemming from our past when we were forced to do it. Primarily, it is active resistance.
Growing gifts
I think that land and the skills to make that land provide for you while you care for it properly is probably one of the greatest gifts you can give to your children, other than your affection, love and time.
Farming firsts
Our first season was primarily for me to see if we could do it. Radish was the only thing I’d ever grown by myself outside of the farm corps program at Eco-Justice
Martice Scales, left, and his wife Amy Kroll-Scales sell products from the Scales Family Farm at the Riverwest Gardeners Market.
Center.
That was four years ago we did that, then farmers markets the next season. Now we have a 32-person CSA, and the (Riverwest Gardeners Market) on Sundays and Alice’s Garden on Tuesdays.
We have a host of greens that we grow, from collard and turnip and mustard to lettuce mixes. Then we have our root crop — your carrots, beets. We also grow too many tomatoes. Amy is a tomato fiend. We have multiple hundred tomatoes planted. Amy is a little obsessive about the fragrance of tomatoes when they are growing. We grow cut flowers. We grew watermelon and cantaloupe this year.
Farm favorite
I like the way the green zebra tomato looks. It looks really cool. It is a green tomato that has black stripes on the outside, and a bit on the interior. I think it is one of the most beautiful items we grow. Tomatoes in general are my favorite to grow, because they are so versatile and they grow really well if you give them what they need. They want to grow. They give you plenty of opportunities to make mistakes.
Growing goodness
If you work with mother nature, you want to lose less. Maybe you lose a few plants, but your crop is still fine and you can still provide. You have to try to do your best, but you will always be a beginner. You will never learn everything about farming.
It is a good way to look at life as well, to stay humble. You’re going to sweat, you’re going to curse, but this is a place of peace. All of the stress of the plot is a lot easier to handle than the stress of what is going on socially
Produce grows at the Scales Family farm in Mequon. in the world. Doing this is a stress reliever and my therapy.