Round River Farm - Living Lightly

Sustainable Living in the North Woods

David and Lise Abazs, and their sons Colby and Tremayne, run Round River Farm and Shalom Seed Sanctuary, which are nestled in the Sawtooth Mountains on the North Shore of Lake Superior. David and Lise Abazs grew up wanting to farm. They met in college, and during their last year of school traveled to many parts of the world learning about farming through an independent study program.

After they married, Lise and David spent six months in New Mexico at the High Desert Research Farm where they learned about seed saving. Their interest eventually grew into the Shalom Seed Sanctuary, a non-profit organization they formed to preserve heirloom varieties of seeds.

Tread Lightly

Virtually every step they take in their life, every product they buy, every improvement they make on their house and land is based on their decision to live by the cycles of nature and to "tread lightly on the earth." Lise and David incorporate the lessons of the surrounding wilderness to create a sustainable balanced existence with their environment. David notes, "On our 40 acres we strive to maintain a maximum diversity of domestic animals and crops as well as wildlife. Our needs are met by harnessing animal, solar, wind and people power, and harvesting the cultivated and natural bounties of the earth."

Energy Wise

One of the Abazs' goals is to be self-sufficient in supplying all of their energy needs. They use solar (photovoltaics) and wind power to generate electricity. Four 100-watt solar panels capture the sun's energy and generate electricity, which is stored in 16 six-volt golf cart batteries. The system produces 2000 watts per day in the summer and half of that during the winter. To meet their projected future needs of 3000 watts per day, they will be installing a wind generator to provide the balance.

The Abazs' began farming with an emphasis on animal production, but soon realized that distance from markets, processing, feedstock and other resources made it difficult to run a successful livestock business. They noticed the scarce supply of fresh, locally-grown vegetables and fruits in their part of the state and decided to concentrate on these products. They now have fruit trees, a large vegetable garden and greenhouse, an 840 square foot hoop greenhouse for tomatoes, a 10,000 square foot strawberry patch and 300 blueberry bushes. Plants are watered by an irrigation system that uses rainwater collected from the barn, home and cabin roofs.

Building Soil Health

David and Lise learned early about the challenges of growing vegetables in northern Minnesota on marginal soils. The first year their garden did not produce at all. David says, "It was discouraging, but after adding tons of manure and limestone, we now have peas that grow taller than our heads." To build up the thin soil, they use ample additions of reindeer droppings from Tom and Elli Scheib's farm.

The vegetable garden follows a planned five-year crop rotation and utilizes permanent raised beds allowing the soil to warm up faster and stay drier during wet years and the plants to send their roots deeper. The crop rotation is based on plant families and soil pH. The rotation includes a cover crop (grains), legumes (peas), bassicas (broccoli, cabbage and kohlrabi), miscellaneous (carrots) and solanaceae (potatoes). The rotation schedule avoids disease build-up in the soil and makes efficient use of nutrients.

Three varieties of blueberries are grown in extensive patches-North Blue, North Country and North Sky. All were developed by the University of Minnesota to combine cold-hardiness traits with heavy yields. The quarter acre strawberry patch includes both Glooscap and Cavendish varieties which bear fruit in June. The Abazs' also raise bees, goats, sheep and ducks.

Sweet Success

It took 10 years for the gardens to turn a profit, but Round River Farm is succeeding. The Abazs' supply 15 families with healthy, fresh food each week through their Community Supported Agriculture program and also sell produce through a market stand. By minimizing inputs and up front costs, they get full value for their products through direct marketing and are able to maximize their profits. While both David and Lise have part-time jobs, they envision that soon they will be able to make a living entirely from their three acres of fruits and vegetables. They plan to further diversify by selling Christmas trees, marketing and installing alternative energy systems, and delivering lectures on sustainable farming.

David says, "Instead of holding high-income jobs, we put sweat equity into our buildings, our farm and our home. Now we have a variety of ways to generate income. The big motivating factor for us is getting good quality food we can trust. We do not produce anything that we can't eat or don't like. And we eat anything and everything that we don't sell."