Small farm continues family heritage, supports local farmers market
Jul. 24—As a young high school college student in Minnesota, Keith Peterson grew vegetables to help put him through college. Now, more than 30 years later, he and his wife, Angela, are back to toiling the land as small-scale farmers.
The Petersons run Creative Farming, LLC, an organic farm they operate in western Howard County, where they grow a variety of produce, including tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, various herbs, beans, kale and more. They've been farming the land since 2016.
The name comes, in part, from the way the couple uses unique growing techniques, including the German Hugelkultur style.
The method includes the construction of mounds from wood and other compostable biomass plant materials that are used as raised beds for whatever one would like to grow. The method also serves as a watering system, since the Petersons don't have one — except for some rain barrels.
As the wood dries and rots, it acts like a sponge, storing water that the plants and vegetables can then use.
"It's self-sustaining, and that's kind of why we're called Creative Farming," Angela Peterson said.
Both the Petersons' grandparents were farmers, and a part of that time is still around at the Petersons' farm.
Keith Peterson owns his grandpa's 1941 John Deere tractor and keeps it on the farm. He also owns his grandparents' hoe, an ancient farming tool the Petersons still use for weeding.
"My dad always wanted to be a farmer, but my mom wouldn't let him, so this is sorta going back to my family roots," Keith Peterson said.
Going back to more traditional ways of farming is a major part of the Petersons' farm, though it certainly doesn't make the job easier. The two do not use any chemical fertilizers or weeding products, making the daily battle with pests — and anything else that wants to kill or damage the farm's plants — a real chore.
Instead of products like Sevin dust, the couple uses diatomaceous earth. There's only one problem: It needs to stay dry to remain effective.
"I'm out here puffing because if you leave one day with rain, these bugs will destroy the plant," Angela Peterson said.
But the two soldier on, each for their own reasons.
"It's getting back in touch with my heritage," Keith Peterson said. "But number two, I work on a computer all day long, and I work at a job where I'm always trying to put 10 pounds in a 5-pound bag. I'm always not able to finish, but out here I can hoe a row of potatoes and it's done, and I can look at it ... It's something you can say 'Check.'"
For Angela Peterson, it's the challenge of farming and getting people to eat that motivates her.
"It's the challenge of growing plants ... I have a biology degree along with my nursing degree, so I've always been fascinated with that part, just trying to and coming up with different vegetables and getting people to eat them," she said.
The Petersons see their farming work as part of a bigger goal that's much bigger than their farm: supporting and growing the community's local farmers market.
The two are active in the Kokomo Farmers Market, selling their produce to local customers every Saturday morning and working at the downtown market store a few times a month. The market has grown tremendously over the past few years, and the Petersons hope that continues and that the community appreciates what it has in the market.
"People don't really realize what a gem of a community incubation system we have," Keith Peterson said. "The farmers market is actually a venue for a lot of people, not just growers. A lot of businesses that have populated downtown have started at the Kokomo Farmers Market ... There's a lot of community that happens each Saturday morning at that venue."
Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.
