One of the important stops we make when giving farm tours to the public, is at the back of the property right past the playground. It might look like a bunch of useless pool equipment from afar, but what is it really? This contraption of parts is really a well that pulls water from the Florida aquifer. The water that we pump from the ground is untreated, and simply runs through a UV light filter to get rid of anything unwanted. After this, we have our water! By doing this process we are able to water our crops with untreated water.
Tampa’s city water is treated with a number of chemicals for the public to drink, bathe, and use. Chlorine, ammonia, sodium hydroxide, and the list goes on with how the city of Tampa treats its water. As a certified organic farm, we want to keep our crops as whole, and up to USDA organic standards as possible, this is why we choose to use our own water.
But what is the Florida aquifer, and what’s so special about it? It covers not only Florida, but parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and even South Carolina! It is one of the most productive aquifers in the world, and was found to be in existence in 1936. Because of the Florida aquifer, we have a number of natural springs such as the famous Weeki Whachee Springs, and others like Rainbow Springs. The aquifer supplies about 824 springs, and the majority is in Florida.
When it comes to our crops and veggies, we want it to be in the purest form. We only use water from our well to grow our crops, and when it comes to distributing them to the public we do a quick dunk to clean off any debris with city water. With all organic certifications, we are required to do a number of different tasks to keep our farm certified. This ranges from record keeping, to crop-rotation requirements, land requirements, and how we fertilize.
You can learn more about what goes into the guidelines for organic crop certification at the USDA’s website https://www.ams.usda.