This Three-Acre Farm Fuels Orlando’s MICHELIN Restaurants

Nine ways a small urban family farm regenerates the environment.

Written by Michael He
Michelin Guide
May 1, 2024

Excerpt:

Five miles from the heart of Orlando, Certified Naturally Grown Everoak Farm powers some of Orlando’s most flavorful restaurants. Husband and wife duo Mike and Nikki Garcia run the show. “We’re trying to go beyond sustainability. We really want to close the loop on the farm,” begins Mike Garcia.

Starting his career in kitchens, Garcia became curious with how food was grown. Teaching himself, he eventually launched Everoak Farm in 2019, five miles from downtown Orlando. Garcia says, “If you can work in a kitchen, you can definitely work in the field.”

Not only does he grow the freshest and tastiest produce, he does so with the environment in mind. Here are nine ways the Garcias pursue more thoughtful farming:

1. Biointensive Farming
   “We do a lot of biointensive planting. The idea is to grow smaller and smarter, and fully capitalize on every square foot. Planting as tight as possible, but without sacrificing our yield,” explains Garcia. “Our garden beds are all tended by hand with hand tools. It’s pretty much my wife and me.”
2. Pastured Poultry
   The chickens help regenerate the land. Garcia explains, “During the summer, the garden goes to rest. We cover crop it and then run pastured poultry through it. They’re looking for the grass and grubs. And on top of that, they’re dropping the manure, so it’s feeding the soil.”
3. Agroforestry
   The farm is inspired by Ernest Gotsch’s syntropic agroforestry (crops and trees working together), using techniques like stratification (stacking crops at different depths) and photosynthesis maximization (more sun for plants).
   Garcia grows support species such as trees, grasses, and legumes – a natural forest garden. He adds, “I don’t spray at all to encourage more life and diversity. Sprays don’t choose which insects to kill. Whatever you’re spraying is going to kill the good and the bad.”

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