Texas farmer regularly feeds neighborhood by growing organic produce in just a half-acre garden
His methods allow him to make about $120,000 a year per 100 customers. His neighborhood has 600 families.
By Sana Ameer
Beaumaont Enterprise
Nov. 13, 2023
Excerpt:
A farmer in North Texas known as the “Plant Daddy of Dallas” has replaced the need for supermarkets and grocery stores in his neighborhood.
Michael Bell regularly supplies families with fresh produce, growing organic lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, carrots, and other seasonal vegetables on just a half-acre of land he owns.
“I want to be the reason why Walmart can’t sell produce in Dallas,” Bell said.
Bell’s version of urban farming is becoming a popular way to combat food deserts, which are areas with limited access to fresh food, a 2023 report from Inside Climate News details.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, more than 13 million Americans live in food deserts. Meanwhile, Texas ranks fourth highest in the nation for food insecurity.
Urban farming can provide growers an affordable way to conduct business, cutting out transport costs.
Bell’s approach to growing crops includes hand seeding smaller crops, avoiding fertilizer and tilling the soil to save nutrients, using drip irrigation to water plants, and relying on solar energy to run the water pump.
