Stop #2 Prince William County Farm Tour Sept. 29-30 - Visit Evergreen Acres

Organic farming doesn’t look quite the same as the neat, pristine rows we usually associate with traditional farming. Organic farming, which allows no chemicals to keep down the weeds and scare away deer and other creatures, looks a little messy.

Evergreen Acres, known more commonly as a Christmas tree farm of some years’ standing and a seasonal pumpkin patch that offers free admission and hayrides, is getting into the business of organic farming.

Jim Gehlson, owner of the 97-acre farm in Nokesville, a few miles from Brentsville District High School, this year produced the only certified organically grown produce in Prince William County. “It’s been a little bit of a learning curve,” Gehlson said of producing tomatoes that must be grown from seeds that he procures from the Internet. “It’s not like before when I could go to a distributor and buy 1,000 tomato plants.”

Gehlson’s first obtained certification last year. The process includes inspections under the direction of QCS, Quality Certification Services, of Gainesville, Florida. “There are no certifiers in Virginia,” he said, “but QCS has a person here who inspects and compiles the information.” Organically grown tomatoes, he explained, are grown from seeds without the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers and herbicides. “There’s no right or wrong way; you’ve just got to stay within [the QVC] guidelines.

Gehlson uses a mixture of horse manure and litter to kill the weeds and enrich the soil. “You dump it on the ground and spread it out,” he said; “then, you plow it into the ground.” He then plants a cover crop to add nitrogen to the soil. “I had to find a way to feed the plants,” he said. Some of the nutrients are in the manure; “The legumes, hairy vetch, (cover plant) pull the nitrogen out of the air.” The legumes bloom and die by early May; then, he leaves them on the ground as a cover.
Some plants will inevitably be damaged by insects and animals, he said. “I plant corn among the tomatoes and pumpkins. Then, the deer will eat the corn and leave the other plants alone.” Gehlson said more and more people are appreciating the effort it takes to grow vegetables organically. Last year, he planted 1,600 tomato plants. This year, with his “learning curve” getting in the way, some 1,000 have been producing. Next year, he plans to plant some 2,000 of all different varieties.

“You don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” he said. “I believe the secret is to be diversified. In addition to tomatoes and pumpkins, both pie and jack o’lantern varieties, Gehlson also plants asparagus and develops a crop of blueberries. He continues to grow hay and Christmas trees as well.

Gehlson, a masonry contractor for 30 years, majored in building construction at Clemson University in South Carolina. “But they don’t tell you how to build stuff,” he said, and that’s what he wanted to do. His last year in college, he took a course in masonry, and he worked for a builder during the summers on a framing crew. “I saw so many people [at college] who just had the book learning.”

Gehlson and his wife Jean, a pharmacy technician, bought the farm in 1983 when it was just corn fields. He built the house in which he, his wife and youngest son still live.