Field Trip to The Last Organic Outpost

To continue our "Green at Home" trimester, Vox Culture took a field trip to The Last Organic Outpost on Sat, Aug 25th. This continuously expanding urban farm started as a simple backyard garden of refrigerator maintenance, Joe Nelson Icet, aka “Farmer Joe”. Looking for direction and a sense of community, Farmer Joe studied permaculture and with the help of his son, Keldren, created what officially became known as The Last Organic Outpost in 2003. His vast vision is to infiltrate urban farming into the communities all around Houston, so that there will be “food everywhere” and for everyone.

The farm itself is quaint, yet stunning in its own personality. Juxtaposed by the giant onion painted on the chimney, colorful window frames dancing throughout the garden beds and even a gazebo made of old car license plates, the area was bursting with lush greenery. It is hard to believe that only a few years ago, this life producing arena was a car lot sitting on top of a slab of concrete.

We were in for quite an adventurous and interactive day.  Farmer Joe and his team taught us how to weed, till, plant, and water. All together, the team planted three plots in three hours, which we deemed as “Vox Boxes”! We planted leafy parsley, pickled cucumbers, dragon kale, swiss chard, arugula, straight squash, and crooked squash. At the Outpost, “we pay in greens”, Farmer Joe beams. You reap what you sow, and get paid ten-fold.

Farmer Joe’s charisma and passion can be seen both in the way he teaches as well as in the creative design and use of items found at this urban farm in the 5^th Ward. For example, he uses the pickup bed of an old abandoned truck as a location for vermiculture, or using worms to turn compost into refined soil. Instead of purchasing wooden posts to mark the garden beds, he takes broken window blinds which does the job just as well.

The volunteers enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and friendly environment at the farm. Many of us had no idea of how to properly till, plant, or water, and did not want to make a mistake, but Farmer Joe encouraged us with a few meaningful phrases: “Nature is very forgiving”. This is a place where “you can never make a mistake.” Now who doesn’t love the sound of that?

Imagine what we would strive for in life if “we can never make a mistake”.

While the trip to the Last Organic Outpost left a deep impression on all of us, in my personal opinion among the greatest highlights was getting to know Farmer Joe. While there are many good people in the world, it is not every day that you meet someone who has as much passion and love for what he does and the people he aims to serve.

If there is one thing that this trip has left us with, it is a sense of ownership and empowerment.  Together, people can make great change. It simply starts with a bag of seeds, hands to plant and hearts to sow.

1. See more pictures on Vox Culture's Facebook page.
2. To read more feedback about Vox Culture's visit to the Last Organic Outpost, also visit unSimply Celia’s Blog.

The team will be heading back to the farm to check out the fruits of our labor on Sun, Sept 30 @ 2PM. Live concert by Carrie Ann and the Apocalyptics!