The Gardens at James Ranch, setting an example for sustainable agriculture

 

DURANGO, Colo. – When, in the mid-90s, Jennifer James Wheeling announced her desire to return to the family ranch (James Ranch) and launch an organic farm, her father, David James told her he had the perfect plot of land – a fallow piece, regularly traversed by migrating elk, filled with rocks and prairie dogs and up hill from the water source.

Whether or not James was testing his eldest daughter is a moot point today, as The Gardens at James Ranch is a shining example of both entrepreneurship and local sustainability – annually generating a veritable cornucopia of organic vegetables, fruits and flowers.

“We handled all those things,” said Jennifer, who took on the challenges one at a time primarily by herself, as her husband Joe, an executive with Red Roof Inns traveled regularly. A pump on the ditch to irrigate the land flooded the prairie dog condo; an elk fence around the acreage changed the cervid migratory path; and a great many rocks were harvested in preparation of the soil, but Wheeling is not complaining.

“This ground that I use for my farm hadn’t been used the whole time that Dad was on this land,” she said, referencing her parents’ purchase of the ranch in 1961. “Because it is above the ditch, he could never really graze it. But from an organic farming standpoint, I didn’t have to worry about any chemicals being used. It was pert near virgin.”

When David and Kay James first began the beef cattle operation, they were admittedly young (21 and 20, respectively), graduates of an urban college and unaware of sustainable agriculture. But over the years they have been among the leaders in the holistic movement, where all systems on a ranch work in harmony with each other and with nature. Jennifer and her four siblings were all raised at James Ranch, and all left for college and “big world” careers.

Said David James in a 2000 interview, “Even though I was pretty rough, they are coming back now and I think it’s because they remember it was good times.”

Indeed, Jennifer set off to study interior design at CSU, where she met Joe. They were living in Dallas, starting their family, and began considering quality of life. Joe had been raised on a ranch on the North Dakota/Montana border, so even though he’d earned an MBA from Wharton School of Business and was enmeshed in the corporate world, raising the family in Durango had its appeal.

 

“The key was we went to a seminar in Austin on sustainable agriculture, well before it was cool – back in the 1992-93 timeframe,” said Joe, recalling the inspiration garnered from leaders in the movement including Wendell Berry. “The first couple of years (of preparation) I was on the road, so she (Jenn) was mother, farmer, teacher… It was slow. It didn’t happen over night.”

“One year for Mother’s Day I got a tractor, another year I got a water pump,” said Jenn, noting it took nearly ten years to finish the drip irrigation for all the beds. “Others get rings or fancy shirts. I get functional. But it’s what made the thing go. It was fine. I’d rather have a tractor.”

Jennifer credits much of her passion for her farm and growing food for other people to her childhood in 4-H, where she focused on crops and gardens. One year she had extra romaine lettuce and white onions, and along with her sister Julie set up a small farm stand at the old Hermosa Camper Park.

“Julie and I went down with a card table and put up a sign that said, ‘4-H Produce’ and the response was so awesome,” said Jenn. “The campers were so excited to get fresh produce… and if I can trace it back to anything it was that yummy little spark of satisfaction that I made people happy. I grew something that they wanted. And I think now – we’re growing sugar snap peas like crazy now – when people come up to me and go, ‘Those peas are the best things in the world,’ it hits that same happy spot.”

The Gardens at James Ranch is about four acres and Jennifer and Joe (now retired from his CEO position at Red Roof Inns), grow everything, as Jenn says, from artichokes to zucchini, though not turnips, rutabagas or radishes, as she has found no local customer base for those crops.

“I also stopped growing corn because organic sweet corn is a nightmare,” said Jenn. “You only get two ears per plant and it sucks all the nitrogen out of the ground and does nothing to make the ground better. And when you’ve got organic corn, you’re going to have a worm. It’s an absolute guarantee.”

Jenn is quick to note that the farm isn’t certified organic, but engages in holistic and best practices of sustainable agriculture. And, because she is intimately involved with every aspect of the farm, she can provide her customers with a detailed history of each product.

“I grow all my own tomato starts, pepper starts, melon starts. I don’t buy any starts from anybody,” said Jenn. “And what’s fun for me is pushing that envelope.”

Each year they’ve added more to the farm, and experimented with different crops and vegetable and fruit varieties. Last year Jenn successfully launched artichokes, and this year she successfully grafted heirloom tomatoes onto hybrid stock in hope the heirlooms will garner some hybrid vigor.

“The big break for us was the grow house,” said Joe of the 20 x 20 wood frame structure adjacent to their home and the farm. Includes a hot room, sprouting machine and root cellar for storage as well as forcing flower bulbs and growing crops that prefer cooler temperatures, and has enabled Jenn to stretch the season.

“We don’t call it a green house because it has nothing solar about it,” said Jenn. “I am God in that space. I control lights and temperature and water. It’s an amazing space.”

While Joe and Jenn were focused on the produce, daughter Olivia, as part of her 4-H experience, launched the cut flower enterprise. It’s grown to a substantial part of the operation, and with Olivia now heading off to school, younger daughter Brooke now runs it.

“The differentiating point was, you select the flowers, I’ll make the bouquet,” said Joe of Olivia’s original concept.

“You can buy as many stems as you want,” said Jenn. “So if you want a zinnia, you get a zinnia – 50 cents and you leave. If you want a nice big bouquet, she’ll calculate it out.”

To further knowledge of sustainable agriculture, as well as open the world of farming and ranching to urban dwellers, Jennifer offers tours of The Gardens, as well as the entire James Ranch (10 miles north of Durango on Hwy 550). She also offers her lessons learned in what she calls her “University of Life agriculture program” to beginning farmers.

 

Nine years ago, David James noted, when discussing the future of local agriculture, “We can really produce a lot of good food here.  And as the public demands that the food be locally grown… you see it takes the demand of the market.  It needs to be driven by the market.”

And so it has, as Jenn has witnessed the interest from the community truly blossom in recent years.

“For a while the idea of local and organic didn’t really resonate” said Jenn, who has essentially maxed out the acreage at The Gardens. “But as more people come in from other states, all of a sudden they value it and it has become a really important thing.”

Produce from The Gardens is available direct from the growers at the farm stand at James Ranch and at Durango Farmers Markets, with some products found at local natural grocers and restaurants. Learn more about The Gardens, as well as all of James Ranch at www.jamesranch.net.