HEALTH TALK
Gateway Pharms Better Than Organic By Dr. Sam Salas, DC
Advanced Health Care Center
A few months ago, I traveled north on Oberlin Ave when a little shop caught my eye. The sign said, "Better Than Organic." There, alongside the building, was a small garden, so I just had to stop and find out what was going on. The owner of the establishment, Jim Goforth, was busy moving vegetables from boxes and informed me that he was preparing his shop for a popup event that weekend. He said his shop, Gateway Pharms, was stocked with locally grown vegetables.
Photos provided by Jim Goforth
After going back several times, I've learned that this is not just any old popup vegetable stand. Jim has a certain energy about him. You can tell that he has a love for what he is doing.
In years past, he had a stand at the Oberlin Farmer’s Market but always dreamed of opening a Lorain shop. He says he feels comfortable in Lorain and loves the people and community. He has kept himself busy with popup events over the past few months and he is now open Saturdays 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. He offers produce that he has organically grown and will soon be offering mushrooms from Broadcap Farms of South Amherst and produce from other local farms. He carries mushrooms for culinary and medicinal purposes. Jim starts by proactively building the soil using probiotics, forest debris, and green manure fermentation - a process called 'Korean Natural Farming.' This method of farming used in Hawaii and Korea extracts nutrients from the soil and creates a living fertilizer. He also makes his own fertilizer from fish. Living soil is important for a plant to grow rich in nutrients. You have probably heard that probiotics are important to keep you healthy, and here is why:
Your gut has a lining of bacteria. There are more bacteria in your gut than there are cells in your body. There are more chemical reactions performed by these bacteria than anywhere else in the rest of your body. These bacteria process the food you eat into nutrients the body can utilize for energy, growth, and immune system protection. It also acts as a barrier to foreign bacteria, viruses, and large food particles posing threats to your system.
The same is true with living soil. The soil's bacteria break down the forest debris into nutrients the plant can utilize. When the use of pesticides is present, the bacteria within the soil are killed off, creating "dead" soil. The plant can still grow with added minerals can still grow with added minerals and vitamins but will be lacking in essential vitamins and nutrients. There are even GMO plants designed to create their own pesticide. Jim also mentioned the importance of planting flowers in your garden first and then planting herbs. Flowers will draw in bugs such as lacewings, ladybugs, hoverflies, solitary wasps, and soldier bugs to help protect your vegetables. They even draw in insects whose larvae actively seek out damaging pests, such as aphids and cabbage moths.
