"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.

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 performedby 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.

It may take time for the populations to grow, but the benefits can be felt not only within your own garden but throughout our entire ecosystem.

Drainage water from pesticides and fertilizers leak into freshwater aquifers, our rivers, lakes, and even the ocean, significantly contaminating our water supplies.

He said that it is strange that children love dandelions, but as adults, we poison our yards to get rid of them. Dandelion taproot goes deep into the soil, which brings lots of nutrients to the plant. Their greens are edible, and the flowers can be used to make Dandelion tea.

The University of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania State have conducted studies that state there would be an increase in planting yields if farmers would change their format to include flowering plants and herbs. "There is a symbiosis in nature that when we remove one thing from nature, it affects other segments of nature. We need to be better stewards," Jim said.

As a recovering addict, I feel that gardening has helped me. Gardening has been a way to focus my mind, which lead to me studying gardening. The more time I focused on gardening, the more I felt balanced, meditative even!

I could see the emotions bubbling up in his face and voice as he said, "It's like church being able to self-reflect feeling the beauty of nature. When you're in that state, it's hard to think of negative things. It's cleansing!'

He hopes that his story may resonate in someone out there and maybe spark an interest that they didn't know they had inside of them.

His goal is to inspire others to grow their own vegetables and herbs. "Have tea before they go to bed that they grew themselves."

He said,

We all have the ability to grow.

You can feel the energy and conviction he has. Gateway Pharms is not just a simple vegetable stand.

Jim said he would love to help better our community.

In fact, Jim has partnered with Father Alex Barton, of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, to bring nonprofit urban farming to the west side of Lorain. The site is situated on two vacant lots at Lexington Avenue and 12th Street.

Father Alex and his church volunteers have been providing community meals twice a week from the kitchen of their church. The goal is to grow most of their food and increase the frequency of meals offered every week.

They are currently looking to partner with other community organizations to allow garden therapy education for kids, veterans, recovering addicts, and people suffering with mental illness issues. They are also looking into teaching canning and food preserving techniques to the community.

If you would like to get involved, the farm has volunteer nights on Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.Every other Wednesday offers free yoga with an instructor beginning at 5:30 p.m.