At its April meeting, the Duluth Historical Society welcomed guest speaker Mr. Sandy Asbill, owner of Sangrit Enterprises in Clarkesville, Georgia. Mr. Asbill, a former Marine, soil scientist, and seed company manager, is currently in private enterprise in organic agriculture. On Tuesday night, he spoke on the benefits of organic agriculture as an alternative to the use of factory chemicals in gardening.

Before 1973, Mr. Asbill subscribed to the agricultural methods he learned as a college student, which included the use of factory fertilizers to produce crops and factory chemicals to control pests and diseases in soils, crops, and livestock. After being introduced to organic agriculture, Mr. Asbill set out to disprove the claim that crops could be economically produced without the support of pesticides and factory fertilizers. What he learned, instead, was that not only were crops being produced without synthetic inputs, but were most often healthier and higher yielding using organic methods. This eye-opening experience was the catalyst that led Mr. Asbill to a career dedicated to the re-introduction and re-education of gardeners and farmers in the natural system of crop production.

Mr. Asbill’s organic gardening methods will, no doubt, be of great value to home gardeners and to those who will be starting their gardens in Duluth’s new community garden located at the historic Strickland House on Buford Hwy. Plots are currently available for rent. Please call Judy Wilson at 770-232-7584 or send email to comgarden@duluthhistorical.org if you are interested in a plot at the Strickland House Community Garden.

Thanks to Gwen Filardi for submitting this great summary of the meeting!