Frank and the Farm

About Crooked Sky Farms and Farmer Frank:

Crooked Sky Farms maintains several farm plots around the Phoenix area, strategically located to provide a variety of growing conditions. This allows us to farm throughout the year.Crooked Sky’s home base is an 18.75-acre plot on Bethany Home Road and 83rd Avenue. Farmer Frank has two hoop green houses used to start plants like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants during early spring. When the temperatures start to heat up, he takes off the plastic and puts up a shade cloth to provide protection to crops like lettuces. Since the green houses aren’t sealed all year round, there are few pest problems.

Irrigation:

Urban farming is no easy task, especially in the Arizona desert. Frank uses flood irrigation as well as drip irrigation to water his crops. He must compete with residential water usage, so he must choose crops that use little water and channel the water to use every drop.

Sustainable Pest Control:

Frank Martin uses sustainable agriculture methods to grow over 70 different crops each season. These methods work in natural balance with the land and avoid the use of chemically derived pesticides or herbicides. One way that Frank keeps harmful pests away from his vegetables is to let crops like arugula, dill, and mustard greens flower. These flowers in turn, attract ladybugs, birds, and pollinators. These creatures in turn feed on the harmful insects—a natural form of pest control. Another unique way of curbing pests on Crooked Sky Farms is to plow down a row of crops and let the birds come in to eat the seeds and bugs. Frank’s strong belief in sustainability reaches beyond his use of land and water, as he provides a living wage for his farm crew on Crooked Sky Farms.

Native and Heirloom Crops:

Frank Martin has been a gardener ever since he helped his parents with their small family garden. After becoming a Master Gardener, Frank started commercial farming nine years ago at the Prescott Farmers’ Market and CSA. A major part of Frank’s interest in farming is native and heirloom crops. He grows native crops like the I-Itoi onion because they take less care, are more resistant to bugs, and use less water. Frank likes to grow heirloom varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants despite their short shelf life because it is important to preserve the biodiversity of our food and most importantly, heirlooms taste better!

CSA Locations:

Farmer Frank provides produce to the Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson, and Prescott CSAs as well as several gourmet restaurants. For more inforamtion about our CSAs: About CSAs, Join a CSA.