Farhana Jhumur is a successful UX Designer who grew up in New York City. Having spent most of her time creating brands for both startups and big-name brands like Verizon and ADP, Farhana and her husband bought a house and moved to rural Connecticut. They both work in tech and are able to work remotely which allows them to indulge and invest in their biggest passion, their micro-farm. The farm is fully diverse, biodynamic, sustainable, and organic.
Faith Kibria: Thank you so much for taking the time out to speak with me I know you're busy so thanks again. Can you just briefly tell me your full name and tell me a little bit about yourself; where you grew up, what your professional background, etc.
Farhana Jhumur: Yes, my full name Is Farhana Jhumur. I was born in Bangladesh and raised in New York since I was 4. I received a Bachelor of Technology degree in Communication Design, so I am a designer by profession. I design user experience and visual design for websites and applications
Faith Kibria: I know that you recently relocated to Connecticut from New York City where you grew up the most of your life. Can you tell me a little bit about that and why you decided to relocate just a small town out there?
Farhana Jhumur: Well the main reason I moved was to escape the fast-paced environment of New York to a more peaceful setting. I wanted to have an authentic lifestyle surrounded by nature where I can fulfill my passion for growing my own food and enjoying the quietness of the countryside.
Faith Kibria: OK, so you are currently growing your own food, so tell me a little bit about that? And why did you start growing your own food?
Farhana Jhumur: I would say I have a small micro-farm where I grow a variety of produce that I share with my friends and family. I started last year in the springtime and I decided to do that because I wanted to go my own food, organically. I found that our food, especially produce, is not fresh. They have been in the market for months and I don't know what's in there. I don't know what pesticides they’ve put on there. I don't know what type of chemicals are grown or the fertilizers they use. When I grow my own food, I know what I put into it.
Faith Kibria: Tell me a little bit more about this micro-farm of yours. What do you grow or raise on a farm?
Farhana Jhumur: I grow a lot of cool crops and warm weather crops. Cool crops are broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, cabbage, swiss chard, bok choy, radishes, scallions, onions, kale, chives collard greens, brussel sprouts. Warm weather crops would be like corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, peppers, eggplants, pumpkins, zucchini, potatoes. I also grow flowers.
Faith Kibria: Wow, that is phenomenal and you grow all of this on a micro-farm?
Farhana Jhumur: Yup, maybe one-eighth of an acre or a quarter of an acre.
Faith Kibria: Do you have any animals on the farm?
Farhana Jhumur: Yes we have 40 chickens and a dog, but he doesn't take care of them at all. We originally actually started with 60 chickens and some of them got taken by predators.
Faith Kibria: Can you tell me a little bit about how your micro-farm is eco-friendly or self-sustainable?
Farhana Jhumur: Animal and plant waste goes into a composting system where they're broken down and they are used the following year on my plants as a source of fertilizer. I also raise mealworms for the chickens and I collect their frass which is like their waste matter, which is also a source of fertilizer. So I don’t evert need to buy fertilizer. I also have a small seed bank where I collect seeds and sow them the following year so I don't need to buy any seeds. The chickens produce eggs every day and we also use some of them as meat. I don't purchase vegetables for the entire summer and also for the winter when I grow my winter garden. I also make my own tomato sauce and can them, I freeze peppers and eggplants. Potatoes, winter squash, and pumpkins are stored in the cellar over the winter. The cucumbers are pickled and relished. So most of the year we don't buy produce
Faith Kibria: You said that you don't need to buy any fertilizer or compost. You use the animal waste from your chickens, you use plant and mealworm waste. So you don't have to buy any chemical fertilizer. The mealworms are food for the chickens. They're eating on the farm itself I imagine they're free-range?
Farhana Jhumur: Yes they are free-range and we also go to an organic farm to buy their wheat. I actually formulate the chicken food myself; I soak and ferment their food. We also give them chicken scraps and vegetables from the garden.
Faith Kibria: You mentioned a seed bank. Can you tell me a little about that?
Farhana Jhumur: Well it's all the seeds that I collect from my garden after they are harvested. I would collect the tomato seeds, dry and conserve them. So I never have to buy seeds.
Faith Kibria: I wanted to ask you really quick because I noticed that on your Instagram that you grow your own kind of bacteria?
Farhana Jhumur: Yes I grow a culture of lactobacillus bacteria, yeast, and photosynthetic bacteria. They are effective microorganisms. They have hundreds of uses for them. One of the main uses is to control odor. It completely eliminates order within seconds by stopping the decomposition process. I use this in my chicken coop. It's also used as a probiotic for the chickens, for the dog, and myself. I also use it for all cleaning household surfaces, one use of the bacteria prevent other harmful pathogens to multiply competitive exclusion. It also can be used for rashes, smelly drains, septic tanks. I use it to inoculate my compost pile to speed up the composting process. It’s also used as a foliar pesticide for my plants and the soil to prevent fungal and other bacterial diseases. It’s also added to the water to feed the plants.
Faith Kibria: Can you tell me how this farm has disrupted your personal or professional life?
Farhana Jhumur: I would say just disrupted my personal life or professional life by changing my lifestyle. We went from eating store-bought processed foods to making our own. It’s provided us a healthy alternative and peace of mind knowing where our food comes from.
Faith Kibria: You mentioned something along the lines of 18 hours but on average how many hours a day doesn't go into maintaining your micro-farm?
Farhana Jhumur: It takes me about 4 to 5 hours a day. It also depends on the time of year. I start planning the farm in January planting the seed in late February. After that, it's a matter of waiting to plant them outside. Around April the cool weather crops go in and around May the warm weather cops go in. Overall maybe a few hours a day. After they are planted, I put them on a feed schedule, pesticide schedule, weeding schedule so it probably would take about 3 or 4 hours a day.
Faith Kibria: I'm assuming that you're going to continue this. Do you expect it to get easier or harder knowing now what you know that you don't know when you first started?
Farhana Jhumur: It will get way easier; this is all an experience it's a huge learning curve. Every day I learn something new, there are many things I need to learn. Over the years I expect change for the better. Like successfully learn how to grow a vegetable. For example, tomatoes have many different types of diseases, fungal and pest. This year I finally grew them successfully after years of trial and error.