Hannah Gaber Saletan

Shirley Daughtry | Gentlewoman Farmer

As a young girl in Statesboro, the owner of Heritage Farms always knew summer was coming when she smelled malathion in the air.

“My mother couldn’t stand it –she would always pack us up and go to Tybee.”

Shirley never lost her aversion to toxic pesticides and instead uses beneficial insects like ladybugs to control pests on her “five-acres or so” of certified organic squash, beans, corn and more.

“Some people think growing food without chemicals isn’t possible, but after a time the system just balances itself out.”

The yield’s enough to provide local markets and members of Heritage’s box club with fresh produce. A backyard gardener for years, the former SavannahCountryDay School principal didn’t come to full-time farming until her 50s. Two decades later, she still strolls briskly among rows of sunflowers and heaves 50lb. bags of fertilizer.

“Who needs the gym? Farming will keep you young.”

Web exclusive tidbits:

*Shirley eschews weeding, letting nature take its course thorugh her rows of vegetables. “Who says they’re weeds anyway? It gives the rabbits something to eat.”

*She once hatched a bunch of soldier bugs in her kitchen to use against pests. “They work really well on corn worms. But they’re stinky.”

*The organic produce boxes from Heritage Organic Farms are supervised by a certified nutritionist so they contain a correct balance of fiber, vitamins, protein and other vital nutrients.

~Jessica Leigh Lebos