Their Garden Grows Organically at Little Eorthe Farm

As communities in east Pierce County, wrestle with the ramifications of growth and development, The Tacoma News Tribune today puts the spotlight on an Orting farm that harkens back to a simpler and more rustic lifestyle.

Then again, 'simple' probably isn't the best way to describe the work and investment Carrie Little and husband Ken have put into Little Eorthe Farm, which they created from a 2009 land purchase.

Little, the TNT reports, is self-taught when it comes to the intricacies of farming. She created Mother Earth Farm in Puyallup in 2000 and for its continued contributions to the Emergency Food Network, Little was recognized last May by the organization with the David P. Ottey Lifetime Achievement Award. According to the EFN:

Ms. Little managed Mother Earth Farm for more than 10 years, transforming an 8-acre plot of over-farmed land in Puyallup into a bountiful organic farm that distributes 150,000 pounds of produce annually to area food banks, fresh on the day the food is harvested.

Meanwhile, Little Eorthe currently supplies an assortment of organic and fresh farm products including poultry, produce, eggs and honey to customers both via CSA and through the Proctor, Tacoma and Gig Harbor farmers markets.

Little shared with the TNT the farm acreage is also intended to provide a habitat for nearby wildlife. The motivation is explained on the farm's website:

Little Eorthe Farm has committed ourselves to be stewards of our home – to allow wildlife and humanity to flourish and co-exist and to protect the remaining species on the planet.  Here we put these words into practice.  Here is where healing begins.  Here is where change will take place, and here is where we can turn the tide.

The desire to preserve the current rural landscape of east Pierce County and celebrate the work and the bounty produced by local farmers is shared. In October 2012, a public-private partnership between Pierce County and PCC Farmland Trust ensured that .

Visit these links to learn more:

• Little Eorthe Farm
• Emergency Food Network
• PCC Farmland Trust