Obiora Embry’s Blog (2014) - Page 1 of 1

Obiora Embry’s Blog (2014) - Page 1 of 1

image from 22 November 2014; View of southern forest prior to planting

Saturday, 22 November 2014 by Obiora Embry

Greenville, KY

The 2 boxes for the honeybees were smudged with white sage in a clockwise direction. After getting smudged with white sage the southern forest was s...

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Friday, 21 November 2014 by Obiora Embry

Greenville, KY

I took the rest of the trash from the northern brush pile to the landfill.

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Thursday, 30 October 2014 by Obiora Embry

Greenville, KY

I helped to clean out the other brush pile and took a load of primarily lumber to the landfill. Planted Honeybee Specialty Mix near the honeybees. ...

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Saturday, 4 October 2014 by Obiora Embry

Greenville, KY

I did some cleaning of the brush pile closest to the forest garden and removed trash that someone or a group of people threw in it. Then I went into ...

image from 19 July 2014

Saturday, 19 July 2014 by Obiora Embry

Greenville, KY

I looked at and admired the diversity of plants in the former forest garden area and photographed the trees (our babies). We did a biodynamic prep in...

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Saturday, 31 May 2014 by Obiora Embry

Greenville, KY

I used the existing hole that you had dug to heel the trees in it (the identification for the Sycamore came off but I still have it and can add when I...

image from 19 April 2014; View of living soil before improvement reached this spot II

Saturday, 19 April 2014 by Obiora Embry

Greenville, KY

Living Soil Progression

image from 19 April 2014; View of heeling in trees for long slumber and improving living soil

Saturday, 19 April 2014 by Obiora Embry

Greenville, KY

It was decided that we would not continue planting trees in between the forests of the planned forest garden area. We dug a hole in an area where the...

image from 22 March 2014; View of tobacco stick with yellow paint and orange ribbon

Saturday, 22 March 2014 by Obiora Embry

Greenville, KY

I spray painted 11 or 12 tobacco sticks with yellow paint. I put them on the perimeter of the forest garden. I added to these tobacco sticks and a ...

Blog Posts by Year

2013 (4)

2014 (9)

2015 (11)

2016 (6)

2017 (9)

2018 (13)

2019 (18)

2020 (41)

2021 (43)

Getting Back to Nature™ @ Martin Acres

In March 2013, when twin brothers, Obiora and Irucka Ajani Embry, visited, for the first time, the two acres (now called Getting Back to Nature™ @ Martin Acres) they had requested for growing food on their eighth‐generation, black‐owned family farm, Martin Acres, they knew it would be an up‐hill battle because the soil was not fertile. Through Obiora’s reading of The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way by Michael Phillips, he knew that trees thrive in an alkaline (fungal dominant) soil; however, there were tell‐tale signs that the soil was acidic (bacterial dominant). This led Obiora and Irucka to utilize their previous experiences with growing food & information they gleaned from elders, books, conferences, and other resources to start improving the soil. Due to their family’s rich legacy and because of their non‐standard way of regenerating soil and growing food, they were interviewed in May 2020 for an article in the Middle Tennessee Local Table Magazine’s 2020 Annual Guide.

Their initial idea of planting heirloom trees and perennials paid off, even though the soil was too depleted for their survival, as the series of unfortunate events made their commitment to Getting Back to Nature™ stronger. The brothers had to re‐evaluate their approach and began to dig deeper into forgotten "southern foods." This is food that was (and is hopefully still) eaten by the original inhabitants who lived in the area. However, partly due to a planned disconnect of humans from Nature and the growing and/or foraging of food, our collective food intelligence has dwindled. Thus Irucka and Obiora have been re‐learning about these and other forgotten foods. Obiora and Irucka grew diverse native plants in the early years, and with the help of a now deceased cousin, Kevin C. Martin, they started to realize that some of the purchased plants were already growing at Martin Acres!

Along with the native perennials growing on their two acres, the twins sow heirloom annuals and forage wild plants to use in their diverse value‐added products. Through their similar but different agricultural practices they have been transforming the once fallow grazing land into a food ecosystem. Obiora and Irucka do NOT irrigate, but try to put plants where they would be found in Nature. By growing in this manner and by continuing to create healthy soil, even when there is a drought, the plants are often resilient.

In 2018, Obiora stopped talkin’ about it and started making artisanal products to sell. He tired of going to grocery stores and reading the long ingredient list of "simple" products, and wanted to become the change that he sought.

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