With Dirt on My Jeans: A Visit to Malabar Farm Taught Me About Soil Conservation
The field at Malabar Farm State Park in Richland County,
Ohio was once farmed by the late conservationist Louis Bromfield.
I Made Old Clothing into Bunting to Celebrate Bromfield
I love a good hiking adventure, and I do it even though some
days I end with muddy shoes and pant legs. This time, I splashed mud on my
jeans at the cuff. I had been hiking on the Butternut Trail at Malabar Farm
State Park in Richland County, making my way through the woods and stepping
carefully over roots that protruded from the ground. Inevitably, I reached a
point where to go farther, I would have to cross mud. I chose to move ahead.
Some days are made for wearing old jeans.
The late conservationist Louis Bromfield lived and farmed on
the land that is now Malabar Farm State Park. Bromfield called the property
Malabar Farm when he started it in 1938, and he became well known for
sustainable farming practices with soil especially. The state of Ohio owns the
property now and operates tours of the farm and house. I took both tours early
this May.
Bromfield’s Philosophy
Bromfield, born in Mansfield, Ohio in 1896, was a Pulitzer
Prize-winning novelist who also studied agriculture and journalism and acted on
his belief that the country’s natural resources, like soil, water and forests, should
be protected for the future. When cared for properly, he believed the soil was
the stable base of the economy; it made food and clothing possible, in addition
to being foundational for all forms of business pursuit. Bromfield died in 1956,
but he outlined his convictions in a pamphlet, “A Primer of Conservation.” His
work at contour plowing, which located crop rows along the land’s given form,
helped maintain topsoil, prevented flooding and erosion, and protected the
water table by letting water infiltrate into the ground. The farm field at
Malabar Farm State Park this May looked smartly designed, yet beautiful also,
as thick, green grass held the soil intact. The blades of grass arched in the
strong wind; it caused them to change color in the sunlight from bright green
to a silvery white shade and back again.
A Wardrobe a Product of the Earth
I pictured Bromfield inspecting his land. He would be dressed
in a pair of denim jeans and flannel shirt wearing a wide-brimmed hat and
steadying himself as he stood in boots covered with dirt. Jeans are a universal
piece of clothing. People wear them for farm work or wear them to be
fashionable, or for both. I had a good pair of jeans that were so well worn
that I wondered what to do with them now that the fabric had thinned. Thinking
of ways to reuse them, I transformed my pair of jeans into denim bunting. I
used other worn clothes besides jeans to design flags to represent parts of
Bromfield’s biography. He worked as a journalist and novelist, living in New
York and France. Just before the start of World War II, he was living in France
with his family, but he moved them for safety to Richland County, Ohio where he
started Malabar Farm.
Bunting for Bromfield
Dahlias – Bromfield befriended fellow American author Edith
Wharton when both lived in France, and they shared an interest in dahlias. Bromfield
had a beautiful garden in Senlis, France. Wharton and Bromfield valued gardens,
and when Wharton died, Bromfield wrote about their common fascination with
lettuces, petunias and green peas, as well. Dahlias look amazing in vases, and
the more you clip the blooms from the rooted plant, the more they grow back. To
me, they seem interesting to grow since they can beautify the indoors and they replenish
themselves again in the garden. I shaped the outline of a dahlia flower in
fabric and used a fabric marker to outline the petals.
Fields and Birds – Bromfield used contour plowing at Malabar
Farm. In contour plowing, represented in this art piece, plowing follows the
roundedness of the uneven land. In practice, contour plowing limits erosion.
When I visited the farm, birds flew topsy turvy in the wind, but they still
aided the cropland by keeping the insect population under control. Bromfield,
who understood the beneficial relationship between the crop and birds, built French
drains in his field to attract the flighty creatures to a wilderness habitat.
Chess – Bromfield worked dedicatedly but still must have had
time for fun. Games like dominoes and chess were displayed in his home. Bromfield’s
novels became the basis for Hollywood movies, and consequently he developed
friendships with some well-known actors and actresses that he entertained at
Malabar Farm. They likely would have played games together. I cut the shape of
a game board out of fabric and affixed it to the denim bunting.
Book – Bromfield had many books in his house and many
built-in bookcases within where to store them. An open book symbolizes Bromfield’s
career as a writer that later funded his farming experiment at Malabar Farm. He
wrote novels, short stories and a screenplay, and he wrote non-fiction books on
farming. The farming books include, “Pleasant Valley,” published in 1945,
“Malabar Farm,” published in 1948, “Out of the Earth,” from 1950, and “From My
Experience,” dated 1955.
A Worthwhile Visit
During my visit to Malabar Farm State Park, I felt immersed
in agriculture but also exhilarated by the stories of Hollywood high society that
Bromfield experienced. The two tours – that of the farm and house – were well
worth the time and each was different. The farm tour focused on agricultural
science and the independent thinking that Bromfield demonstrated by
implementing contour plowing, which was not conventional then. The house tour
revealed Bromfield’s family life, his biography and his friendships with
Hollywood actors; I saw the grand house’s appeal as a peaceful, rural retreat
for Bromfield and his friends. Without hiking on all the trails, I still feel
the park has an asset in its land and natural scenery. The visit to Malabar
Farm State Park offered history, science and exploration of the land in one
state property. I enjoyed all things. To make a successful day visit to the
park, I recommend packing a picnic lunch to savor while sitting at one of the
bench tables on the property. I made the most of my time there by bringing lunch,
which allowed me to stay and to attend both tours and to hike. It was a very
intellectually stimulating visit and I was glad to spend more than four hours.
Sources
Bachelder, Thomas W. and Matthew Thomas Bachelder, Malabar
Farm State Park Through the Years: The Legacy of Louis Bromfield at Malabar
Farm in Photographs and Words, 2012, The Wooster Book Company.
From this piece, I learned the biographical information
about Louis Bromfield. Copies of this booklet were available at the Malabar
Farm State Park gift shop for purchase.
Bromfield, Louis. A Primer of Conservation. The Wooster Book
Company. Pamphlet.
In this pamphlet, Bromfield explains his position on why
soil is so important to the economy and defines conservation. It was reprinted
from The Bulletin of the Garden Club of America, Nov. 1942. There is a black
and white photograph of Bromfield studying the ground on the cover of the
pamphlet, from which I drew inspiration for describing the wardrobe I imagined
him wearing. Copies of this pamphlet were sold at the Malabar Farm State Park
gift shop the day I visited.
Dempsey, Michelle. “A Friendship Made in Gardens,” The
Mount, 5 July, 2023, edithwharton.org.
On the website of The Mount Edith Wharton Cultural Center,
an article by Dempsey, curatorial assistant, provides an overview of the
friendship between Wharton and Louis Bromfield and their shared passion for
gardens when they lived in France. Dahlias were mentioned as a flower of
interest. The author cites information from the book Yours Ever Affly: The
Correspondence of Edith Wharton and Louis Bromfield, which was edited by Daniel
Bratton.
House and Farm Tours, Malabar Farm State Park, 3 May, 2026,
4050 Bromfield Road, Lucas, OH 44843.
Other details for this post were learned from making
observations of the interior of Bromfield’s old home at Malabar Farm and from
the farm tour offered at the park. For example, I observed the farm fields and
books and chess board that Bromfield had in his home. Looking at the home
helped me design the bunting, but the color of fabric and shapes of the bunting
flags were created by me with creativity and loosely represent what I saw in
the house. My understanding of Bromfield’s biographical information was also
supported by taking these tours.
For information on Malabar Farm State Park, click on
the link below.
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