Athens Locally Grown tour lets you be a farmer for a day

Ed and Kim Janosik have an answer for any predator that tries to mess with the crops on their farm.

Worms and insects? Meet the schools of spiders looking for a quick meal in the greenhouse.

Deer and coyotes? Say hello to Sassy, a 120-pound Great Pyrenees who'd never hurt anyone but sure looks imposing.

Bees? Actually, they're a good thing, with all the pollinating they do.

But you won't find insecticides, unnatural fertilizers or other poisons in the Janosiks' vocabulary, much less on their food. That "beyond organic" approach, as they call it, has made them quite the hit at Athens Locally Grown and the Athens Farmers Market.

The 3 acres of vegetables, fruits and poultry is the next stop on Athens Locally Grown's "Farmer for a Day" tour. On June 13, folks can get an up-close look at the Janosiks, their three kids, Sassy and their entire operation.

But be advised: This farm is as organic as it gets.

"Going beyond organic isn't just about growing without poison," Ed Janosik said. "It's about having a mixed variety and working with your natural predators."

Janosik's approach also involves working with natural enhancers. He plants wheat and crimson clover in the winter as cover crops. Those clovers take in nitrogen and then release it into the ground when he mows - that's the best and cheapest kind of fertilizer there is, he said.

The Janosiks keep about an acre of annual plants and 3 acres of perennials growing, though there is no real order to just what goes where. Someone can stand between two rows of produce and jump to about six different vegetables.

They have all the s