Compass Green's Justin Cutter On Sustainable Farming!

Justin Cutter is the director of Compass Green, a mobile greenhouse truck that runs on vegetable oil and travels around the U.S. teaching students about sustainable farming. 

Cutter just completed Compass Green's fall tour through Oregon and Washington, where the organization spread its message of sustainability to over 5,000 students. 

Cutter and his work were recently featured on Disney Channel's Pass the Plate series, and we spoke with him to learn more about Compass Green and learn some handy tips on growing your own food at home!

SH: What is the message and inspiration behind your project?

Cutter: The message behind Compass Green is quite simple: Our choices around what food we eat are affecting our body and our planet. Currently conventional farming is destroying the planet we call home, but we can easily make a huge difference for our health and the health of our world by sustainably growing more food ourselves and by supporting our local sustainable farmers.

I am inspired by the great amount of power that we, who eat 3 meals a day, 365 days a year, have for positive change.

SH: Do you have any tips for younger girls who want to get into gardening/ food cultivation at home?

Cutter: Choose a sunny spot with good soil, and grow the things you like to eat! Herbs are super tasty and can make a whole meal better. 

Start small and expand your garden as your appetite and excitement expands! Ask advice from your friends, neighbors, and elders. Gardening is a great way to discover how much hidden knowledge is around you. 

Oh, and don't over-water! Lot's of people I know water too much, rather than not often enough. Your soil should feel like a wrung-out sponge.

To learn even more about farming, Cutter recommended Edible Schoolyard, a database of local gardening, and Bountiful Garden's beginners guide to sustainable gardening.

What do you think of Compass Green and their message? Leave your thoughts in the comments below and share photos of your own gardens with us at Sweety High!