Bringing Food to Desert Tables at Sleeping Frog Farms
Nestled in the San Pedro River Vall
ey, just outside of Cascabel, Arizona, lies 75 acres of farmland with over a thousand chickens, a couple of goats, five WWOOFERs and Debbie, Adam, Clay, and CJ — the dynamic quartet who own and manage Sleeping Frog Farms.
Starting with a row of fava beans and a greenhouse nabbed from Craigslist for $500, Sleeping Frog Farms first broke ground four years ago on a small parcel of land–a former horse pasture–north of Tucson, Arizona. Within two years, Adam, Debbie, Clay, and CJ went from direct-marketing radishes (and not much else), to distributing produce at Tucson restaurants, offering CSA shares and selling an impressive variety of products (dates, vegetables, and eggs, to name a few) at a farmers’ market on Tucson’s north side. They soon realized they would reach capacity on their small farm and decided to look for a larger plot of fertile land that could support increased production and an even greater variety of products.
In May 2010 Adam, Debbie, Clay, and CJ bought the 75 acres of land outside of Cascabel. For several months they grew and harvested vegetables at both locations, making a gradual conversion to their new farm. Since August of 2011, on this land flush with water from three domestic and two agricultural wells, Sleeping Frog Farms has been operating full-throttle.
The rapid growth of Sleeping Frog Farms can be attributed to the collective experience and vision of the four managers. Together they bring to the table a unique set of skills and experiences, including non-profit work (Debbie), produce management (Adam), farm and irrigation know-how (CJ), and business management (Clay). They share the same mission: to feed as many families in Southern Arizona as they can while preserving the health of the landscape by nurturing soil and animals without the use of pesticides. As Adam put it, they would like to “close the loop,” using fewer off-the-farm inputs. In other words, they would like to create a self-sustaining production cycle. Adam explains that this can be achieved by using effective microorganisms and creating a balance with plants, animals, and insects, which negates the need for chemical applications and pesticides. Think permaculture, or “permanent agriculture.” As CJ put it, “If you have a healthy soil…the plants already know what to do. It’s engrained in the enzymes in the seed—you give it good water and healthy soil, they do their thing.”
Their experience has not been without strife. Unpredictabi
lity is inherent in farming. The daily temperature range is wide, there are many frosts and the wind corridors can be brutal. Furthermore, the four managers reinvest most of their earnings back into the farm. While they sell produce to high-end restaurants in Tucson, Arizona, their paychecks don’t afford them the luxury of eating at those same establishments. But these financial difficulties do not dampen or halt their progress. They look toward the future: They hope to grow their CSA from its current membership of 105 to as many as 500 members by eventually farming 20 acres, with two-thirds in production and one-third in cover crop. They are also interested in small-scale grain production; over the next 20 years, they hope to grow enough grain to feed their own chickens, further closing the loop.
This week Sleeping Frog Farms will
harvest broccoli rabe and sell multi-colored eggs to Tucson omelet aficionados at the St. Phillips Sunday Farmers’ Market. If you live in Southern Arizona, you can support Debbie, Adam, Clay and CJ by buying their produce at the Food Conspiracy Co-Op, or by visiting their stand at the farmers’ market. They welcome farm visits, too. If you can’t make it out to Cascabel, check out this video (produced by Arizona Public Media) to experience, vicariously, what Sleeping Frog Farms is all about and to meet four champion growers who are investing in their land and in the future by growing good food—for both eater and land—for Southern Arizona.
Cloud 9 Rooftop Farm. Philadelphia, PA.
We’re wandering through a dark maze of a warehouse, down corridors and up flights of stairs, and it would be eerie if not for my jubilant companions. We emerge onto the rooftop, and it’s quite a scene–the light patter of rain, a vast, dark expanse, lights and traffic noise below, and puddles accumulating where the roof sags—but it wouldn’t much resemble my image of a farm if not for my guides, who lend me a bit of their imaginations. Clare Hyre and Rania Campbell-Cobb are the farmers, dreamers, and movers-and-shakers that founded Philadelphia’s Cloud 9 Rooftop Farm. Though the project is their brainchild, it has evolved according to the space and the people around it. Rania and Clare are friends from college, and had been talking about farming together for a few years, but they weren’t at first thinking about farming above street level. Rania describes their decision-making process, saying, “When we started living across the street from each other in Philly we started scheming about spaces we saw around us, and the first really available space we came across was a roof.” Their interest in rooftop farming came at a fortuitous time because, as Rania says, “…Philadelphia’s doing a lot of work to ‘green’ the city, and especially in improving storm water management, so there’s a lot of interesting innovations going on right now, and energy behind putting in green roofs, and also in having more farms in the city.”
Their vision, according to Rania, is to “be a resource to help other rooftop farms start up around the country. We’re just really excited about the idea of reclaiming city spaces so that they’re more supportive of life and ecosystems, less issues with storm water runoff, more fresh food.” This vision has been compelling to other Philadelphia organizations, most notably SHARE, a Philadelphia-based non-profit that gives community members the opportunity to exchange volunteer time for affordable food. SHARE already has a greenhouse and garden space on their property, and when Clare and Rania approached them about using the two-acre rooftop on top of their West Philadelphia warehouse they jumped at the chance. “We started getting hit by the water department. We’re going to be paying about $22,000 a year for storm water management fees, and so we were already thinking about a green roof, and I had already been thinking about planter boxes on the roof […] but I never thought of just putting 18 inches of soil and a tractor on the roof until these guys came,” said Bill Shick, SHARE’s Urban Agriculture and Facilities Director. Cloud 9 has found support from all corners of the city and beyond, from storm water researchers to the city’s Community Design Collaborative, and they have felt particularly inspired and supported by New York City’s Brooklyn Grange. Clare explains that they have felt a tremendous groundswell of support from friends and community members, saying, “More and more people have been contacting us saying that they learned about our project, they’re excited about our project, so I feel like we have the support, it’s now about structuring that support in a way that’s actually useful for us and would help us get the things we need done…”
This season they will be starting small: With a grant through the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Growers Alliance, they will be working closely with Urban Ecoforms to design a demonstration garden and teach others about building planters on the cheap. Though their beginnings may be modest, they are not afraid to dream big. They talk without trepidation about one day being the largest rooftop farm not only in the city but in the world. As urban farmers they face problems strikingly similar to those of their rural counterparts: land and money. They had some difficulty accessing space in vacant lots in their neighborhood, and an arrangement with another local roof space fell through. Though they remain upbeat about their progress during the interview, they still have millions of dollars to raise before their project can really get off the ground; meanwhile, both women are working other jobs to make ends meet. Clare affirms the importance of patience in the process, saying, “I think from an outside perspective it may seem like things are going really slowly, but in fact I think they’re going really quickly for the fact that both Rania and I work two to three jobs plus are doing this, the amount that we’re actually getting done in the limited amount of time we spend, it’s actually quite impressive to me, and I guess that’s just something to celebrate.”
Great Song Farm. Red Hook, NY.
I first met Anthony Mecca months ago, when I 
started farming in the Hudson Valley. He struck me then as a gentle, steady, patient sort of fellow, but standing in his fields at Great Song Farm on a brisk September Sunday I gained a new appreciation for these qualities. One senses it in the way he clicks and murmurs to his horses and in the way he describes his two-year search for land, which ultimately brought him to that hilly, picturesque plot in Red Hook, New York. He and his co-farmer, Jennifer Carson, have tilled about four and a half acres of a 90-acre property, from which they feed an 80-member vegetable CSA. Rather than a set basket each week, their shares are by volume–either a peck or a half-bushel–but Anthony says they mostly work on the honor system, with members taking what they’ll eat in a week and not measuring the precise volume. This season they raised a batch of broilers to sell to CSA members, have an egg share provided by Gray Horse Farm in Clinton Corners, and sell fruit from Threshold Farm in Philmont.
On the afternoon I visited, Anthony talked of frustration and disappointment as different leasing arrangements fell through and his search for the right land dragged on, but in the same breath spoke of his finally landing in the right place. Jen and Anthony have a unique farming partnership: Each of them has a romantic partner who also farms. Anthony’s girlfriend, Lisa, will be joining the Great Song Farm team for next season, and Jen’s boyfriend runs nearby Lineage Farm. Both couples were looking for land separately until they recognized their common farming interests and decided to seek land together. Jen expressed their situation aptly, saying, “While I love my boyfriend, I’m also in love with animal-powered farming and he very much appreciates the power of tractors. So, for farming partners, it seems that Anthony and I are a good match.” The pair connected with an interested landowner through the Columbia Land Conservancy, a land trust in Columbia County, New York, and, although they are still in their first season farming there they have developed a truly supportive relationship. Their lease stipulates that the farmers will not pay rent until the farm is able to provide them a living wage, which has certainly helped minimize the financial strains inherent in the early phases of a farm business. The landowners have also allowed Anthony to pitch a tent on their land, use the shower in their home, and irrigate fields with water from their home’s well. The process of finding land may have sometimes felt endless, but Anthony’s sense of humble satisfaction was clear as he surveyed the farm and pointed out that an extra couple of years, even making a meager apprentice salary, meant that he had enough savings to get the farm operation off the ground. He points out that he found land to farm only after he had matured enough to be ready for it and “ready to have a real conversation with someone,” discussing mutual interests rather than demanding or feeling entitled to certain treatment because of his status as a poor, young farmer.
Both farmers
at Great Song Farm have drawn inspiration from the different places they have worked. Anthony learned to lead a team of horses during his time at Natural Roots in Conway, Massachusetts, Jen apprenticed at the oxen-powered Spring Meadows Farm in Pennsylvania, and they now have a team of horses and oxen, respectively. Anthony also worked at Essex Farm in Essex, New York, and at one time aspired to follow a similar model for a full-diet CSA. Although Jen and Anthony do hope to experiment with integrating livestock and grain in the future, he says that now he is “focused on just growing good vegetables.” Jen described some specific goals of hers as they strive to be better farmers: “My main focus is bettering our vegetable growing, adding rhythmic, soil-building and weed-controlling cover crop and tillage practices.” Next year, in addition to their on-farm CSA, Great Song will collaborate with Lineage Farm to provide vegetables to a CSA in near-by Poughkeepsie. Each farm will grow different vegetables, allowing them to focus on crops that do well in their soil and that they especially enjoy growing.
No farm’s first season passes without hiccups, and Great Song Farm has certainly had its share—while I was there, Anthony talked about discovering rock outcrops with his plow, breaking equipment, coping with less-than-ideal water access, difficulties in training the animals, and hurting his back midseason. Somehow, though, he never sounded like he was complaining. On the contrary he seemed upbeat, and emphasized the importance of cultivating good relationships, from their 
landlords and CSA members to the local chiropractor and an established farmer down the road. The farmers at Great Song displayed a cautious pride and optimism toward what they have accomplished this year and hope for the future. Jen reflected, “With all the ups and downs this season has offered us, I’d rate our first season as wonderfully smooth sailing. While I know we have a lot of learning left to do before we know this plot of land and how we may best steward it, I’m also highly impressed with what we’ve been able to accomplish, both as farmers and as part of a larger community.”
Compass Green Project
I have always had a nagging suspicion that young farmers are a creative, innovative, and poetic lot of individuals. We have degrees in art appreciation, environmental science,
and anthropology. We design chicken tractors and refabricate old washing machines into spinners for salad greens. We use words like “permaculture” and “reemay,” eat big salads, and talk with our hands. Even so, I never would have thought our young minds could attach wheels to a farm and make it drive. Then Compass Green Project rolled into view.
Compass Green Project, a greenhouse hailing from New York City, is home not only to herbs, salad greens, peppers, corn, amaranth, cucumbers, kale, broccoli, beans, beets, chard, and peas, but also to three very focused and knowledgeable gentlemen. Nick Runkle, Justin Cutter, and Andrew Runkle have decided to make their greenhouse mobile. “Why?” one might ask. As Cutter pointed out, there is a strong urban agricultural movement. However, the need to teach sustainable agriculture extends into rural communities with equal urgency. “We all need to eat,” Cutter remarked, “and it is a very unifying thing between socio-economic layers.”
The Compass Green Project took one year to materialize from a brilliant light-bulb idea into a greenhouse puttering around in a truck. The star of the show, the truck, was purchased in March of 2011 from a woman who had used it as a mobile art gallery in New York City. The truck wasn’t cheap, and, after securing the first payments with milk money and personal risk, the fundraising began. It took about one month for Compass Green to secure (via a fundraising website, Kickstarter) the start-up capital necessary to convert their truck into what it is today. There were garden boxes to be built, storage cabinets to be stacked, a cab to be cleaned, and veggie oil to be collected.
Enter Dr. Dave from Ashville, North Carolina, who knows a thing or two about diesel engines and spent fryer oil. Justin and Nick rushed their little truck south with dreams of fuel
conversion. What was expected to be a four- or five-day conversion process ended up taking two weeks because, as it turns out, no one had yet converted a truck like this one to run on vegetable oil.
Two months later the Compass Green Project rolled into my humble town of New Paltz, New York. Referral after referral takes them to new towns to teach more people about sustainable agriculture. They teach classes about companion planting, rain water catchments, deep soil preparations, and hexagonal spacing instead of rows. They teach children what a tomato needs to survive, and teach adults how to help their kids love tomatoes. They teach how to grow intelligently on a balcony, an acre, a campus garden, or a truck. And when they are through teaching, they eat what they preach by harvesting their crop and sharing a meal with other farmers along the way.
We at Tweefontein were lucky enough to be some of those farmers, and I got a chance to ask them for a little advice, young’un to young’un. After a thoughtful moment and a couple bites of zucchini, they concluded that it is most important to simply do something, especially if you are passionate about it. They said to stay intelligent and just start running with your idea. They observed that we–young farmers–are farming in a new way. One has to take that first plunge, and to trust that doing something you love will make it easier to be creative. I am certain that these gents love what they are doing, and their creativity appears boundless.
They have impressive goals for their humble truck, and are spreading their knowledge one town at a time. They are off to Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, and then the Midwest. So if you want to catch these visionaries in action, it would behoove you to contact them via email. I like to think of them as the Fantastic Three of sustainable agriculture: If there are people to teach, they will be there. If there is a plant to be planted, they will do it. If the agricultural revolution needs more people to initiate growth for the country, consider them at the forefront.
Compass Green Treats This recipe was created by the men of Compass Green Project. Careful–you never know which leaf will pack that mustard green spice!
10 leaves of mustard greens
10 whole walnuts, roasted
20 dried cranberries
Put one walnut and two cranberries in each leaf of mustard green. Serve on a platter. To enjoy, wrap the mustard green around the walnut and cranberries and take a bite. Allow hilarity to ensue as you guess whose treat will be spicy.
Phillies Bridge Farm Project
It doesn’t take long to notice that food is the passion at Phillies Bridge Farm Project in Gardiner, New York. The aptly-named farm sits in the middle of Phillies Bridge Road, the Sunset Strip of Gardiner farms. Boasting an impressive 65 acres, the farm has been protected through a land trust since 2002. Phillies Bridge is a Not-for-
Profit, and, while the Board of Directors helps with fundraising and fiscal management, the creativity of the farm rests in the hands of six young women.
Farm manager Anne Eschenroeder is not new to farming. Between earning a certificate in Ecological Horticulture from the University of California Santa Cruz and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies (and Anthropology), the girl knows a thing or two about dirt. She manages the farm’s CSA of 220 members, deliveries to seven different restaurants, and the six acres that make it all possible. On my visit Anne was hurriedly cooking lunch for me and her interns. It turns out she knows a thing or two about cooking her vegetables as well.
Education is an important part of Phillies Bridge’s model, and Amie Baracks was hired as the Education Director in 2010. She oversees Farm Camp, school visits, Growing Together, and adult workshops that focus on sustainable agriculture. The farm was abuzz when I pulled into the grassy parking lot: Children were playing with the hose, zucchini bread was baking, and Amie greeted me with a warm smile and said “Ok, lets eat!”
I should have known that when two farm ladies and their very experienced team of apprentices say “Lets eat,” I would be leaving with a very full stomach. It was intern Katie’s birthday, and Anne prepared a very farm-filled meal of fried zucchini with sour cream, crispy zucchini latkes with applesauce, and a big garden salad with cucumbers and carrots. It is a Phillies Bridge tradition to eat together at noon, and, as one intern jokes, “It is the most important part of the day. It is what I work towards in the morning”. Anne pulled more fritters out of the kitchen, and more and more latkes appeared. We all took two or three helpings of each.
Through forkfuls, I asked what the most difficult part of being a young farmer is. All six agreed that finding secure land and guidance
is hard, as a big wave of young people are initiating this agricultural renaissance: “It is just hard to know what to do.” Amie also notes that it is really difficult for a young farmer to find a balance between work and life that will leave them emotionally and physically stable. She has farmer friends who work so hard in July that they end up loosing that balance and hurting themselves in the process. These young women are hopeful for all of us young farmers, and the only advice they have is to “just do it.” They all laugh at the marketing connotation of this phrase, but it seems to sum it up perfectly. They say that to be a success, you just have to get involved and try. Take classes. Read books. Go online.
After lunch, the farmers quickly dart off to their individual tasks for the afternoon and I join Mary-Kate and Amie for herbal tea and zucchini bread with the kids. The children tell me in unison that there is “Lemon Balm!” and “Chamomile!” and “FENNEL!” (they were particularly excited about the fennel) in their tea this afternoon.
As I make my way towards the parking lot, belly full and pad full of notes, I hear Amie lead the kids in a thank-you song. Twenty little
voices sing “Blessings on the fruiiit, and Blessings for the treeeees”. Phillies Bridge Farm Project is more than your average farm. These creative women know food and want to share their knowledge with anyone keen on learning. And what did Katie get for her birthday? A garden-patch cake and Eliot Coleman’s New Organic Grower. Naturally!
Conuco Farms. New Paltz, NY
There has been a certain mystique around the owner of Conuco Farms in New Paltz, NY. It seems that I always hear his name in a hushed murmur, and that murmur always concludes with “Hector will know.” For all of us young farmers on our (sometimes disastrous) learning curve, the wise Hector Tejada was elevated to a Ceres-esqe reincarnation, a god of agriculture. While a little apprehensive–but overwhelmingly curious–I phoned this farmer and asked him if I could come by.
“I’m 39,” Hector interjected as I explained I was writing for the NYFC. I assured him that, while 39 was not exactly the springy-est of chickens, I was certain his young mind would offer us beginners insight and a fascinating story. We continued to banter, and I hung up with a visit to Conuco Farms scheduled with the renown Hector Tejada.
Hector started his affair with farming as a 29-year-old New York City resident transplanted from the Dominican Republic. As an individual who finds grocery shopping to be synonymous with browsing the farmers’ market, he often found himself at the 175th Greenmarket. It was there that he was given a job by an Italian fishmonger from Staten Island. Fish, at any given farmers’ market, is a fantastic bartering tool, and Hector would trade his fish for pie.
Davie Jr. (the one selling the pie) was an Amish man working and living on his father’s farm in Pennsylvania. As Hector and Davie bonded over pie and poisson, they ended up becoming rather good friends. Davie Jr. encouraged Hector to apply for a job working for his father, Davie Sr.
As Hector explained through several amusing anecdotes, he was given the job and was the “market guy” in 1999 and 2000. Then Davie Sr. hired him to work on the 70-acre farm, and this is where Hector became bonded to the earth. He explained that Davie Sr. taught him a lot about timeliness, responsibility, commitment, and an annoyingly stringent work ethic. Hector says that he carries that with him to this day.
Years later, Hector decided to move to upstate New York and open 11-acre Conuco Farm. Each year he expands and learns more as an independent businessman. He has 82 CSA shares in Brooklyn, he attends the market on 175th St. every Saturday, and he has just grabbed a spot at the Union Square Market in Manhattan. He has multiple long rows of greens, okra, eggplant, tomatoes, peas, melon, and squash. From beans to watermelon, he grows any delicious vegetable you can think of. He even honors the babies of cultivation and has trays of sprouts lined up in his very green greenhouse.
He showed me around his farm in a heavy rain while we ate wet peas and chatted about farm life. The mysterious and elusive Hector I heard about in murmurs is simply a muddy, good-humored farmer with a lot of skill and knowledge. With the idea of “Hector will know” still in my mind, I asked him for a little barely-older-than-young farmer wisdom. He says that to make it, you must love it. Farming is like making art and you have to have the artistic passion and the need to do it. He said that he has always had a passion to do something important–to work towards a better world–and sees his farm as his statement. But beyond art, his farm is his temple because it allows him to give and to get. He feels that he is always in contact with a god because there has to be a lot of faith in things bigger than himself: things like the weather, the land, and his skill. A farmer is always answering to something bigger than himself.
As a food lover, Hector shared a recipe with me of his favorite dish. Filled with any vegetable he can pick from his plants, he devotedly explains, “I like tasting my whole farm”. While I have come to understand that Hector is not exactly the powerful Ceres, god of agriculture, I still believe that he just may be a descendant.
Hector’s Taste of the Whole Farm
3 Tbsp Olive Oil 1 c. Chopped Onion 4 Cloves of Garlic ½ Chopped Cilantro Anything growing (a summer squash, ½ eggplant, okra, beans, etc.) 1 Tbsp. Champagne Vinegar ¼ c. Soy Sauce 2 c. Canned Tomatoes Heat the oil in a large pan or wok. Toss in the onion and stir for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ¼ c. of the cilantro. Stir until cooked, but not browned in the slightest. Add the vegetables (thick things first, then thin things). When the veggies are cooked, add the vinegar, soy, and tomatoes. Cook until bubbly, but slightly wet from the tomato juice. Add the final ¼ c. of chopped cilantro and stir. Spoon over white rice. Hector Tejada – Conuco Farm conucofarm.blogspot.com
Caitlin Arnold and Holly Mills, Oregon
Tell me a little bit about your farm.
Sidewalk’s End Farm is located in the city of Portland, Oregon. We farm five city plots and one large rural one, focusing on northwestern hardy, late season, and storage crops. The farm was started by four people–Holly, Jud, Rachel, and Tom–who lived and gardened together for three years until we decided to make our large gardens pay for themselves by selling CSA shares. Things grew quickly, and now, in our second season, we are growing for a 20-member CSA and two farmers’ markets, as well as cultivating barter and work-trade relationships. We borrow backyards and empty lots and trade produce to our generous land-lenders.
What difficulties have you had, or are you overcoming, and how?
In our first season the major challenge was figuring out how to operate as a small business. Even though we all had extensive agricultural experience, the business end of things was a serious seat-of-the-pants endeavor and major learning experience. We would have done well to reach out more to other farmers and small business owners in search of advice and mentorship. But our lack of business savvy has perhaps allowed us to be more creative and include aspects of barter, work-trade, and shared reciprocity into our farm.
Our other primary obstacle–both for getting by and being good farmers–is trying to run a small, economically viable farm in the city, where we pay city rent and cannot live on our land, have city water rates, have limited access to land, and are compromised by jobs, transportation, and the logistics of keeping multiple plots with different conditions and crops in mind.
What are your goals in the next 5-10 years?
We are working hard to find a piece of land where we can expand our growing area and be a community presence beyond just growing and selling produce. We want enough space to have animals, on a small scale, and expand our grain production and dry bean production. We also want to be able to use the piece of land we find to offer space for workshops and education, and host meetings and events for other groups and projects here in town, like Right 2 Survive, a radical houseless group. Ultimately, we are interested in more ways to make the farm part of a fiercer, more resilient force counter to conventional land ownership, inaccessible food, and contemporary capitalism.
What advice do you have for other young farmers who are just starting out?
Work for and learn as much as you can from other people. Do apprenticeships and internships for at least a few years to make sure you actually like it.
Educate yourself about the realities of farming, national and local farm policy, and what people in your area want and need. Decide what you are able to do, what parts of policy you want to comply with and want to ignore. Learn where you live and farm and try to figure out what will make the most sense for where you are.
Consider that unless you are already wealthy, you will certainly be real poor for at least a few years. Get okay with being poor. Save your money.
Figure that you might have to start, quit, start over, try something different before you really get your farm going.
How (if at all) do you see your work as a farmer fitting into the larger movement for social change from the ground up?
Our food economy alone has a long ways to go. As farmers we get our hands dirty every day with these questions, and maybe by continuing to farm we can figure out some answers. Since we’re in the city, I think we can play an interesting part in building stronger bridges between urban and rural areas. We are also really excited about the possibilities of extending our farm beyond specifically agricultural and food-related concerns, which is part of our long-term vision. We can, and have, learned a lot from non-farm organizing, counter-economies, and forms of support, and hopefully this can be huge for our ability to seriously impact the limited availability of wholesome food in our area–not just for us, but other small food producers as well.
Mary Blue, Rhode Island
Mary Blue is the founder of Farmacy Herbs, an urban farm and holistic health and education center in Providence, Rhode Island. On a quarter acre of land, Mary grows vegetables and medicinal herbs which are crafted into a variety of products including teas, tinctures, salves, creams, and syrups. Mary’s introduction to agriculture came from three summers spent living on a farm on Martha’s Vineyard. She got her start in herbalism at Indigo Herbals, a former Providence herb shop, and worked for four years as a community herbalist at Seven Arrows Farm, a plant and herb nursery in southern Massachusetts. She also studied with many wonderful herb teachers at Sage Mountain in Vermont in 2007.
The urban gardens at Farmacy were founded in 2000 on what was formerly an empty lot behind Mary’s house. This small plot of land is an amazingly productive example of urban sustainability, featuring composting, rainwater collection, and a passive solar greenhouse and hot water system. Mary and her partner, Tony, are often seen biking herbal products to the farmers market, and an emphasis on community self-sufficiency is central to Farmacy’s philosophy. In addition to market sales and distribution to local restaurants, Farmacy offers a Community Supported Medicine CSA. Throughout the summer, Mary also organizes the distribution of vegetables from area farms to cancer patients at the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Center.
Education is a major focus of Farmacy Herbs, with classes offered for both adults and children. Mary teaches an extensive introduction to herbalism called the Herbal Education and Training (HEAT) Program, and serves as a mentor to apprentices and high school interns. The education center is also host to guest teachers from around New England and offers a childen’s summer camp called Lil Sprouts. Farmacy Herbs serves as a resource for cancer patients seeking complementary care, and Mary consults on a sliding-scale basis with a variety of people looking to improve their health through nutrition and herbs.
Beyond her work with Farmacy Herbs, Mary is a community organizer who has helped to found many organizations over the years, including the Northeast Grassroots Community Herbal Convergence, Providence Recycle-A- Bike, and the Northeast Radical Healthcare Network (Radherb). In 2006, after Hurricane Katrina, Mary traveled to New Orleans to volunteer with the Common Ground Health Clinic. One of her most recent projects is a non-profit organization called Herbal Aide, whose mission is “to document, inspire and fund grassroots herbal projects/businesses that are working towards creating positive, sustainable social change.” Herbal Aide has created a documentary profiling a variety of herbalists, sales of which will go towards a grant fund for community-based herb projects. Currently Mary and the rest of the crew at Farmacy are fundraising to buy the land in Providence on which the farm and health center are located–an exciting opportunity for expansion.
Overall, Mary Blue is an inspiring example of someone who is working hard towards community-based urban sustainability and accessible healthcare!
Tweefontein Herb Farm. New Paltz, NY
Originally owned and operated by the zesty Ann Salomon, and after laying fallow for roughly seven years, Tweefontein Herb Farm in New Paltz, New York was granted a new burst of energy in 2009 when it was leased out to then 23-year-old Sarah Marcisak.
After several calls to friends and a carefully-worded Craigslist ad, Sarah assembled the first crew of Tweefontein. The group included a speech pathologist, an artist, a teacher, and German vagabond. The group did not include a farmer, an ecologist, or anyone over the age of 28. Sarah signed up for a chance to farm nine acres, attend the Union Square Greenmarket once a week, and create a working business. The first year was a financial success, and Sarah knew Tweefontein would evolve into something incredible.
This year is the third season of Tweefontein Herb Farm, and a lot has changed. Residents now include a builder, a painter, a yoga instructor, a few landscapers, a couple chefs, and a man who is certain that geodesic domes will save us all. There are many new systems in place: proper accounting procedures, compost, automated fans in the greenhouse, visibly straight field rows, and weekly house meetings. The house meetings are the most impressive because, when living and working in a communal setting, there is a lot to talk about.
Even in this rainy May, Twee is growing over 25 herbs, 20 different vegetables, and loads of heirloom garlic. Every Saturday the farmers can be found at the Union Square Greenmarket in NYC, in a vending slot created by the founder and herb guru, Ann. At the market, Twee’s claims to fame are the herbal tisanes and pesto blends. The tisanes are simply dried herbs that are steeped for over 12 hours and iced. With flavors such as of lemon balm, lavender-peppermint, and ginger-cayenne, there is something for every palate. The pesto, harvested and processed less than 24 hours before it is sold, is a tradition carried on from the days of Ann. Pesto flavors are seasonal; May flavors include Spinach and Cilantro, Spicy Arugula and Garlic, Pea Shoot, and Kale Walnut. The fields are spotted with tiny basil plants because, in the pesto world, basil is king. Customers ask weekly if the basil is ready yet and the answer is faithfully, “in June.”
Being that it is a Friday, the day for Union Square Greenmarket preparation, I use a big iron bell to
summon these farmers to the table for a gigantic salad dressed in a pesto-spiked vinaigrette. I am amazed at the collection of ideas discussed over lunch. It seems, in almost all cases, that curiosity trumps doubt. These young people have a lot in store for their little farm, so pay close attention to their website. I am told that for Sunday Markets in June we can expect wood-fired bread and expertly-assembled sandwiches at the farm. I would recommend a trip to Tweefontein Herb Farm for a bag of produce, good conversation, and a crispy sandwich. Keep your fingers crossed that your sandwich will be slathered in basil pesto.
Tweefontein’s Leftover Pesto Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. prepared pesto (we used Kale-Walnut)
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 giant bowl of freshly harvested salad greens
Freshly ground black pepper
In a two-cup glass measuring cup, combine vinegar, garlic, and salt. Allow it to sit for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash and dry your salad greens. Place them in a large bowl and add a few turns of cracked black pepper on top of the greens.
Then add the pesto to the vinagar mixture and, while whisking, slowly add the olive oil.
Drizzle the vinaigrette over the greens until the leaves have a very light coating (not too much dressing!) and serve under a shade tree with a big pitcher of water infused with lemon balm.
Tweefontein Herb Farm
4 Jenkins Rd.
New Paltz, NY 12561
www.tweeherbs.com
Brendan Smith, Thimble Island Oyster Co.
I am commercial fisherman transformed into an organic ocean farmer; and I’ve fallen in love with growing food at sea.
I started Thimble Island Oyster Co. in 2005 with a not-so-seaworthy 22 foot boat and 20 acres of leased ocean grounds nestled in the Thimble Islands of Long Island Sound. Over the last six years my farm has grown to 60 acres, and is now growing 200,000 oysters a year for seafood restaurants and farmer’s markets in Connecticut and New York.
I’ve been working the sea on-and-off my whole life. At 15 years old I quit high school to work the lobster boats out of Lynn, MA; later I fished cod and crab boats on the Bering Sea. As over-fishing decimated the cod stocks, I headed back to my birthplace of Newfoundland to try my hand as a fish farmer growing halibut and salmon.
But all the while as I worked these jobs, I witnessed first-hand how our oceans are imperiled from the twin threats of commercial fishing and climate change. I came to realize that I needed to change my relationship with the sea. So after some late nights reading up on how to “green the seas”, I decided to become an oysterman.
The reason oysters are such wonderful little critters is that study after study show that shellfish farms — as opposed to industrial fishing and fish farming — significantly improve water quality and have a net-positive impact on our oceans. Oysters are considered a “keystone” species by conservation biologists because of the critical role they play in maintaining the structure of an ecological community. According to Mike Beck, lead marine scientist with The Nature Conservancy. “Shellfish farms represent one of most — if not the most — sustainable forms of aquaculture and fish production.”
So now I see myself as a new breed of “green fishermen,” who have shifted from hunter-gatherers trolling the seas in search of declining fish stocks, to ocean-based farmers sustainably growing shellfish on small plots of ocean acreage for local markets. Oysters rank as one of the top “super green seafoods” by the Environmental Defense Fund, and with over 90% of the world’s oyster reefs destroyed, oyster farming is now considered vital to saving our oceans and our food systems. Our favorite mullusk has even engendered a new branch of urban planning and design called “oyster-tecture”, which seeks to use oysters reefs to revive New York’s rivers and protect New York City’s coastline from the sea level rise expected with climate change.
As an eager member of the emerging green economy, I keep trying — and often failing — to do my small part to “green” food production. I use only recycled cages and other growout gear; designed a mobile DIY solar refrigeration system for transporting and storing oysters; harvest starfish and Asian shore crabs for “invasive species cooks”; and avoid the damaging impacts of dragging along the ocean floor by growing in deep water cages that function as artificial reefs for striped bass, blackfish and other species native to Long Island Sound.
At the same time there have been lots of challenges trying to set up and make a living off the farm. Like many other young farmers I can’t get access to affordable health care — critical because I’m an epileptic — and am saddled with crippling school debts. And my liability insurance, which needs to cover my boat, my truck and my “livestock”, remains sky high. As all the other farmers out there know, keeping overhead low on farm is vital to keeping the barn doors open.
One of my biggest challenges has been convincing federal and state officials that I should be eligible for USDA and farm other programs. I am taxed as a “farmer” and I regulated by the Dept. of Agriculture, but all of the USDA programs are structured around “land-based” farming. I’ve spent endless hours with government officials trying to figure out how to qualify for a REAP grant to build solar refrigeration units when my farm has GPS coordinates rather than a zip code. Same with the EQIP program. I worked with the USDA to become the first sea worker in CT to get an EQIP loan to reduce my engine emissions but it all fell apart because they have never worked with an ocean farm before.
So what are some the things we need to keep young farmers producing sustainable food for local communities? All of us farmers need affordable health care. We need loan forgiveness for college debt. We need grants to tap into solar and wind power generation. In other words, if communities want our food, we need their help.
I am so excited to begin bridging the gap between land and ocean based sustainable farmers. Let me know how I can help!
