garden varieties

Early in this millennium, the novelist Barbara Kingsolver chronicled in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle her family’s attempt to eat only foodstuffs produced within a 50-mile radius of their home. Eating locally was not a new idea, but no one before Kingsolver had been so honest or so public about it. Despite being surrounded by farmland in rural western Virginia, the Kingsolvers were forced to rethink their eating habits in their quest for local produce. They discovered that our penchant for industrial agriculture dependent supermarkets, which buy in bulk from far rather than from near, had made family farms and local diversity virtually obsolete.

 

Despite the apparent success of the Green Revolution in the 1960s and 70s, farmers and food security experts have tracked an alarming fall in global crop yields. There is consensus that our dependency on industrial monoculture farming degrades land fertility and requires large amounts of fossil fuels.[1] There are, however, many people who are actively changing food production using methods that are more sustainable for the land, for the climate, for the natural environment and for us. Here are a few stories.

 

In the refreshingly optimist French film about climate change Demain, le film, we learn of two remarkable permaculture farms, Ferme Bec Hellouin, and the Incredible Farm, that offer seasonal quality organic produce at affordable prices. For millennia, farmers have relied on symbiotic intercropping, but the term “permaculture” refers to organic farming methods developed in Australia in the 1970s in response to land degradation resulting from industrial agriculture in the fragile Tasmanian environment. Working with rather than against nature, permaculture farming restores soil nutrients and revitalizes local plant and animal habitats through processes found in the native ecosystems.[2] 

 

A French couple with little agricultural experience have worked the organic farm in the village of Bec Hellouin by hand since 2006. Concentrating on market garden produce, they have increased farm yields and produce quality through intercropping, staggered cropping and careful attention. Bec Hellouin produce is sold locally and to top French restaurants. The farm also offers training in permaculture methods. A 2015 study conducted at Bec Hellouin concluded that such farms are not just economically viable, but are optimal for revitalizing farming in Normandy.

 

The Incredible Farm was established in 2010 to support the successful Incredible Edible project in Todmorden, Yorkshire that encouraged townsfolk to grow and share organic vegetables. A need for training facilities and demonstration fields prompted the purchasing of a farm where the non-profit program could offer courses to schools groups and would-be farmers. Both the urban farming initiative and the community-supported permaculture farm serve as role models for other local initiates in the UK and around the world.

 

My search for similar farms led south to Saffron Acres, a 12-acre permaculture farm in central England. Since 2005, the volunteer-supported garden has provided produce for local markets and restaurants. School and community programs are integrated into farm activities. Saffron Acres is expanding to incorporate affordable housing under construction on an adjacent lot. When completed, Saffron Lane Community Housing will be the largest passive solar eco-community in Europe.

 

Far from the well-watered hills of Europe lies Quail Springs. A wilderness program for youth from a homeless shelter in Santa Barbara, California purchased a former cattle ranch in the Sierra Madre Mountains for its nature camps in 2004. The ranch had been abandoned when the springs dried up. With the patient help of permaculture experts, who planted native trees and scrub, the water table and the vegetation recovered. Today the Quail Springs Permaculture project is more than a wilderness center for sustainable living, it is a demonstration project for arid habitat rejuvenation, rainwater harvesting and permaculture farming, offering courses in permaculture design.

 

These projects embody the vibrant passion I have long admired in the community gardens in New York City’s Lower East Side. Although many are lost to history, there are a surprising number of beautiful gardens scattered throughout the city, some dating back to the 1970s. At that time, the city was in financial crisis and little attention was paid to abandoned lots. Residents and block associations took charge, transforming them into vegetable and flower gardens, playgrounds and recreation areas. In 1978, the “Green Thumb” project was established to formalize these gardens and grant them ten-year leases. Some of the oldest gardens have special permanent status. These lush and diverse gardens provide vital oases and fresh produce in densely populated lower-income neighborhoods. Tall trees tower over garden plots and seating areas, blocking out all hints of the surrounding apartment blocks. On summer nights, residents and visitors alike gather for feasts, music, theater and all types of culture and entertainment.

 

I have discussed the importance of localism in maintaining healthy communities. Local knowledge and stewardship are no less important in agriculture. As demonstrated by these New York gardens, local agriculture can be directly responsive to community needs.

 

More ambitious projects have sprung up recently, proving that New Yorkers are serious about expanding their access to local produce and taking control of open space. Brooklyn Grange, started in 2010 by two restaurateurs looking for fresh herbs, currently farms over 2.5 acres on rooftops in Brooklyn and Queens.  The Grange produces over 40,000 lbs. of organic vegetables, honey and specialty products that it sells to restaurants, wholesalers and through community supported agriculture programs. Between two new buildings comprising the Urby residential development, on the western edge of Staten Island, lies another pioneer project. The young woman who works the 5,000 square-foot farm is, at present, the only commercial farmer in New York City living on a farm - in a nearby  2^nd floor apartment. The rental management company that hired her, views the farm as one of many community-friendly amenities that draw young urban professionals. The produce is sold to residents and donated to local food banks.

 

Across the Hudson River in New Jersey is an even less conventional urban farm inside a former warehouse. AeroFarm, is a start-up vertical farming enterprise which provides urbanites with quality local produce. Using an aeroponic system that requires no soil and little water, the Newark facility grows over two million pounds of leafy greens a year. The produce is sold directly to local restaurants and supermarkets, doing away with wholesalers and long-haul trucking.

 

In 2013, the UN Conference on Trade and Development released a survey on the environmental impact of global trade. The review, pointedly titled “Wake up Before it is Too Late”, presents arguments from over 60 experts and organizations on why industrial agriculture must give way to biodiversity and local markets. Our present export-based monoculture system often skews market structures in favor of commercial carbohydrate-rich but nutrient-poor crops, leaving vulnerable communities dependent on expensive imports of staple foodstuffs.[3] Smallhold farmers, aware of local needs, can maximize yields by diversifying produce and staggering harvests. Statistics show that such farms are consistently more productive, even on marginal land.[4] Small farms use less pesticides and fertilizers. Non-mechanical tillage preserves native insect, plant and animal habitats. Permacultures, such as Quail Springs, often include trees and shrubs that increase water-retention properties of soils. Moreover, organic permaculture farming raises the carbon content of soils, slowing the speed of climate change.[5]

 

Is it really necessary to know where our food comes from? The projects I have found are only a few of many inspiring projects run by people dedicated to answering that question.  We can’t all grow our own food, but we can know who is growing it. And, if you’re in the area, I have plenty of kale and cucumbers!