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by Kipp Nash
When some folks think about farms they hold an idyllic
vision of red barns, chickens, cows and vast fields of
vegetables…at least that’s what I used to dream of. These days
I’m doing my best to add a slightly different option to the
palette. You see, along with my partner Kimberly, I operate
Community Roots, Boulder’s first Urban Multi-Plot Farm. In
case you’re new to the term, an Urban Multi-Plot Farm is a
collection of gardens that are situated right in urban
homeowners’ front- and back- yards. Putting a collection of
these plots together makes a farm, and a farm is what we have
made.
In the fall of 2005 I came up with this crazy
idea of using my neighbors’ yards for growing vegetables. My
goal was to develop an alternative career that would satisfy
my desire to farm without having to lay out large financial
investments in land and machinery. After a winter squirming
with excitement I went to work in the spring of 2006. We built
a makeshift hoophouse in our backyard to start seedlings and
found a few brave neighbors. At that point, I’d had a few
years of experience growing vegetables, but was not at all
prepared to operate anything on this scale—year one was a real
rollercoaster ride!
There were times I almost gave up;
discouraged because I wasn’t sure if this was really a viable
enterprise. I needed support, so I did some online research
and found Wally Satzewich, who lives in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, Canada. He and his wife have been successfully
farming multiple urban plots for a number of years and making
a decent living. That was all the encouragement I needed to
keep trudging ahead. Just as I found out about Wally, he was
preparing to release a series of guides that outline what he
calls SPIN (Small Plot Intensive) Farming. Along with his
associate, Roxanne Christensen from Philadelphia’s famed
Somerton Tanks farm, Wally is spreading the SPIN phenomenon
all over the United States with new farmers springing up every
day. I’m fortunate to be one of the first in this country to
apply the SPIN model.
In 2007 we added additional
plots, made our first restaurant sales, began selling at the
farmers’ market, and initiated my proudest achievement yet:
our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) project. We started
our CSA with just four member families, but grew to nine by
the end of the year. It was a wonderful experience to know
that we were growing food for, and creating relationships
with, families who lived just down the street from us. Now,
here we are in 2008, growing in 13 plots that amount to about
a _ acre of intensively cultivated land. Most of these plots
are within a few blocks of our house, and three of them are
from our next door (and backyard) neighbors! We are selling at
the Boulder Farmers’ Market consistently on Saturdays and our
CSA has expanded to 25 members, partly due to our new
relationship with Frank Hodge at Father Earth Farm in
Lafayette, who will be growing some of the more
space-dependent crops like tomatoes, winter squash, melons and
corn.
We’re not doing this alone. We have opened our
operations (and our home) to a whole fleet of motivated
volunteers, interns, apprentices and employees. 2008 is an
experiment in community and thus far it’s proving to be a huge
success! This summer we’re piloting Community
Fruits—homeowners allow our crews to harvest and distribute
the unused fruit from their trees. We’re also adding Community
Coops to our repertoire, in partnership with a local project
called Urban Hens which builds chicken coops for home- owners.
There’s room in the model for backyard honey projects,
flowers, herbs, and the list goes on and on…
We have a
new addition to the team—Steve Morgan, a committed,
adventurous soul who is taking the Community Roots model to
north Boulder’s Newlands neighborhood. He’s developing
gardens, planting vegetables and building community there as
part of his SPIN farming debut.
My hope is that as
Steve and I, and others around the state (SPIN farms are
getting started in Denver, Fort Collins and Steamboat Springs)
are creating an economically feasible model of urban
agricultural entrepreneurship that will engender more locally
grown food, more connected communities and healthier cities.
As energy costs rise, food costs will continue to soar,
creating an environment that makes local growing pay off.
Small-acreage farmers and multi-plot urban farmers are on the
cutting edge of a lively and important market, gaining and
retaining skills for more security in an uncertain future.
Every day I hear from folks who find inspiration in
Community Roots. I think growing food and creating community
is something that everyone yearns for. People are latching on
to the idea of Community Roots because it gives us a real
outlet right here in our cities to do these things.
There are a number of levels one can get involved in.
Everyone can grow vegetables. Grow in your backyard, your
front yard, or use a community garden plot or a windowsill, if
you live in an apartment. If you want to get involved in
growing for your community, start a neighborhood garden club.
Interested in multi-plot farming or small-acreage farming?
Look at the SPIN Farming website (www.spinfarming.com) or hunt
down one of the SPIN farmers in Colorado. If you want to
sharpen your skills, volunteer at a farm.
It’s time
that we all find our passion in caring for each other and the
planet. The global economy is coming back to the local
economy. I’m tickled because I see how “going local” really
means coming together as community! Know that with enough
elbow grease and determination, dreams can become reality…
even if you have to let go of the romance of the red barn and
fields of grain.
Kipp Nash is in his third year of
operating Community Roots from his home in South Boulder’s
Martin Acres neighborhood. He lives with his partner Kimberly
and her 12-year-old son, Kaleb. For more information on their
project, visit http://www.communityrootsboulder.com/ .
Reprinted by 34 EDIBLE FRONTRANGE| SUMMER, 2008 with
permission [http://www.ediblefrontrange.com/
].
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