| Kipp Nash raises vegetables in suburban Boulder with the help of
his partner and a part-time employee. He sells to restaurants
and at the Boulder Farmers
Market. He's also got a CSA. On a sunny morning in
early October, we stood among the salad greens in his neighbor's
front yard, and he pointed across the street to the home of one of
his CSA members, mentioning that the homeowner on whose property we
stood was also a member.
Kipp Nash harvesting arugula from one of his Boulder
gardens |
I first heard about Kipp's work when I read an article he wrote
in the Eating Local Resource Guide recently published by Boulder County Going
Local (alas, no online version of the guide is available ...
contact me if you'd like to see a copy). He had worked on a
small farm, and had a dream of finding a way to make it a
livelihood, but he wasn't sure how to proceed.
One day, he realized that the land he needed might already be
close at hand. Kipp started talking to neighbors, and made an
agreement that let him use the next-door neighbors' front yard for a
garden.
Here's before:
Here's after:
After reading about his work, I met Kipp at a workshop he gave
during our area's Renaissance
of Local celebration, where he described how things have been
going. He started last year with a few plots, and expanded
this year. He's got nine CSA members, and many of them are
from his immediate neighborhood. When he sets up for the
weekly distribution, he's setting up right in his driveway.
I visited a bunch of Kipp's gardens with him, and they're both
productive and beautiful. In fact, they're striking enough
that since he started, other gardens have popped up in the front
yards on his street, and he's learned that at least one neighbor was
inspired by his gardens.
(It's actually a neighborhood where other great things are
happening, too ... we stopped by to visit a neighbor a block over
who has chickens, ducks, and bees!)
It's such a great approach to local food production that I have
the feeling we'll be seeing more of it in Boulder. Kipp's
already thinking towards how the concept might be replicated in
other parts of town ... and the community-building benefits interest
him as much as finding a livelihood in the line of work that he
loves.
|
| Another of Kipp Nash's gardens, this one in a back
yard |
I asked a bunch of questions about his plans for the future, what
works and what doesn't, etc. Some of his thoughts:
1. As far as making an economic go of it, this is still a
work in progress. He feels strongly, for example, that to
succeed he'll need to involve more volunteer labor -- perhaps
including an internship program of some sort.
2. One of the things that has worked well this year is that
he's got a part-time job driving school buses that accomodates his
need for garden time. He's busy in the mornings until about 9
a.m., and after 2 p.m. in the afternoon, but he's got a chunk of
time in between for the day's horticultural tasks.
3. He's been selling at the farmers market, but not every
time. Next year he'd like to get there every time, since
that'll help him build the seniority that can result in a better
location at the market. The Boulder Farmers Market has been
doing what it can to assist new growers with getting established,
including a (lower) fee structure during an initial period.
The market's help has been valuable.
4. Kipp's harvest processing area has some planned
improvements, including a shady storage shed that will keep
vegetables at the peak of freshness after harvest. The highest
quality produce is important to local consumers, and post-harvest
handling is a a big part of ensuring that quality.
5. From some online research, Kipp found another example of
someone doing similar work: Wally Satzewich's and Gail
Vandersteen's highly successful SPIN Farming in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan.
Personally, my take on the project is that it's one of the most
inspiring and innovative things I've run across in years. I
follow garden goings-on pretty closely in Boulder. I really
think this concept is poised to take off, both because it builds
community and because of the stunning visual display and high
quality of food.
I'm looking forward to working with Kipp for a day or two next
season ... maybe I'll get back to you all with more news
then! | 
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