Everyday Environmentalism

Yes! Only a few blocks away from my home, a new urban farm called Hayes Valley Farm (HVF) was officially opened to the public on January 24th, 2010. I’ve been looking to get my hands dirty in a community farm simply to help out and also to gain skills of my own (for use in my backyard). There’s something fulfilling about growing food – putting your mind and sweat into the process and in return gaining nutritious treats. More generally speaking urban farming contributes a lot to a city: community, education, nutrition, exercise, improved air quality, biodiversity, etc.

I went to the HVF ‘Work Party’ last Thursday (February 11th) and learned a little about the process of a sustainable farm. The HVF team was very knowledgeable and many of them come from a strong background in permaculture. Permaculture, the basic theme behind HVF, is the process of designing agriculture systems to mimic nature.

Here’s the bit I learned about the initial steps of creating a nutritious soil at HVF:
i. To begin, cardboard was placed at the foundation of the farming area to kill all plants and weeds below it as well as add nutrition to the soil.
ii. Next mulch was transferred over to the space – this is where I participated. Wheelbarrows, tarps, and, later on, the back of a pickup truck were used to transfer eucalyptus-scented mulch to the farming area.
iii. Then mulch was smoothed into rows on a hilly area at the southeast edge of the site. Each row needs enough space so you could walk through and do work without trampling over spots dedicated to seeds and plants.
iii. Once the mulch is order, next on the to-do list is to plant fava beans and clover. Both of these items will add nitrogen to the soil.
iv… TBD! I’m not sure what happens next but I’m excited to learn more.

HVF will also be offering workshops & classes, and its first course will be on Greenhouse Basics. I heard HVF will eventually take workshops into the backyards of community residents, to show people how to transform the space into edible gardens. I’d love to be involved in something like that.

On another note, San Francisco hosts an established 4.5 acre organic farm in the southeast part of the city called Alemany Farm. I’ve heard great things about this farm and plan on checking it out myself one day.

Expect to see posts in the future about Alemany Farm and perhaps some of my own gardening efforts.

Filed under: Urban Nature on February 16th, 2010