summer flowers

October 28th, 2014 by caitlyn

How on earth do people run farms and still have time to write about it? It’s gotten infinitely harder these past few months. At the end of a long workday, I can barely fix myself a simple dinner, let alone sit down to write about all the conversations and thoughts and decisions I’ve processed throughout the week, all the problems that arise and observations we collect, all the new people that come to the farm and all the visions that evolve, no matter how much I wish to to share them and no matter how much I long for the sense of community and the occasional nudges of support you all send over. Farmers out there, I honor and respect you! I can’t imagine that I’m even working a fraction as hard as many of my scaled up counterparts, despite the back aches.

But never fear, dear supporters, the farm is still alive and well! The summer has been a colorful one, with the addition of cut flowers as a significant focus of production on the farm. They’ve been a successful experiment, I’d say. Yields were very satisfactory across the board, and the revenue that a bed of cut flowers can generate is helpful, in comparison to a similarly sized bed of vegetables (which we also still grow plenty of, despite the lack of photo evidence this summer. The flashy dahlias steal all the attention!)

We grew nigella, statice, cosmos, bachelor buttons, scabiosa, snapdragons, and craspedia, in addition to the dahlias, and put together colorful mixed bouquets that we sold wholesale to Bi-Rite Market throughout the summer. With this season’s experience under our belts, we should be able to predict yields and bloom times a bit more solidly next year, which will hopefully allow us to accommodate a 2015 Spring & Summer Flower CSA — a goal I originally had for this year. Selling wholesale was efficient (and Eleanor from Bi-Rite was a dream to work with), but selling direct will allow us to reap a little more much-needed revenue from each flower bouquet. Putting together a mixed bouquet is surprisingly labor intensive. Plus it will allow us the chance to reconnect with our neighborhood community of customers, a relationship I’ve greatly missed since selling mostly to restaurants these past two seasons.

Did you know that the southern part of San Francisco (the farm’s very neighborhood, perhaps) has a rich history of commercial flower growing? In the late 1800s and early 1900s, immigrants from China, Italy and Japan operated thriving farms and greenhouses full of cut flowers to be sold in the streets of downtown and at the San Francisco Flower Market which was founded at the time by local growers and is still alive and well today. Growing flowers in the city now feels like a humble homage to this piece of San Francisco’s agricultural heritage, even if our tucked in one acre patch is only a small symbolic slice of what once was. This history is an important reminder that we’re not inventing anything new here — by farming in the city, we’re only reclaiming fractions of lost landscapes that once were commonplace.

And in other news, aside from flowers: we recently bid farewell to one of the farm’s steadiest and most devoted supporters since Brooke left a couple years ago, Andi Emrich. She’s been my hard working right hand lady day in and day out, and she really helped keep this farm afloat through what was, in retrospect, an overwhelming amount of steady change. Goodbye dearest Andi! Norman, Oklahoma doesn’t even know what’s coming!

There is so much more to write (about our continually evolving land tenure prospects, about the exciting passage of AB 551 legislation and what that might mean for urban agriculture throughout the state, about the current livability of tech-money-fueled San Francisco and what its like to persist as a fixture in a sea of constant unsettledness, about my evolving thoughts on restaurant sales vs other marketing outlets, about our recent fish compost experiments…!), but for now please enjoy the photos and know that the farm is, though we are as tired as can be, very much alive and kicking. More soon.

AND THE WINNER IS…

May 26th, 2014 by caitlyn

KEVIN O’BRIEN!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH to everyone who bought raffle tickets. Thanks to you, we raised enough funds to cover both the underground pipe installation and much of the initial aboveground irrigation infrastructure for the area we’re expanding into. This is a HUGE help, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the support. Photos of the new irrigation system coming soon! In the meantime, we have an enchanting candlelit dinner to plan for…

RAFFLE!!!

May 12th, 2014 by caitlyn

ENTER HERE TO WIN A CANDLELIT DINNER FOR SIX AT LITTLE CITY GARDENS!

It’s an exciting time at Little City Gardens! This past month, we made the leap and hired our friends at Goodscapes to trench 250 feet of soil and extend our underground piping all the way to the back of the property. This new piping will allow us to finally farm the back area we’ve for so long had to keep fallow, eventually expanding our cultivatable area quite a bit. It’s a very exciting and necessary step! But it’s also very expensive, as the installation of this underground piping, combined with the aboveground infrastructure, falls far beyond what we can cover through produce sales.

So in order to help cover some of the costs, we’ve put together something special: a fully catered, private dinner for six on one of the most beautiful, unique acres in the city.

RAFFLE WINNER WILL ENJOY:

  • the chance to invite 5 friends or family members of their choosing
  • a private farm tour before dinner
  • an outstanding catered meal featuring produce from Little City Gardens, as well as treats and provisions from Bar Tartine & Tartine Bakery, Mission Pie, the Milk Maid, and more!
  • a unique, awe-inspiring farm backdrop, right in the middle of the city — backlit flower fields as the sun goes down, row after row of crisp greens, and the smell of fresh herbs wafting over the table
  • a flower-laden candlelit setting, lights strung from the eucalyptus, wine to warm your bellies, and a cozy crackling fire pit to toast your toes in case the summer fog rolls in

We’re pulling all the stops for this lovely event, and we can’t wait for a lucky group to join us! Get your raffle tickets here through 5/26.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday 5/27 on our website (and will also receive an email). The dinner will be scheduled for late June with an exact date to be coordinated with the winner.

Please consider supporting our irrigation expansion by buying a ticket and spreading the word far and wide. (And of course, the more times you enter, the better your chances!)

THANK YOU for your support, and good luck to all!

property sold

March 7th, 2014 by caitlyn

It’s official: Little City Gardens has a new landlord.

The property on which the farm currently sits has changed ownership. As of this week, the property is now owned by Golden Bridges School — a small, newly-formed elementary school whose teachings are rooted in Waldorf philosophies. In addition to indoor classroom time, the school prioritizes outdoor education, exploration and work as part of a child’s development and learning. They have been looking for property to house their small but growing body of students, so after one of the parents spotted the for sale sign posted on the property, they acted fast.

Fortunately, they are also interested in keeping much of the farm intact, to be operated alongside the school. Little City Gardens will still remain a functioning business, growing vegetables and flowers for sale, while also maintaining the space for educational use by Golden Bridges School. I feel very positive about the cohabitation, and I’m relieved to know that the threat of condo development is officially removed, and that this rich and productive soil we’ve worked so hard to build will be respected in some form or another for years to come. There are of course an overwhelming number of details to work out, but it’s exciting to move forward into a new era with an inspired, creative, energized group of people, and I am so grateful to be able to keep this year’s farm plans mostly intact.

And speaking of plans! We’re experimenting with a slight shift in production this year. In addition to an increase in some of the greens and vegetables that do consistently well for us (kale, collards, chard, beets, spring onions, cape gooseberries, radishes, etc), we’re also setting aside space for a more significant crop of cut flowers for the summer. The financial contribution the flowers will hopefully make will be very helpful, and I’m also excited to change up the farm landscape a little bit with an explosion of new colors, scents and textures.

And, as normal for late winter / early spring, we are running around the farm these days, trying to hold up all the pieces in preparation for a productive season. This year’s crop spreadsheets are already dirty and faded from so much handling, the greenhouse and cold frames are packed to the brim with germinating trays and potted up seedlings, the beds are getting generous loads of compost, and the perennials have all gotten a nice trim.

After a year of scaling back, we’re back in full effect this year. We built some new trellises this winter, and I’m eager to let the chayote climb.

PS — As you may have noticed, keeping up with this journal can be a real challenge! I’m going to try my very best, as there’s always a lot to say, but in the meantime, check in over here once in a while for some photos from the field.

property for sale

January 10th, 2014 by caitlyn

Is there anyone out there who would like to purchase a 3/4 acre parcel in San Francisco with interest in leasing to Little City Gardens?

203 Cotter is for sale. The current property owner has faced an uphill battle in his attempts to develop the property, and it is now officially on the market. Over the past couple of months, with the help of an invaluable friend and advisor, Karen Heisler, I’ve been working diligently to try to guide this parcel into the hands of someone or some group who might be interested in purchasing the land with intentions of allowing it to remain a farm (and with the implementation of AB551 in San Francisco coming soon, this prospect is much more feasible). The value of the investment is unconventional. It’s a large amount of money for a very minimal financial return, as its no surprise that farming will never be a use that can offer a property owner significant profits.

If there’s one thing we’ve observed in our years of doing this it’s that urban farming needs support. We’ve always aimed to be a self-sufficient farm operation, relying on no outside funding. But a reality that’s become increasingly clear is that small-scale farming of any kind is most often subsidized in some form or another, whether it’s a non-profit organization that is funded through grants or donations, or a small commercial farm that is subsidized by the farmers’ off-farm work, or just through very cheap or volunteer labor. After 3 1/2 years of running this farm business, we’ve accomplished what I like to think of as real successes — relationships with neighbors, the ability to share valuable observations about farming on this scale, an inspired community of supporters both near and far, as well as an amendment to local tax code and the passing of a state law that I hope will prove to be a real support to the urban ag movement. But the fact remains that it’s near impossible to operate a viable, financially self-sufficient farm business in an increasingly expensive city like San Francisco without support from somewhere. Growing and selling healthy, accessible food and flowers and value-added goods sounds simple until the realities of shaky land tenure and land costs in a city like San Francisco are factored in.

Although challenging for those of us working the soil, I continue to feel so strongly that the pursuit of viable urban ag is as worthwhile as ever, and that the realities of our particular situation set the stage for a really unique opportunity. I’m hopeful that urban farming will eventually be considered a common, important part of our cities’ landscapes, but while we all work to get it there, this era of urban ag incubation calls for investment, extra support and creative collaboration. The purchase of this property, by an individual, a group of individuals, or by a larger entity, is an opportunity to contribute to the development of what urban farming could be in a unique place like San Francisco.

AB 551 – PASSED!

October 1st, 2013 by caitlyn

GREAT NEWS: the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone act (AB551) has officially been signed into law by Governor Brown! The law will officially go into effect January 1, 2014. Final text available here.

THANK YOU to everyone who sent in letters (over and over again) and voiced support for this bill! With land access and tenure being a major challenge for urban agriculture, the passing of this law could be a huge step toward opening up more stable land use arrangements in cities across the state.

AB 551 – update

August 2nd, 2013 by caitlyn

The Urban Ag Incentives Zone Act (AB 551) is moving along! Urban property owners might soon have incentive to enter into longer term contracts with farmers, which could increase access to land and allow for what could potentially be a much more viable reality for urban farmers across the state. This could be huge.

We could really use your help nudging it along further through what could be its final stages. Here is an update from Eli Zigas, our dedicated and instrumental point person throughout this process, along with a description of the bill’s amendments so far. Please consider taking a minute to send a letter, and please pass this on to friends and family too. Instructions and a template for submitting letters are attached at the bottom of this post, and an FAQ about the bill can be found here:

Dear Supporters of AB 551,

The Urban Ag incentive Zones Act has its next hearing coming up soon – Monday, Aug. 12 – in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Between now and then, we want to make sure that we get another round of support letters into the committee and Senators’ office. Below is the list of committee members. If you are from any of the areas represented by the committee members please send a letter (even if you’ve already sent one before). Similarly, please consider reaching out to friends, family, and colleagues in those areas to ask them to send letters too! An updated sample letter and how-to instructions are attached.

Also, in response to some concerns from the CA Assessor’s Association and Board of Equalization about how the bill would be implemented, Assembly Member Ting recently submitted another round of amendments for consideration in advance of the hearing. A summary of those amendments is below and I will send a mock-up with the revised legislative text as soon as one is available.

This will be the last committee hearing before moving back to the full Senate and then the full Assembly (and then hopefully the Governor’s desk). This next round of letters and outreach will be very important and helpful!

Your support has gotten us this far and your continued support is what we need to get all the way to the finish line in just a couple more months!
-Eli

Senate Appropriations Committee Members:

Kevin de León (Chair) — Alhambra, Los Angeles, Maywood, San Marino, South Pasadena, Vernon
Mimi Walters (Vice Chair) — Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Woods, Laguna Beach, Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest, Tustin, Orange
Ted Gaines — Auburn, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Redding, South Lake Tahoe, Truckee
Jerry Hill — Half Moon Bay, Menlo Park, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Mateo, South San Francisco, Los Altos, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale
Ricardo Lara — Bell, Huntington Park, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Lynwood, Maywood, Vernon, Walnut Park
Alex Padilla — Los Angeles, San Fernando
Darrell Steinberg — Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Sacramento

Summary of Amendments:
City Authority to Establish Urban Ag Incentive Zones – The most recent amendments would allow cities as well as counties to initiate these programs. This is a model similar to the Mills Act (which provides reduced property taxes for historic preservation). With this change, if a city wanted to create an urban agriculture incentive zone, it could do so immediately through its own ordinance (without a separate county ordinance).

Valuation procedure – The Governance and Finance Committee made clear that the procedure for determining the agricultural value of urban land had to be made clear and consistent in a way that addressed concerns of the Assessor’s Association and would work for the Board of Equalization. The amendment to the bill would make it so that land under an Urban Ag Incentive Zone contract would be valued based on the per acre average value of irrigated cropland in California. For ease of administration and consistency statewide, this would be one value statewide, based on a land value survey by USDA. Currently, that is $12,000 per acre. The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service publishes this figure each fall.

Preventing Competition with Williamson Act – Some of the assessors were concerned that the Urban Ag Incentive Zone could undercut the Williamson Act (which has longer-term contracts and very focused on large tracts of agricultural land). So, to prevent competition between the two programs, there is an explicit ban on setting up an Urban Ag Incentive Zone anywhere were Williamson Act contracts are currently allowed or were allowed in the previous three years.

Defining Agricultural Use – Also to address concerns about applying the law consistently across the state, there is an amendment that provides a definition of agricultural use in Urban Ag Incentive Zones. The enforcement would still happen at the city or level, but now the guidance would be more straightforward from the legislation itself (rather than each county deciding how to define agricultural use). In shaping this definition, we tried to keep it broad to encompass as many of the models of urban ag that we know of. The new language is:

“Agricultural use” includes farming in all its branches and among other things includes the cultivation and tillage of the soil; the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural products; the raising of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals, dairy-producing animals, and poultry; agricultural education; the sale of produce through field retail stands or farms stands as defined by Food and Agricultural Code Section 47030-47050; and any practices performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations. Timber production is not an agricultural use for the purposes of this chapter.”

There is also an amendment that would clarify that a) both commercial and non-commercial agricultural uses are allowed, and b) dwellings are not allowed on any site under contract.

Acreage cap – Currently, the bill remains without an acreage cap. Thanks to those on this list who provided feedback on that question as it will help in any future negotiations on this point.

Sample Support Letter
How to submit letters

the dirt beneath my feet

July 23rd, 2013 by caitlyn


Drawing of Little City Gardens greenhouse by Richard Cheung

Something that we don’t mention here nearly often enough is the MOST INSPIRING community of generous, dynamic people that have come to get their hands dirty at the farm over the years. We’ve had a pretty steady rotation of out-of-towners, students, neighbors (old and young), fellow farmers, and friends come lend their hands for a couple hours or, in some cases, a couple years. This farm, like so many others, couldn’t function without the generosity of people who understand our mission and want to devote their energy to learning, talking, experiencing, and supporting the farm in ways big and small. These folks walk onto the farm as enthusiastic, curious, energetic volunteers and, over time, they walk off as very special friends. We have been so lucky to have such a community.

One such volunteer-extraordinaire, Bonnie Weaver, wrote a beautiful piece last year as a contribution to Issue Two of our zine. While the zine never made it to the printing stage, and has at least temporarily fallen by the wayside, Bonnie’s lovely piece deserves to be shared. Bonnie has been a consistent part of the farm family over the past couple of years. Her super warm, spirited presence and her enthusiasm for this work have re-inspired me on many occasions.

I should also note that Bonnie is one of two gardeners that has now officially taken over the old garden Brooke and I first gardened before we moved to our current space. Bonnie and her partner Margaretha, both trained herbalists, have turned it into Guerrero Street Garden — an urban herb farm that will focus on medicinal herb production. They have big ideas and I’m so excited to watch that project unfold in a space that’s so near and dear!

Also from a long-time volunteer (now long-time good friend) is the above drawing by Richard Cheung. A couple years ago, in the early days of our new space, we arrived one morning to find a book of Wendell Barry poems tossed over the fence with a short, encouraging, anonymous letter enclosed. It was a romantic and mysterious gesture, totally (we would later find out) Richard’s style. That book gift marked the beginning of another one of the dearest friendships to have come out of the farm so far.

And now, from our lady Bonnie:

The Dirt Beneath My Feet
Bonnie R. Weaver, July 2013

In late August an elderly Asian woman will walk by the farm and ask us to cut her a few Naked Ladies, pink flowers that pop up along the eastern border of the farm. She speaks no English and I speak no Cantonese, however we communicate.

George is one of the usual suspects. With a thick Polish accent he will come to talk and I assume he is drawn to the nature of the project rather than the purpose. I don’t know if he identifies with any of the ideals we talk about at lunch under the Eucalyptus tree: the current boom of yuppies infiltrating our neighborhoods, cycles of the moon and how they affect our body, or the reasons we choose to be urban farmers. Regardless, George will check in on a regular basis to share his latest ideas and to find out what we are growing.

San Francisco native and neighbor, Bob, can be found most days putting around the farm (after 4PM, a beer in hand) and if you’re lucky he might invite you to his in-home bar for a little time travel, jukebox and all! He knows the answer to everything. When the salad spinner was broken for months, Bob saw it sitting unused and asked if he could take a look at it. Within minutes he reemerged with a slightly modified and functional salad spinner.

There would be no farm without the hard work of Brooke and Caitlyn. The two fiercely passionate farmers exemplify what it means to be part of a community. Although their intention is to grow delicious local food, they also are advocates, writers, neighbors, sisters, bikers, and artists. Brooke cannot turn away help. She will find a farm task for anyone regardless of age or experience. Caitlyn is patient and meticulous as she gathers flowers and herbs for the farm’s iconic salad mix. Both women are known to ask bold questions, laugh, and work. really. hard. Yet they always find time for a long lunch break, their families, each other and themselves.

There are adversities. The turnips get slugs. Cabbage moths eat through the brassica leaves. The chard harbors leaf miner, plants in the onion family get rusty, and this San Francisco micro-climate will never get hot enough for tomatoes. You might ask, what is there left to grow? Plenty! Harvest days are some of the busiest and every week we fill a truck with produce and send it off to the fancy restaurants of Valencia Street.

“Everything changes so quickly” Richard said as we stood by a trellis of weeds, where peas had once grown. I wonder, is he talking about our city or the peas? I remember the first time I walked to the back of the lot with him two years ago. We were both young Bay Area natives struggling to find our place in this concrete jungle. He led the way through the fennel forest with machete in hand like we were on safari. We were looking for potatoes that had accidentally been dry farmed. To our surprise the potatoes were still there and had multiplied! So we spent the rest of the day on our knees digging for buried tater treasure.

To serve as a testament to the richness of the soil, at Little City Gardens we grow more than food. For me, urban farming has created a community and deepened my understanding of the place that I come from. Before Google, Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Genentech, and Yelp, there were artists, hippies, immigrants and queers that found solace on the slopes of this sandy marshland. While rent prices soar, private tech busses swamp Muni, and society surrenders to the latest technology, I feel a little more lost in my hometown everyday. But my work as a farmer feeds my spirit and my belly. I consider my work to be a small protest, a positive way to deal with all the corporate change my community faces. As farmers, we provide sustenance to our colorful communities struggling to survive within this urban-tech-mecca.

When I was born my parents brought me home to our house in Mission Terrace. Now I return to Mission Terrace to feel the earth push against my body. As I sink in the shovel I am helping the plants grow, and they are helping me. I have found purpose, presence, and a sense of peace here. These plants, this land, these people and I, have a relationship now; I am farming the place I call home.

OUT HERE: queer farmer film project

July 15th, 2013 by caitlyn

During Pride weekend in June, I saw a really fantastic documentary by one-time Bay Area farmer Jonah Mossberg called Out Here which features interviews and perspectives from a handful of queer farmers across the US. It was so incredibly inspiring. The interviews — mostly a collection of thoughts about farming, identity, community, family, rural and urban living from an often underrepresented queer perspective — were refreshing and wise and honest and endearing. It was inspiring to hear farmers from across the country describe what farming means to them, what it means within various communities, and how different identities (farmer, queer, activist) can intersect.

I am so glad this film was made and I highly recommend it. If it’s playing near you, don’t miss it, and if it’s not playing near you, you might get in touch with the filmmakers to see about organizing a screening.

photo from Out Here website

troubleshooting

July 11th, 2013 by caitlyn

Sometimes I feel like a bad farmer. The beets are weedy and stunted, a third of the kale crop is becoming overrun with aphids, crop record keeping has fallen by the wayside the past few months, and the germinating buckwheat cover crop is mysteriously yellowing before it even sprouts true leaves. When I fix one irrigation leak here, I notice another three over there, and the weeds outside the front fence are so big that they’re leaning over onto the sidewalk. The neighbors must hate me!

And then other times, I cut myself some slack. The rainbow chard is continuously lush and abundant, showing deep healthy colors. I’ve been staying on top of the books a little better this year, we finally have an established bronze fennel crop, and watching our declining, troubled collards bounce back after some thorough irrigation repair and appropriate fertlizing actually made me feel like a real farm hero for a minute. Plus, I think the neighbors really do like me.

I feel like a broken record sometimes, but I have to remind myself month after month, year after year, that farming is composed of constant ups and downs. I would bet that even for the most experienced and organized, farming is still always a complicated orchestration of surprises. There are so many seedlings to pay attention to, availability lists to update, insects to identify and emails to respond to! For the past three years, I’ve been perpetually swirling, never feeling quite on top of every last detail.

Thank goodness for the dahlias. They are my cheerleaders!

Despite the occasional frustrations, we are in the middle of a productive season and overall the farm is doing well. I am so grateful for all the steady volunteers and interns at the farm (introductions coming soon) which is helping to smooth out this transition period after Brooke’s departure. A lot of food is coming out of the half of the farm that we currently cultivate — somewhere close to 200 lbs per week of greens, herbs, onions, fennel, artichokes, root crops, summer squash, and more — and we are keeping up with consistent weekly restaurant sales. Salad mix production is paused for the time being (it’s far too labor intensive for this scaled back year), but we’ve expanded our cut flower production quite a bit and plan to sell bouquets this summer in order to supplement produce sales. We’re almost done building a small shade structure to store produce bins on harvest days — something we’ve needed for years — and we’ve more than doubled the size of our culinary herb patch.

The farm is still a scaled back version of previous years (intentionally), and this still feels appropriate and necessary. I think it was a good decision. In addition to being able to relieve some financial pressure by increasing my off-farm work, I’ve also had the time to pay closer attention to what’s happening at the farm, and because of that I’m coming to the conclusion that most of the problems that have arisen in the past year boil down to soil issues that need to be seriously addressed. While farmers operating on a larger scale have room to rotate crops around a bit more, or even let entire fields fallow between seasons, our rotations have always been much tighter in order to maximize space/time and grow as much food as possible. Even after nurturing this soil to the best of our abilities, it’s apparent in each discolored leaf that our soil care regimen needs evolving. Compost forked into every turned bed, with an occasional fava/pea cover crop rotated in just isn’t cutting it. We need to find a way to diversify our tactics, as something is becoming noticeably out of balance. And of course we all know that it’s soil that successful farmers grow, not vegetables.

I’ll start with another soil test (long overdue), and I’ll consult with fellow farmers. I’ll do my own research and I’ll report back here with findings as I go. I may have to change production plans for the fall in order to focus on soil building, but I suppose that seems fitting with this year’s theme of transition and refocus. Sometimes you have to zoom out a bit and review the big picture in order to be sure you’re still moving forward. It feels appropriate and exciting to invest some time toward the building of fertility for future farmers on this small piece of land that has incredible potential.

farewell brooke!

May 29th, 2013 by caitlyn

I have some big news to report: as of next week, Brooke — my partner in crime, my other farming half — will be moving on to new adventures. She’ll be leaving the farm and San Francisco for good and relocating to Orcas Island, WA to try on a smaller-town lifestyle. She’ll raise lambs, work on some building projects, continue on with her illustration work, and dig her roots into a new home. I will miss her dearly!! It’s not often you get to work so closely, day in and day out, with an inspiring, energizing, thoughtful, communicative, wise lady like her. I’ve been so lucky. We’ve done so much together.

But, after Brooke harvests her last bit of kale and says goodbye to the dahlias, the farm will go on. Little City Gardens still has a lot of life left in it, and a lot of untapped potential. Even after three years of working hard and growing this farm, I still look around and feel that we’ve only barely begun.

For now, I will continue to run the farm part-time with the help of a small but solid crew of farm helpers. We’ll continue our weekly sales to restaurants, and beginning early summer we’ll experiment with a new venue as well (stay tuned). I don’t yet know what kind of long term farm collaborations or partnerships will take shape for the future, but I’m keeping an open mind and I’m excited to take this opportunity to reorient my own goals, shake things up a bit, and after I get my bearings, revisit larger visions for this project. I know we say this all the time but: there’s still so much work to do.

There are a few unfinished projects that Brooke and I still have plans to complete together from afar– a second issue of our zine, an economic summary of the farm’s first three years of operations, etc — so our collaborations are not quite done. In fact, I’m sure her and I will find time and space for other new collaborations in the future, whatever those may be. But for now, I send Brooke off with the deepest amount of love and admiration. I’ll take our farm to new heights, B! I’ll take good care of it.