Hello All,

We just wanted to let you know that Dan Bravin from POP Farming and co-founder of City Garden Farms was featured in the Willamette Week today.  The headline reads "Dan Bravin Will Destroy Your Lawn (and replace it with tasty vegetables)".  It a great little article promoting urban agriculture and encouraging everyone to grow their own vegetables.



So, start gardening everyone!  It's never too late to start a garden in Portland!

Best Regards,
Dan and Martin
Your City Garden Farmers

Back on the blog again and getting ready for the new season. The difference between where we were last year and this year is amazing. Most exciting news is that we just signed the lease for a 1 acre site called Jean's farm. It has 1/2 acre of tillable land that has been farmed organically for 100 yrs and contains many excellent facilities. The site is part of an 8 acre wilderness area in the  Johnson creek watershed and is IN the city of Portland. A true Urban Farm. It is a real privilege for us to be farming here and to be part of the urban farming history that exists here

The site has some amazing facilities including a Hoophouse, chickens, an open cob pizza oven and a teepee frame no less which we hope to make cozy and comfortable enough for someover night sleepovers at the farm.

We've also been hard at work getting some of our city garden farms ready for the season. During a particularly pleasant Thursday afternoon in February Broc and Moss prepared 'Trevor's yard'. We've been checking on the progress of someover wintering garlic at Jill's which is doing just fine. We've got 900 heads of garlic growing there!

Broc and Moss recently took part in an urban farming  event at the People’s Food Co-op in SE Portland.  It was a community meeting and discussion on the topic of urban farming.  lots of interested people showed up to explore the topic of urban farming and what it means for our community.  We'd like to thank Calliope from Calliope’s Table for organizing this event.  We're sure this is the first of what will be many community efforts to explore and develop the concept of urban farming. 

That's right people! We are living the dream right here at City Garden Farms. We are living it, sleeping it (albeit some sleepless nights too), Tilling it, planting it, watering it, growing it, tending it, nurturing it, harvesting it, washing it, prepping it and realizing it as we share our beautiful, fresh bounty with our CSA members and the people of Portland at various Farmers markets around the city. We have gone from: 

                              this                                          to this

to this!!

In a very short space of time.

Broc and Moss have been hard at work in ALL of our City Garden Farms which number 10 at present with more to come on line. The two biggest milestones we just passed were our first ever CSA pickup and our first ever farmers market! Our CSA started last week and Moss was on hand to hand out produce to our NE customers and give a quick tour of Mossy Point to those attending. It was great to meet and thank the fabulous people who have believed in us and supported us. Thank you so much! Broc had the same great experience at Bybee Gardens and was on hand to greet and thank our customers first hand. Many people responded "No No! ThankYOU! "  I think we are all thankful that we can participate in this together.

We will be attending The Portland Farmers market at the Eastbank location on Thursdays from today on between 3.30pm and 7.30pm. Come down and see us in action!

 

And finally a word from Moss about Broc (Our man in the field)

 

Occaisionally in life you get to meet great people, even better you become friends with them and share experiences in life together. I have been very lucky to have met Broc, for us to have become friends and for us to have believed in each other, realized our dreams and start City Garden Farms. Broc made the leap to this Full time a few months ago and we wouldn't have gotten has as far as we have without that leap of faith. I'd like to thank Jenny his wife for supporting that leap which has enabled us to do as much as we have so far. 

They are truly 'Broc stars' in their own right and I am so glad I know them.

Moss.

 

For basketball fans it might be shootin' hoops with Michael Jordan.  For rockers it might be sharing the stage with Ozzy And Lemmy and for pop culture-ites it might be Madonna and Britney singing at your karaoke party BUT for a couple of young urban farmers like Broc and Moss it was all the above and more.  SPIN farming creators and co-founders Gail Vandersteen and Roxanne Christiansen invited us for breakfast and dropped by Mossy Point to admire our SPIN farming furrows, praise our efforts and pass on some valuable SPIN farming advice. (What is SPIN?)

Gail and Roxanne were in town to deliver the first SPIN Gardening workshop EVER!!!  SPIN Gardening is closely aligned with SPIN Farming, the farming methodology that we use at City Garden Farms.  We had breakfast at Vita Cafe on NE Alberta and believe me it was a "No coffee required" type of event such was the energy and enthusiasm we all displayed for urban farming (but we still had coffee anyway and boy did we talk.....and how!!!!!!!)

Gail and Roxanne were keen to see one of Our City Garden Farms in action so we took them to Mossy Point where they were impressed by what they saw.  Gail checked our beds and confirmed regulation width (Thanks Gail!) and enthused over our baby Salad greens in progress!

Roxanne discussed some of her thoughts and vision for the SPIN movement and was very much encouraged by the neighborhood gardens and greenery in Portland.  I drove them back to their hotel but not before an impromptu wee tour of all my favorite neighborhood streets showing off the best of Portland gardens. We arranged to meet next day for the SPIN gardening class.  Broc and Moss were going to be guest speakers!

Next day Broc, Moss and some trusty farming tools showed up at The Ecotrust building in downtown Portland for the workshop.  There were 100 people there with more being turned away!!!!!!  We finally got a chance to meet, shake the hand of and thank Steve Cohen from Portland's Office of Sustainable Development.  He has been a great source of support and encouragement to City Garden Farms.  You could not meet a nicer guy!!!  Steve had arranged to put on the seminar with Gail and Roxanne.

The workshop commenced and 100 enrapt Portlanders looked, listened, discussed, questioned, embraced and APPLAUDED the SPIN gardening workshop.  City Garden Farms' very own Broc delivered part of the workshop and demonstrated the use of various SPIN friendly tools.  His new hoeing technique is unstoppable and his tips were SPIN-genious (let the puns begin!!!)

He then led a small side seminar on the finer points of furrow formation and weeding!!!!

It was a great day indeed.  We said "goodbye and thank you" to Roxanne and gave her a wee gift as a token of appreciation and arranged to meet Gail next day as she wasn't leaving till Monday!

Well!!!!  If Saturday wasn't exciting enough Sunday turned out to be just as much fun for different reasons.  I arranged to pick up Gail and took her to Wilshire Park for a few hours while my daughter ran off some energy and played in the sandpit.  Gail and I chatted and talked farming.  Man!  I never thought I would learn so much about garlic, pea shoots and seed saving!!!  Gail overflows with knowledge, enthusiasm and encouragement.  She has a real light in her eyes when she talks about growing food.  It truly was inspirational to be in her presence.  Back to Mossy Point where a film shoot commenced for Cooking Up A Story (who make the most amazing movies BTW) and where Gail delivered a great interview on her life, her thoughts on food, growing vegetables, seed saving, health and her vision of people empowered to grow food for themselves.  SPIN is a leader in the burgeoning local food movement.  Gail is planting the seeds in the minds of all who she meets and is growing this revolution from the ground up!!!

We had dinner, hugged and said goodbye with the promise that Moss, Broc, Gail, Wally (her husband and SPIN co-creator) would get together again soon.  We've got work to do!!!!!!!!

Moss

We could not be doing this without the support of our customers, our Landowner partners, our friends and families and so many other great people who are helping us in their own way. We are truly, truly thankful for it. 

It is so true that doing something you believe in makes you happy. We don't think we could believe in this anymore than we do and we don't think we could be happier! Look at Us!!!!!!!!!

Soooooooo!  What's going on in the world of City Garden Farms?  Being at the mercy of the weather we made the most of the recent, short dry spell and fully prepared, tilled and seeded 'Mossy Point' Farm in NE Portland.  It was great to spend a couple of days working on our largest, active site.  We now have sprouting seeds beginning to pop out of that dark, rich, organic soil.  And check out those beautiful, straight furrows!  It's a farm in the city!  It looked so good that the neighbor sharing Mossy Point's western border asked CGF to expand the farm into another 1500 square feet in their yard.  Can you say "Mossy Point II...Mossy Peak...Mossy Fields"? !

Broc has been tilling, seeding and planting Bybee Gardens and Clinton Gardens in SE Portland, The Kiss Kiss Farm in N Portland and we were out at Sauvie Island over the w/e doing more of the same!  Go Broc and Moss!!!

            From this in Winter                     To this today!!!!!!

We've signed up to partner with additional landowners to create even more urban farms in the past 2 weeks.  We now have land totaling a quarter acre in the city.  Never has the phrase “the more we grow, the less you mow” rang truer!!  Checkout our photo gallery to see us in action.

Moss has been busy signing up customers for our CSA Subscription program, administering the program and organizing our farmers market slots. Thanks to Moss we're going to be attending the following farmers markets:

• Parkrose Farmers Market  - Saturdays from 9am until 2pm

• the brand new Lloyd District Farmers Market on Tuesdays from 10am until 2pm

• Interstate Farmers Market - Wednesdays from 3pm until 7pm

• possibly, maybe Lents International Farmers Market -  9am until 2pm on Sundays.

Go Moss!!!!

More word on the start dates at those markets to follow.

WE'RE IN THE NEWS!!!!!!!!!!! (well, we're going to be).  The very real possibility that yours truly 'Moss and Broc' were going to be on The Live Desk w/Martha MacCallum on FOX channel 12 passed without incident yesterday as we were bumped by floods in Maine and election primary updates.  However, we most certainly are going to be featured in the “In Portland” section of the Oregonian on Thursday May 8^th. We posed for the photo shoot on Wednesday evening.  Broc said he will never work under those conditions again and stormed off camera during the shoot.  I think we got the shot we needed regardless.  We also believe we have a radio interview lined up with KBOO radio in the near future.  So watch for us in the news.  Woohoo!

Well, it took a wee while for the rain to stay away but last Sunday Broc and I got Mossy Point finished and Man does it look like a farm or what!

In my last blog our intrepid duo finished the day with a roughly tilled area of about 800-1000 sq ft to finish and an additional 600 ft to fully prepare. Broc got the Tiller into action, waved his magic rake, cruised the plot on his 'earthway seeder' and fashioned these freaking fabulous finished furrows!!!! Things of beauty they are.

Inspired by this furrowing frenzy Moss ventured to a part of the yard labelled "life before City Garden Farms".... I mean look at it people!  Look at it!  

Never fear!  Broc and Moss are here!  And within an hour of pulling up the plastic, weeding and clearing some debris Broc again employed the talents of his faithful tiller (that's Ryobi to you!) and then called upon all his furowing experience to craft THIS!!!!

The gods of Mossy Point shone down upon Broc as he headed into the home stretch cruising the furrows on his Earthway seeder!  The clouds parted, angels sang and sunrays rained down upon Broc as he finished the last line of seeds.  You want the proof!  Check him out!

The work was nearly finished. While Broc worked his magic on the soil Moss edged his raspberries with stone and log and both agreed it was fine days work.

Broc thought he had the last word when he said to Moss "Not bad not bad for a city boy."  Moss looked at him like this and said "Who are you calling a city boy?....I'm an Urban Farmer!!!"

....and he is.

Finally after weeks of rain we had a dry spell and then a 75 °F day yesterday. Broc called me.  "Let's get thet yard of yours tilled, raked, hoed, furrowed, fertilized and planted!"  I replied, "You must have read my mind".  I have been champing at the bit to get my yard started as we are, after all, 'City Garden Farms'.

Broc got started with the tiller. This was quite a moment for me. Our dreams of Urban Farming are coming true in front of my eyes. How many evenings have I wandered into my back yard and sighed as I tried to imagine what I was going to do with all of this space...and how...and when was I going to find the time? Well you just gotta make it happen.  It's such a perfect yard too.  Maybe 7500 sq/ft, south facing, slightly sloped, the soil is great and we're only 1½ miles from our nearest farmers market. (How's that for food miles?!!!)

Broc got the tiller going and the story of Mossy Point begins!!!!

It took about 45 mins to till this 600 sqft section. Then we (Ahem ahem....Moss) raked off the clumpy sods before Broc re-tilled the area again. Moss raked some more and the Broc tilled some more and things started to take shape.

 

We worked for a couple of hours and made great progress. Broc fertilized and hoed in a furrow or two before it just got too dark to do anymore. And then it started to rain again. He's back tomorrow so we'll get it finished and planted then.See more Photos

And remember folks.....The more we grow the less you mow!!!!!

5 days of sun is what we've been promised.  So, this is it.  The first big tilling week of the year.  I should have my own yard, Bybee Gardens, all set up by Friday of this week.  Tilled and seeded.  We've also scheduled some tilling at Mossy Point on Friday morning.  We'll probably get it seeded over the weekend.  French Breakfast radishes, Tyee spinich, New Red Fire leaf lettuce, Red Beard scallions... 

Just about the time we're turning the corner, passing the average last frost day in Portland, we have a nice solid frost followed by some snow mixed into our rain today.  It's enough to make a first time farmer think twice about the decision he's made.  I mean, I'm at the mercy of mother nature now.  Hope she gives me a few dry days in a row this week.  Just enought to seed some lettuce, spinach, green onion, carrots...

Broc