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THE FARM

What sorts of crops are grown in the gardens?

We grow most every kind of commonly grown vegetable found in Michigan, as well as plenty not commonly found.  Because we strive for a year round harvest we find ourselves needing to expand our types of crops to suit colder seasons.  We also grow a number of small fruits, tree fruits, culinary and medical herbs, and cut flowers.  We are a small but very diverse growing operation.

Where does the produce go?

We provide produce to a number of different outlets.  Some produce is sold though the Grown In Detroit co-op, some is provided to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen which we are a part of, some goes to markets at health clinics, and some is marketed at a small farmers market we run out of our workspace at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.  We also use most of our berries harvested for making jams we sell as a fundraiser.

Do you grow Organically?

Yes, we are first and oldest Certified Organic farm in Detroit.  While certification can be helpful to identifying foods which are free of dangerous chemicals, we don’t feel that it is the only way.  Many of our friends choose not to be certified and grow very safe, high quality food.  The best way to certify is to have a good trusting relationship with your grower.  

How can you possibly grow in the winter?

We use and have used a wide variety of season extension methods.  We pick crops that do well in cold weather, some very common such as spinach, others much less so like mizuna.  We also make use of simple cold frames; little more than windows over wooden boxes, simple tunnels built out of plastic, and larger unheated greenhouse structures.  Growing throughout the winter is really pretty simple; it just takes plenty of planning. 

If you are growing Organically then that means you don’t use any synthetic fertilizers, what do you do to keep you crops growing well?

We largely rely on the power of compost.  Being in a city means we have access to literally tons of resources for making compost.  We are able to utilize these materials to make high quality compost to feed the soil.  Using these resources also means that we are able to keep these valuable nutrients out of the landfill.  We also make use of cover crops – those crops grown for improving soil composition not for profit. They are able to fix nitrogen, open soils up, and scavenge for nutrients that are difficult for cash crops to get. 

If you are growing organically doesn’t that mean that you have lots of pest problems?

Everyone has pest problems, we just deal with them differently.  Most of our measures are proactive, they include: planting species or varieties that do well in our area or have few pest problems, utilizing a crop rotation so that pests are not able to build up in a particular location, using floating row cover to keep pests out, and planting plants which will attract beneficial insects that help to keep pests in check.  When we do have problems we try and use the simplest solutions first, spraying aphids with water or handpicking of cabbage worms as examples.  Occasionally we have to use organically approved pesticides, but we use that as a last resort.

What do you do in the winter?

Perhaps the most common question.  Seems that most folks think that we don’t have anything to do during the winter.  The fact is there is plenty to do: from crop plans, to seed orders, to servicing tillers and fixing tools.  Things slow down but they certainly do not stop.  The greenhouse gets cranking up by the end of February making us plenty busy and we don’t slow down again till after Thanksgiving. 

How do you prepare the land for planting?

We use a variety of methods, the most common one is to use a rototiller. Because the use of rototillers can be detrimental to soils, we try to limit its use, but it can be very helpful.  Often we use a combination of a broad fork to loosen soil, a claw tool to break up soil clods, and finally a rake to make it nice and smooth for direct seeding.  We also make extensive use of leaf and straw mulches to reduce the need to prep soils. Some of our tools are a bit unusual such as the broad fork and can be obtained though places like Johnny’s Selected Seeds.

Isn’t the soil in Detroit contaminated?

Yes and no.  Issues of contamination are very real in Detroit, but we test all the soil that we grow on, and only grow on those which have low lead levels.  We strongly encourage those that want to start a garden to test their soils as well.  We have found the most affordable source for quality lead testing is at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  You can find more info about their soil lab at this website. 

Do you ever take apprentices/interns/volunteers?

We have regular volunteer hours every Wednesday from 9am-12pm with lunch following in the soup kitchen.  We also have volunteer hours on Saturdays, April though the end of October, also from 9am-12pm.  For those seeking a more in depth experience, we do offer a 9 month training program (Earthworks Training Program or EAT), geared to work with those from the city of Detroit to get the skills needed to create there own urban agriculture business and to obtain jobs in the burgeoning urban field. 

Those that are just interested in spending more time doing in-depth unpaid work should feel free to send us a letter of interest, and specify what skills they have that they can contribute. 

How many gardens do you maintain in the city of Detroit ?

 Earthwork's gardens consist of approximately 7 gardens spread over 20 city lots spread within a 2 block radius of our headquarters. We don't garden outside of that space. We do however provide technical support for gardens all throughout the city. Though are involvement with the Garden Resource Programs we are able to provide support for gardens all throughout the city of Detroit. 

What are economic opportunities for urban agriculture?  

We see the economic opportunities for urban agriculture as very fruitful, particularly in Detroit. While we know that many see Detroit as a perfect opportunity for large scale agriculture to take place we prefer to think it the perfect place to develop and agriculture-based city. Contrary to popular belief, we do not want to see the whole city turn into farmland. It's actually our hope that small scale community based farms can seamlessly fit into the urban landscape, creating jobs in the community and improving access to food for all residents. Currently we know of no farming projects in the city that are fully economically viable, but it is our hope that in the next few years to create just that on our own lands, serving as a model for others. 

What is relationship with MSU?

MSU extension and Earthworks have a long standing relationship, being a site for Master Gardener participants to volunteers, as well as a partner agency in the Garden Resource Program. We also have a long relationship with the MSU Student Organic Farm, having hosted interns from their organic farming certificate program, and gained much technical advice over the years. 
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Editor: Shane Bernardo    website by jeffdunn.com