What’s in the ground:

The fun thing about growing food is that our schedules don’t run on those normal things like dates and deadlines. We like to operate on a more traditional schedule. By Mid Atlantic standards, mother’s day has passed, and with that, the fear of frost leaving us a nice warm soil. So, yes, it’s time to get those tomatoes, peppers and eggplants in the ground. Maybe with these crazy weather patterns, next year we’ll change the date to easter, but for now, all of that waiting has finally paid off. Enjoy.

What’s going on in sustainability:

This past weekend, I experienced an amazing feat of community strength. At our first PUFN meeting, there was great interest in bringing a community greenhouse to West Philly. Many of us feel that this is a giant step towards a truly sustainable and secure food system. We are experiencing a surge in urban gardening that goes beyond just growing a few tomatoes and some basil for the summer. If people really want to feed themselves and their neighbors, then we need season extension.

Out of some fortuitous networking, I was put in touch with a construction company who got a contract to demo a greenhouse. After discussions within their company and with the homeowner, they decided that just trashing this structure would not only be a waste, but it would be immoral. Even though some serious negotiations were conducted and we all found ourselves in this weird world of for profit/non-profit and the community in between, it continues to amaze me that it’s not just the “hippies” who are thinking sustainably. It’s on everyone’s minds.

But what amazed me the most were the seven individuals who answered a call on Mothers Day to spend eight hours taking the structure down, and the three others who answered a call on a Monday to call out of work and coop shifts to demo the rest of the structure. Although they will all have spots in the  greenhouse and benefit from its use, that didn’t seem to be the main reason they came out.

They came out because there’s this feeling in our neighborhood and beyond; a feeling that a beautiful, peaceful and vibrant community doesn’t just spring from nowhere, nor is it to be built on the backs of others for us to enjoy. For it to be truly sustainable and equitable, all of us must share in the labor to make it that way. And this project is one of those things.

Once again, thanks to everyone involved, you all know who you are. And please follow this story over the next several months as we, as a community, get this greenhouse back up and growing again.

Until next week, this is the note from the Urban Homestead.