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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS*Why is food getting so dang expensive?We received a letter the other day from Lentz Milling Company, brokers that work to distribute grain for a number of our farmers and bakers. In this letter they discussed the "new realityî"of food purchasing. I thought that it was interesting enough to share with our customers. Greensgrow strives to provide the best food at the best price for our customers, however the market will dictate the future as addressed below. Quote: While no one can predict with absolute certainty the future direction of the commodity markets, I can tell you that known data suggests there will not be a price reversal any time soon due to forces driving prices higher:
Comparison prices from 2007 to 2008
“Hey I went to Fitler Square and you guys aren’t there. Just that chick with the produce that grows with the stickers already on it. Wassup wid dat?”Go back to second grade and repeat the question. Prop, prop, proper English will be spoken here. You are absolutely right Feckless in Fitler Square. We are not there. Greensgrow made a management decision (because it makes us feel important to cast it that way) to stay at home in Kensington this year. We understand you want to shop in your own hood but we believe that our need to focus on our neighborhood is a better fit for us right now. We have limits as a small organization and we have overstretched ourselves the last few years. It’s kind of like being held back a year in third grade for our own good later on. Please come see us at 2501 East Cumberland Street in beautiful downtown Kensington and visit nearby Johnny Brendas, Sulimays, Kitty’s Luncheonette, Star Shoe Repair, the great thrift store down the street (we don’t know its name but we shop there). Jovan’s for fine homemade and massive platters of stuffed cabbage, Canvas Café, Penn Treaty Park, pre-casino Fishtown as opposed to post casino crapstown, the New Kensington Garden Center, Bambi Gallery, and Chino’s Car Detailing right across the street. Why do you bother growing your own plants? It seems like a lot of work.We have nothing else to do. We grow them because it’s what we do. We are growers. Most garden centers don’t grow their own plants. That’s not a slam , that’s just the way it is. Like the store doesn’t really butcher that meat from a side of a calf like it used to. That stuff all comes in a cryovac bag from one of only like four meat processors left in America. No lie see….But back to the nursery plants. We get in a lot of stuff as what are called plugs and then we move them up into larger pots and grow them along. There are literally thousands of plant choices to be made and most are available through the plug world. But there are a lot of plants that commercial growers simply do not grow and of course, those are the ones you want. Particularly heirlooms and some “old fashioned” flowers. Well we want that stuff because you want that stuff and so in order to have that stuff we have to grow it. Got it? Beyond that, seriously, there is really something about growing things from seeds or cuttings. Being part of something as old as time part of the cycle of nature. I think I’m gonna cry. What is the Greensgrow Vision?20/20. Alright really. Our vision is to be a profitable, urban, green business dedicated to growing the best products, people and neighborhoods. We take our vision very seriously and work hard to make Greensgrow a good neighbor, a good place to shop and a good place to work. What's The Neighborhood Urban Ag (NUAC)?NUAC was created to build urban FARM STANDS in neighborhoods for the purpose of increasing urban consumers' access to and education about locally produced foods. Farm Stands are run by one operator as opposed to farmers markets at which multiple farmers bring their wares for sale. Greensgrow is seeking individuals and organizations interested in entrepreneurial urban agriculture to join us in making the re-greening of abandoned land a part of neighborhood revitalization. NUAC farms will operate as independent operations tied into a food buying, marketing and delivering coalition. Think of a food franchise without the fat. What is the Center for Urban Agriculture?The Center For Urban Agriculture is our way of assisting individuals and/or groups interested in pursuing urban agriculture projects. No we don't build farms for you but we are here to help you get started and keep you going. Since 1997 we've accumulated-through trial and error, a lot of information (note that we don't say smarts) on a wide range of subjects surrounding urban agriculture/horticulture. We'd like to set you on the right path, guide you in the right direction and answer your questions on issues like zoning ordinances, funding, tax and accounting and marketing. We don't claim to know all the answers but we have learned a thing or two in building Greensgrow. We don't think its necessary for you to make all the same mistakes we made; you'll have plenty of opportunity to make your own. How did Greensgrow get started?Well that goes back a way. Mary and Tom started Greensgrow in 1997 on a farm in Jacksonville New Jersey. We wanted to see what kind of market there might be for vegetables picked right from the fields and delivered that day to our friends who ran restaurants in Philadelphia. Since we both lived in Philadelphia we thought that maybe we could grow here on some of the vacant land we were reading about in the paper. So after a year in Jersey we packed up our stuff (a shovel, a rake and a cooler) and moved to Kensington. In 1998 we built Greensgrow with lots of sweat and $ help from The Ben Franklin Technology Center. In 2000 we built our big greenhouse and opened our seasonal NURSERY in the spring and in 2002 we opened a FARM STAND. Tom left a couple of years in and Mary has continued the project. You'll be able to read even more about Greensgrow's adventures in Mary's upcoming book, Farmer In The Hood: Adventures in Urban Agriculture. How can I help Greensgrow?The first thing you can do is support our various income producing projects. At Greensgrow we believe in earning our keep. Our Greensgrow Farms operations are self sufficient and operate off revenues from The Nursery, Farm Stand, Restaurant Sales and CSA shares. We have a very small staff and accept very few volunteers simply because we do not have the time to devote to make the experience valuable for us and them. If however, you are determined, contact us and if we can't find a place for you here, we'll try to help you land somewhere else where your interests fit. The other thing that you can do to help Greensgrow is spread the word, about Greensgrow, about urban agriculture and about the value to us as individuals and us as a community when we support our local economies. And of course you can support Greensgrow with your tax deductible donations... see "I've got lots of money." What does Greensgrow do all winter?Ahhh. The question asked most often. Although Greensgrow is currently open only from Easter to Thanksgiving, we are here all year long. As growers of our own nursery plants, we are in the greenhouse long before the snow melts and because the Farm takes up so much time during "the season" we need the winter months to recoup, regroup and clean off the piles that have accumulated on our desks. The work we do takes a great deal of review and planning so pretty much as soon as we close the gates Thanksgiving Eve, we start trying to figure out what went right and what went wrong. That's not to say that we spend all winter locked up in our office (a former abandoned house right across the street from The Farm) thinking big thoughts and solving problems. We also use the winter months to travel, eat too much, re-acquaint ourselves with society, do advocacy work, clean our own houses, visit our parents and friends, write and redo our Web Pages. Blanche (see below) however is given the winter months off to relax. What's a "CSA?"CSA traditionally stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Consumers buy a "share" in a farms' season and each week get a box of produce and fruit produced on the farm. The Greensgrow version we refer to as City Supported Agriculture. You can read more about our CSA on the CSA page. For more on CSA's in general, visit the Robin Van En CSA Center at Wilson College. (www.csacenter.org) Do You Deliver CSA shares?This is a debate we have every year here at Greensgrow in house-drop offs or no. The short answer is "No." We believe that part of what makes us unique is our on farm pickup. The idea is for members to get more of an understanding of the work of a farm, the efects of seasonality, watch their own food grow and know personally the people who grow or gather their food. Our members input and feedback is important to us as growers and to us as a bridge to rural growers who never meet the people who eat the food they grow. Next year we'll be adding a Philly Car Share membership and become a pod for them and we hope that will make the experience easier for some and make us part of a great movement to shun unnecessary driving, share cars within a community and save some money. We also offer a be a good neighbor list where our members know the other members in their zip code/neighborhood and can ask or offer to pick up the share. Farm pick up is here to stay. How can I start my own urban farm?Ask us in late August and you can probably have ours. Oh, Ok you hate your high salary, your paid health insurance benefits and the 401K plan. You look out the window and it's a beautiful day and you want to be outside, digging in the dirt (or water as the case is here). Or maybe you want to contribute to society and help increase access to local foods. Or there is a crappy lot across the street from your house that's been empty for ten years and you lie awake at night envisioning a field of hops and barley you could sell to the local microbrewery. Stop. Think about this. No really think. Hard. Ok. First we suggest you visit an urban farm. Some people have a picture in their minds that has nada to do without reality. Then after you've visited (and hopefully bought something) and you're really determined, send us an E-mail. We will then give you a list of tasks to perform to get the ball rolling (one important item being locating an urban site to farm. See the following section for more info about that.) If you are serious and determined and willing to put either cash or sweat equity (better yet both) into your dream, you too can have an urban farm. What do I need to know about choosing a site for my own urban farm?Choosing a site for your urban agricultural business is one of the most important decisions you'll make in the planning process for your organization's new enterprise. The location, size and condition of your parcel will affect just about every design decision you'll have to make regarding your growing systems, storage areas, greenhouses, and markets. Often you'll find that the choices of sites is limited to what your organization is offered by local neighborhood associations or city planning agencies. Because these farms are often built in parts of the city that have seen the worse of urban decay, the parcels that are available may be those that have previously served as industrial or manufacturing facilities. A site like this that will be used for an urban agricultural business will likely already have been cleared of existing buildings and other structures, leaving only the remnants of foundations and concrete slabs. It is one of the ironies of urban agricultural development that these former industrial sites, often called "brownfields" are in fact some of the best choices for locating a new urban agricultural business. These brownfields may be the best choice because of their ready availability, and often they are located in the midst of economically challenged neighborhoods that often don't have access to the fresh food your farm will produce and broker. However, because these sites have formerly been used for industrial purposes, there may be unknown environmental risks associated with using the site. There is little evidence to show that the food grown on a site like this is any less healthy than any other farm-raised food, however the environmental risks that you may be most likely to incur are those to workers at the farm who may come in contact with contaminated soils left at the site by the former user. There also may be long-term, on-going regulatory actions at the site connected with real or possible environmental risks. One of the tools that is available to learn about the environmental status of a site is called a Phase One Environmental Site Assessment. These assessments are commonly used to provide potential users of a property - whether they plan to buy, lease or rent - a complete environmental "picture" of the site. The Phase One report, as prepared by a qualified environmental professional, will provide your organization a synopsis of the industrial history of the site, as well as any probable or known environmental risks. You can learn more about Phase One's and the new "All Appropriate Inquiry" rules at the US Environmental Protection Agency web-site. React Environmental Services of Philadelphia, PA has been Greensgrow's long-term partner in navigating the environmental issues that have arisen over the years regarding the former brownfield site on which Greensgrow is located. Having been closely involved with Brownfield development all over the US for more than 20 years, React can offer your organization some advice about how to get started, or discuss a more involved consulting role to assist your organization in insuring the health and welfare of your workers and visitors to your site, as well as navigating the complexities of environmental regulatory compliance. For more information about these environmental issues you may contact Jerry Naples or Matthew Brener at React by visiting their web-site. What are your hours?
Are you organic?As human beings, yes we are organic. Is the food we grow organically grown? No it is not. We believe that in our case, local trumps organic. We do not however, use pesticides or herbicides, we utilize every sustainable method we can here at Greensgrow and we seek out farm partners who share our belief in sustainable growing methods. At the Farm Stand we carry sustainable raised organic and conventional produce. We are serving a diverse community with a wide range of financial resources and needs. We try to be community minded, not single minded. How do I get there?The landing strip is closed this season so we prefer you not fly in on private jet. There is a bus stop across the street, plenty of ticket-free parking placed for your bike, scooter, camel or broom. Click here for map/directions. Do you give tours?Yes we do but you have to contact us in advance and schedule them. Visitors to the Farm Stand and Nursery are free to wander around and we welcome questions all the time (even the ones we can't answer). If you have a school class or a gardening/food/social/adventure/ religious/exotic dancer group, please contact us and we will find time to give you a detailed tour. Are you visionaries or what?7 years ago we were called nuts; now we're called pioneers. It's a fine line as Chrissie Hynde used to sing. Urban agriculture has stepped into the near mainstream. But it's kind of misunderstood we think. Some people, mostly people who aren't actually involved in it, like to think its some panacea for all sorts of the worlds' ills. Hardly. There are some good projects out there that deserve looking at. You can read a good deal on urban agriculture at www.cityfarmer.org including a piece written by Greensgrow outlining our vision of the practical application of urban agriculture as a tool for education and access. Back to the visionary thing. What we do at Greensgrow is take other peoples' ideas and give them practical application and try to build them out of readily accessible and inexpensive materials. Another way of saying this is that we are cheap. Almost everything at Greensgrow has been begged, borrowed or trash picked and we say that with great pride. It adds to the fun factor too, making something out of nothing. Why should I support urban agriculture?Because we have mortgages! Urban ag (what those in the know call it), when practiced properly, can have all kinds of benefits to a community. It can be a food source, an environmentally sound and sustainable green reuse of land, it can be used as an educational tool, beautify a block, put land in the hands of people who care, create community meeting places, create sources of products often not found in poorer urban neighborhoods, just to name all the ones I can think of. See the Why Buy Local page for reasons why your purchasing dollars make a difference. How do you grow stuff without dirt?Magically. Why, we're the Disneyworld of Kensington minus the tram ride. Just kidding. Hydroponics is the science of growing without dirt. Its roots are "hydro" meaning water and "ponics" meaning something else. We like to grow hydroponically because it's water efficient and because it gives us and you a great product. The nutrients plants need to grow come through the water rather than being taken from the soil. We add these nutrients. There's a tremendous amount of information on the web about hydroponics including the various different hydroponics systems that we grow in here-NFT, perlite bags etc... The Schundler Company has a web site (www.schundler.com/links-hydro.htm) that has multiple links on hydroponics issues and articles. Those of you interested in the history and application of hydroponics will find the site interesting. By the way, we do grow stuff in dirt as well. I've Got Lots of Money - what should I do with It?Greensgrow Philadelphia Project is a 501 C(3) AKA a non profit. That means that we take the income earned through our various operations and use it to pay our operating costs rather than flying off to Barbados every winter. While our income pays for a lot of stuff we do, it doesn't pay for everything. For those other things we depend on grants, in kind donations and contributions from people like you. In exchange for your do-re-me, you get a tax break. All this is sanctioned by our friends at the IRS. Is Tomato Alley a famous street in Philly?No, but we’ll give you points for being in the right city. You’re thinking of Elfreth’s Alley – a small street located in historic Old City. Elfreth’s Alley is famous for its 33 homes of 18th century Georgian and Federalist architecture. Tomato Alley has no such pedigree. It is a former empty side yard in Fishtown – a neighborhood somewhere in between Old City and Kensington – that we turned into a mini tomato farm this year. A friend of ours – whose name we’ll hold back in the interest of his privacy – mentioned that he had this big lot and had been mowing it. “Mowing-schmowing! We’ll plant heirloom tomatoes there!” The neighbors thought it was a fine idea – even after meeting us – and so we roto-tilled the lawn, added some good aged manure from our friends at SAUL Agriculture High School, threw down some weed barrier and irrigation lines and planted away. It worked out rather well if we do say so ourselves. People ask us where Tomato Alley is. Well, it’s a secret. But here’s a hint. You can see it from 95 just as you can see Greensgrow from 95. Fast and fleeting, just like the local tomato season. Why is there a link to Subaru on your web site?Because Subaru is a corporate sponsor. If you want to be a corporate sponsor we’ll put your link on our web site too. Do you have any animals at your farm?Yes and no. We don’t have animals like cows and horses and chickens because we don’t have space and because we don’t know anything about raising cows and horses and chickens (although Mary worked on a dude ranch in the 80’s. Don’t ask her about it though; she’s forgotten that decade). Back to the question at hand. We do raise worms and bees at Greensgrow. They’re an important part of our environment and they raise their own keep so to speak. The bees make honey that we sell and the worms eat all the waste from the plants we grow, then poop it out into something called “castings” that we use as fertilizer. Who was Employee of the Year?
All hail the most sought after can of tuna! Lest you forget regular readers and misanthropes, you are NOT eligible to vote for your favorite. This is a serious management decision, made after multiple soaks in the tub sans baby oil or any emmoliants that might make me slip under, crack my head and make an unwise unsage, un…you get the idea…decision. Let’s go back to the Greensgrow archives stored in the basement of my mind and we’ll see Tom’s Old Ranger Truck, the Sweetwater Pump in the year of NO rain at all, two time winner always in the race, Blanche du Cat. Last years race to the bitter end winner was Beth Kean who knocked out lesser knockers. And this year….. 2006, drum roll and a California roll while you’re at it….The Aerostar Van. Alas, she chose this year to retire after many many years of loyal to the max service in the call of her farm. We toasted her good bye, happy travels (as opposed to travails) at the end of year party. Good Bye old friend. Now let the 2007 race begin. Your Web site is awesome! How'd you pull that off?We could not have created this website with out the help of Ampersand Design, Inc., a local full-service design company. (Feel free to imagine shameless self-promotional copy here.) Contact Andy or Chanin at 215-230-7650 or visit www.ampersandesign.net - Ampersand Design, Where great ideas take shape. I’m starting an urban garden and have limited resources. Should I use my money to purchase fertilizer or sunscreen?Sunscreen. Save yourself first. No farmer, no farming. No farming, No food. A little thruthiness straight from the heart, readers. You may say, “I didn’t know you guys even used sunscreen. You Greensgrow people all have tans by May.” Hey, we have to be outside all day (or in the greenhouse where you crisp up like Peking Duck). Imagine what we’d look like if we didn’t use sunscreen! It’s never too late to start caring for your skin people, so slather it on…. and wear sunglasses and a hat. As for fertilizers…. I can’t decide if I want to grow with organic fertilizer or blue water? Can you help me out?Well, I can explain a bit about organic versus synthetic fertilizer (blue water, aka Miracle Grow) but the decision is up to you. The big three is fertilizerland are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen is for leaf growth, phosphorus for roots and potassium for metabolism and disease resistance. When you purchase the bag of synthetic fertilizer the numbers indicate the percentage of each of these nutrients in that particular mix (20-20-20). A synthetic fertilizer is ‘manufactured” through a process which if you think about it is not really all that different from the way, say chicken manure fertilizer is “created”-through a process we know as eating and crapping. The up side of synthetic fertilizers is that they give you more specific control of the levels of nutrients for specific crops and in recent history they were much more accessible. The upside of organic amendments is that they truly “feed” the soil. Soil is dirt (mashed up old rock and dust particles and chewing gum wrappers) that needs nutrients before it can sustain plant life. Organic stuff aids in microbial activity that makes dirt into soil with more water capacity, more air and more humic acids which in turn allows for better feeding of your plants. In a most basic way, synthetic fertilizers feed plants first and organic fertilizers feed soil first. Organic fertilizers (fish emulsion, bonemeal) are now much more readily available and come in many forms so you don’t have to hold a chicken over your tomato plant and tell it to fertilize. This just in from the hinterlands. “Yo, Greensgrow! I thought Philadelphia was known for cheese steaks, not hydrophonics. Wassup wit dat?”Excuse me? First, Philadelphia is known for many things hinterlandsperson, including, yes, the ubiquitous, cheese steak. We’ve got the Liberty Bell, the Constitution Center and a whole bunch of historical stuff and then there’s the Philadelphia Art, The Rodin and the freakishly enjoyable Mutter Museums. We are home to a whole truckload of outdoor art (it’s all bolted down somehow so don’t get any ideas), music venues (try The Academy of Vocals Arts, The Trocadero, The World Cafe), the best rowing river and rowing clubs in America and the triumvirate of Philly food and drink-Yards Brewery, Standard Tap Restaurant and Dibruno’s House of Cheese. Go to www.gophila.com and see what the “official types” say to see and do and then check out www.notfortourists.com/philadelphia for a slightly (how shall I put this?) hipper view of what’s going on in Philly. As to the cheese steaks versus hydroponics issue, (and it’s hydroponics not hydrophonics; “ponics” means work or labour in Greek) cheese steaks were originated in Philly, hydroponics came from someplace else. A cheese steak is chopped up steak meat, cheap cheese and usually fried onions on a long squishy roll. Do not eat “Philly-style” cheese steaks in other cities- under any circumstances-ever. It is a bad idea! Only in Philly should you chow down on these artery clogging, sometimes disgusting but always cures a hangover gastronomic tour de forces. The secret is in the roll and the secret to the roll is the water and only we have Philadelphia water. As to the hydroponics,( now watch how I tie these two seemingly unrelated subjects into a neat little package). It’s in the water folks. That’s right. H2O, hydro. We have great water for hydroponics; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Hydroponics and cheese steaks. Trust us. We know; it’s what we do. I can’t get enough of you guys. Where can I get more?Thanks mom. Go back to Google or whatever search engine sent you this far and hit us again. In case you happen to be on a tour of the southern states or maybe even live there, there’s a video clip on Greensgrow at The Bill Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. We don’t know why we’re there but don’t miss it anyway. This spring, Greensgrow will be featured in Edens Lost and Found , a National PBS documentary. To find out more about Edens Lost and Found, visit their web site at www.edenslostandfound.org . Premier is set for end of May 2006. But hey, don’t just read about us or watch TV-come see us! How do you deal with pests?The answer to that question depends on your definition of "pest." If you are referring to the creepy crawly type that gnaw on seedlings and red ripe tomatoes, Greensgrow utilizes "Integrated pest management." IPM, uses safe, economical and scientific approaches to managing pests. IPM integrates knowledge of pest identity and biology with pest monitoring so that action, if needed, can be taken at just the right time. In addition, IPM uses a combination of management tactics that are more likely to be safe and effective. Think lady bugs. Click here to learn more. Now if you are referring to other types, try this link. * "FAQs" for you techies |
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