This month, I interviewed garden volunteers on why they volunteer. Although the general benefits of a community garden appear to be self-evident, our volunteers have a variety of reasons for participating. Many people may find it difficult to make the trek to city hall at 9am on Saturday mornings. We all have busy lives and can come up with multiple reasons why we can’t come on any given work day—I’m sleeping in, need more coffee, don’t feel like getting dirty, etc. But here are some reasons why our committed garden workers do keep coming.

Emma Eggleton of Jardin Street often brings her children to the garden to educate them on how vegetables grow. She said that the benefits of volunteering are “to get my kids involved and see where their food comes from and get them excited about eating vegetables.” She said that after learning how to grow cucumbers, they planted some at home. The children now have cucumbers in their lunch box. They also learned that tomatoes sometimes look like green apples and hopefully, too, that apples do not grow on bushes. Emma also appreciates the community aspects of the garden, which is different than growing vegetables in your own back yard. Coming from Perth, Australia, she was used to living in a tight community where they had communal chickens, which she likened to caring for communal vegetables. Note that she is not the first person to propose adding a chicken coop to the garden!

Another devoted garden member, Shala Farhat, lives in a townhouse and does not have the room to garden. Clearly a talented cook, Shala has harvested carrots, herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes, and beans from our garden and cooked them all in creative ways. Shala thinks that in addition to playgrounds and parks, it is critical to teach kids that “this is where the vegetables come from and not the grocery store. Everything tastes much better when you grow it.” She said “it is really important in urban areas, that we have vegetable gardens…Houston needs to have more places like this where we can grow stuff that you can actually use.” She suggested that more of our city parks include areas for raised beds. Shala is aware of both the individual health benefits and the environmental impact of the garden. She said, “It’s important being out in the environment, meeting new people, getting some sun.” In addition, the garden “has to be close enough because if you have to drive 20 miles, what point is that? You should be able to walk or bike to it.”

We do encourage all Southside Place residents to walk or bike to the garden, bring their kids, participate in the work days, and harvest what you can use. Work days are the first and third Saturday of each month, which are 9am in the summer and 2:30pm in the winter; and the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 8am.  Perhaps you will find for yourself more benefits of community gardening.

Join the Southside Place Community Garden! Membership is free. Open to all—not just Southside Place residents. Just email jbabcocktx@gmail.com to join our club. Also you may join our facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/476972015691263/

Welcome to the Agrihood: Building Communities with Community Gardens, Farm Stands and More

By Marcie Geffner

Agrihoods help build community spirit when neighbors can gather to enjoy the veggies they’ve grown together.

Swimming pool. Clubhouse. Golf course. Hiking trail. Farm. These are among the many amenities new homebuilders offer buyers in today’s new communities.

Wait a minute. Farm? Yes, you read that right.

Whether it’s a working farm,vegetable gardening plots, farm stands, participatory cooking classes or Happy Farmer family nights, builders are finding ways to introduce community agriculture, or so-called agrihoods, into new-home developments.

The Agrihood Craze

Offering homebuyers both practical and emotional benefits, the agrihood trend builds on such themes as health, wellness, slow food, whole food and hyperlocal food production, says Brent Herrington, executive vice president of DMB, a developer of residential communities in Arizona, California and Hawaii.

“I see it as a slow revolution that has taken hold and started to be an animating force in the real estate industry rather than just a fringe lifestyle choice that individual people may have made in decades past,” Herrington says.

The tangible benefits are primarily edible as community agricultural efforts produce a bountiful harvest. Tenant farmers and residents grow lettuces, kales, herbs, tomatoes, onions, squashes, okras, peas, mushrooms, garlic, peppers and much more. Produce is also bought and sold at farm stands and used for communal meals.

The emotional benefits include the social aspects of community agriculture and aesthetics of farmscape, which is a landscape that includes open space, crops, trees, streams and other natural elements.

“Growing food, and then later gathering, harvesting and enjoying preparing and sharing food you’ve grown with your own hands is deep, emotional, powerful stuff. It draws people together,” Herrington says.

Farm and Garden

In some new-home communities, ag is just another amenity. In others, it’s a way of life.

Within those extremes, communities offer a variety of options. There are working farms, community gardens and backyard grow-your-own plots, all with varying degrees of help from local farming, gardening and food preparation experts.

Hillwood Communities’ Harvest project in Dallas offers residents three amenities within the community agriculture theme, says Tom Woliver, director of project management.

The centerpiece is a working five-acre farm. Tenant farmers sell greenhouse-grown microgreens to local restaurants, educate homeowners about farming and donate a portion of the produce to a local food bank. A demonstration or “test” garden in front of the farm shows residents how to grow their own watermelons, popping corn and other popular crops. Individual community garden plots allow homeowners to grow their own produce on their own time with their own tools, materials and efforts.

“We built 50 rentable raised garden beds in the first phase and they were sold out with our first 50 homeowners. We’re now building 70 more,” Woliver says. “We also have the option for every homeowner to build, through their builder or the association, raised beds in their backyard so they can grow their own food.”

“Everything You Need”

The new-home community of Willowsford in Ashburn, Va., features a working farm, farm stand, raised beds for demonstration projects and an on-site kitchen, says Brian Cullen, who leads the development operation for Corbelis Development.

The farm stand — soon to be joined by a second one — sells locally sourced chickens, eggs and dairy products as well as the farm’s fresh produce. “If you want to have a barbecue,” Cullen says, “you can walk to the farm stand and get everything you need for your dinner.”

Some early agrihoods required residents to participate in farm work. Newer communities tend to favor volunteer models that allow residents to pick and choose their own activities and levels of involvement.

Many activities are low-intensity and suitable for all ages, Cullen says.

“We have a front farm that is part of the farm stand,” he says. “It has raised beds and we use it for education or pick-your-own, like when strawberries are in season. We also use that front garden on Thursdays when we have Happy Farmer nights. The kids come out and do weeding or mulching or picking something.”

Life in An Agrihood

Homeowner John Pellerito, 35, and his wife, Kristy, 37, have lived at Willowsford since August 2014 with their two children, Sophia, 7, and Tommy, 4.

Pellerito says the agrihood wasn’t why he and Kristy chose their home. Rather, the main attraction was the two-story floor plan, a contemporary open arrangement with 6,000 square feet of space.

Still, they’ve enjoyed the agricultural component of their community.

“We’ve always been health-conscience and shopped mostly at Whole Foods for our produce and meat. The notion that there would be a farm within the community that would produce a good portion of the food we eat was very attractive and interesting to us,” Pellerito says.

The farm is located more than a mile from their home, so they haven’t been affected by any noise or odor, Pellerito says. Nor have they participated in any grow-your-own or hands-in-the-dirt activities. “This is all done for you. It’s well-packaged and managed,” he says.

Their primary interaction has been with the farm stand, which they visit every Saturday when it’s open, Pellerito says. They’ve also attended dinner events and daytime activities a few times each month when they’ve been able to secure places at the table.

“I would like to be able to do more,” Pellerito says. “It’s an open registration and you have to register immediately or they are sold out.”

Perhaps the biggest benefit has been the opportunity to educate the next generation. “We really like the aspect of teaching our children about farming,” Pellerito says, “that you grow food and it’s much healthier to eat food that you grow locally.”

In an agrihood, that might mean right around the corner.

Last October, we held our first Outstanding Dinner in the Garden. Modeled after the traveling Outstanding in the Field ™ dinner party, we set one long table for 54 guests outside in the vacant lot next to the garden.  A string of white paper lanterns illuminated the table, serving beef, chicken, and fish and three other courses family style. Last year, everything was so PERFECT that we didn’t want to change a thing.

This year, we hired the same chef Chef Soren Pedersen, formerly of Sorrel Urban Bistro, now a private caterer, to plan and prepare a 5-course menu. We envisioned the same, long table in the vacant lot, but this year longer to accommodate more guests. We anticipated thanking Adam Gonzalez of Ramm Excavation for his supervision of the construction of
our beautiful new pergola, and serving appetizers and cocktails under this new meeting place. The only thing we changes is that we upped our wine game, with the Houston Wine Merchant pairing wines specially to each course of Chef Pedersen’s menu. We promptly sold out the 80 available seats.

It hadn’t rained in Houston in over six weeks. Houston was in a drought. The weather for the citywide block party on October 18^th was perfect. However, shortly before our party, Hurricane Patricia came up from Mexico, rain came in from the west, and strong winds came in from the east. We were in the vortex of three storms with severe street flooding projected. Many weekend events were canceled. We had to make the decision to get tents, go inside, or cancel. Plan B was tents: Renting tents was cost prohibitive and none that were long enough were available. I bought four tents online, but the never arrived. Maybe that was for the best, as the heavy rains saturated the grass and there was a threat of lightening. Plan C was to go inside the fire station next door to the garden.  The firemen pulled the firetrucks out, cleaned the floor and turned over the building to us. We set three long tables, dressed in white linens inside the stark building and strung white paper lanterns over the space. We greeted guests in the city hall lobby with prosecco, our signature “Outstanding Cocktail.” and passed hors d’oeuvres.

Then we moved into the fire
station for the remaining four courses of gazpacho, salad, main courses of trout, chick and beef, and dessert of chocolate chili cake and pound cake, all paired with a lovely wine chosen by Scott Spencer of Houston Wine Merchant. Some inadvertent entertainment was provided by the firefighters who had to dress and respond to an electrical fire in the middle of the party!

Being plan C, the venue and ambiance wasn’t perfect, but it was still OUTSTANDING!  We had a great turn out and guests were raving about the food and the fun of the whole event.

Special thanks go to Scott Spencer and Barb DeWitt for the wine donation, the firemen and Assistant Chief of Police Ulysses Serrano for donating their space, and Jennifer Anderson and Ron Shimkus for the chair rental donation and for their hard labor in turning a fire station into a charming restaurant.  If you missed out, don’t worry: We’ll do it again next October–hopefully outside in pleasant weather.

and it’s beautiful. Designed by architect and garden member, Joe Przybyl, and constructed under the supervision of contractor and garden member, Adam Gonzalez, our vision has become a reality! You are invited to come enjoy it any time.  Here’s some photos of our progress, in reverse order.

The bid for sealing the the pergola was over $1,000, so the architect did it himself.  Imagine how hot it got in that jumpsuit in early September in Houston!

 Here’s a photo during the framing phase, above.

Below is a snapshot of the foundation phase prolonged due to heavy summer rains:

The initial vision stage: Note that the stonework around the columns and bed will be completed later.

Thank you, Lovett Homes, for your generous donation!

Garden members enjoy a Cucumber Pisco Cocktail before the sunflowers fade. 

Cocktails proved to be a great way to use the end of the season cucumbers. Click here for cucumber pisco cocktail recipe

The wheels are in motion for our next outdoor party. This is the fancy –but not formal–one on one long table. Tickets for our table for 80 is SOLD OUT.

Last year we had the most marvelous party in the garden. Set outside in
October when the weather is typically nice, we set up a long table, dressed in white linens, with simple natural decorations. We hired noted chef and caterer Soren Pederson, who didn’t even blink when we told him we had no kitchen, no water and no electricity. He set up his own cook shop on the open lot. We strung up some paper lanterns, greeted guests with a pink cocktail and passed hors d’ d’oeuvres, poured some wine, and Soren and his waiters served us until well after sunset. Some guests remarked, “This feels like a wedding! I’d be happy if this were my wedding!”

Usually, large parties are better the second time when the kinks are worked out. But there were no kinks. It was perfect. Too perfect to change. Too perfect not to throw again. So we have hired the same chef to develop and cook another five course menu in the garden.  This year, we have asked Houston Wine Merchant to pair wines to match each of the five courses. And we planned for an even longer table because this is the best party the city has ever seen. If you haven’t bought your ticket already, the bad news is IT IS SOLD OUT. However, there is a waiting list. Email patty.tilton@gmail.com to get on the waiting list.

MENU

by Soren Pederson

Wines by Scott Spencer of Houston Wine Merchant

1^st course / Hors d’oeuvres (passed)

Slow Roasted – Cider Brined Pork Belly

on Sweet Pea Pancake and Red Onion Marmalade

Duck Confit

on Peruvian Potato Tart with Balsamic Cranberries

wine pairing: Sparkling – Toffoli Prosecco (Italy) 

 2^nd course / Family style dinner

Starter

Chilled Fall Vegetable Gazpacho

With Crispy Crab

paired with Pinot Gris – Scarpetta Pinot Grigio 2013 (Italy)

 3rd Course

Fresh Arugula – Pea Shoot Salad

With Smoked Mozzarella, Roasted Beets, Grilled Apple, Spiced Walnut

And Light Mustard Vinaigrette

paired with Joe Dobbes Pinot Noir ‘Jovino’ 2011

 4th course / Main Course

Grilled, Herb Crusted Trout

With Green Grape Beurre Blanc

Apple Wood Smoked Filet Mignon

With Caramelized Shallot Pan jus

Braised Local Chicken

In Fire Roasted Pepper Stew

Roasted Root Vegetable

With Herb – Grain Mustard Butter

Yukon Potato Au Gratin

With Sharp White Cheddar and Fresh Scallions

paired with Xanthos Proprietary Red Blend 2013 (Sonoma Coast)

 5^th course / Dessert

Ginger and Chili Spiked Chocolate Cake

with Plum Compote

Warm Lavender Pound Cake

With Grilled Pear and Sweet Crème Fraiche

wine pairing:  Chateau Suau Sauternes 2006 (France)

As the summer heats up and the neighbors leave on vacation, the garden winds down. Few crops are planted in the heat of the summer. The tomatoes, if there are any left, cook on the vine. Few garden members who are actually still in town want to weed or water in 90+ degree heat.  The party season is over—it’s too hot for an outdoor party and it’s too hard to schedule around everybody’s travel plans. Only the okra are happy in this intense, suffocating heat.

Which gives us time to reflect on the community garden’s mission and progress. One respected garden member commented that we’re really not a serious garden—that we’re doing this “more for fun.” True, we are not a production garden, logging our progress by the number of pounds of produce we grow. On one city lot, we are not going to solve world hunger. True, we are not all interested in becoming Master Gardeners or are fascinated by the subtleties of diagnosing a magnesium vs. a manganese deficiency in the beans. And, true, we do have a lot of exceptional parties. But we also have a mission that we take seriously.

The mission of this garden is to create a beautiful, shared, public space for growing organic fruits and vegetables for residents of Southside Place is donated to local food banks. Planting and harvesting is done by members following a master plan for plant selection, fertilization, and crop rotation. Local schools use the garden for educational purposes. Children learn how plants grow (no, son, carrots do not grow on trees) and learn an appreciation for vegetables that they may someday actually eat. The garden also serves gathering place for picnics and parties.

The garden organization, an affiliate member of Urban Harvest, began February 24, 2013 in a public meeting. We voted to have a communal garden, possibly with some allotted plots for rent by individuals at a later date. The City of Southside Place awarded us the use of one city-owned lot for at least for five years. We became an official 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation effective October 7, 2013 so that charitable contributions are tax-deductible. Since then, we have installed plumbing, built the first eight raised beds and planted and harvested our two years crops. The front and side habitat gardens attract beneficial insects making us a certified butterfly habitat. We built a tool shed, sponsored by Texas Citizens Bank. We have made several deliveries of fresh produce to appreciative, local food banks. We have had several lively fundraising parties and have generated a lot of interest and camaraderie in our community.

So while we’ve had a lot of fun building a productive garden on a vacant city lot, we are not just playing in the dirt. We are growing something meaningful, engaging and sustainable.

We are proud of our accomplishments so far but we continue to build and grow. Here are our plans for this year:

• Meet in the garden first and third Saturday of each month at 9am; second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 8am to maintain the garden.
• Construct the new gazebo, sponsored by Lovett Homes
• Construct two garden gates to demark the front and side entrances
• Construct and maintain a bulletin board to communicate seasonal planting plans and work to be done
• Furnish the interior of the shed
• Build and plant the remaining 5 beds
• Throw fundraiser parties in October and April
• Invite children from local daycares to read the book “The Sunflower House” in the sunflower houses

We invite you to get involved. Membership is free. To join, just email jbabcocktx@gmail.com. Also you may join our facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/476972015691263/

One thing you can say about the Southside Place Community Garden is that we know how to throw a party.

Our first fundraiser was a Cinco de Mayo party in 2013 before any beds were built. Since then this annual outdoor party has grown in attendance and scope. Patty Tilton, the garden Treasurer, instituted a silent auction at the second party in April, 2014. Now the proceeds of the auction surpass the ticket sales, more than doubling our fundraising efforts. Our third annual fundraising party was Sunday April 26, 2014—a garden party, of course—held on the garden lot. Food was donated by Whole Foods, Edloe Deli, The Union Kitchen, Molina’s and Moeller’s Bakery. The Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt truck arrived and set up shop near the sidewalk. Singer/songwriter J.J Essen provided musical entertainment with vocals andguit ar. Community garden members volunteered their labor and donated beer and wine (special thanks to Ron Shimkus, the Bakers & Jean Roberts!) to make the party a whopping success. Jennifer Anderson thanked Duncan and Michelle Stewart for their donation from Texas Citizen’s Bank to build our lovely new tool shed, which, it turns out, came in handy that night.

The weather cooperated up until about 7pm when the thunder and lightning got too close for comfort. We scrambled for cover when the rain started, into the new shed and under the tents. The ever resourceful Richard Rothfelder called a fireman to move both fire trucks to the driveway so we could take cover in the firehouse. The singer, perhaps fearing electrocution, quickly moved his stage in the firehouse. Turns out, the acoustics in the firehouse are fantastic. J.J. Essen loved the “reverb” and you could hear him better in the garden even though he was farther away. Perhaps the firehouse can become the future music stage location.

This year’s auction was the biggest ever, with donations from Breakaway Speed, Alira Day Spa, Bering’s and many other generous local businesses. This year we raised about $4,800 total from this one, casual party and we were delighted to have recruited many more members. Next year, we plan to ask for corporate wine and beer donations and, more importantly, to schedule a set up and clean-up crew. And next year, no thunderstorms, please!   

Here’s are smoothie recipe that uses carrots and the carrot tops! 

Green Smoothie by Melanie Jordan

• Dandelion greens
• Handful of cilantro
• Handful carrot tops + 1 carrot
• 1/2 cucumber
• Chunk of ginger
• Squirt of lemon + 1/2 piece
• Green apple
• Filtered water