- Author: Betty Homer
In September 2015, I attended the Urban Farm Tour organized by the Institute of Urban Homesteading located in Oakland, California. To clarify, these are not farms in the traditional sense, involving large swaths of acreage; but rather, people who try to incorporate agricultural concepts in their backyard by raising livestock, keeping beehives, and growing mostly edible plants rather than ornamentals. Because the sites are private residences, with rare exception, addresses for them will not be disclosed to preserve and protect the privacy interests of the urban farmer-homeowners.
This is the last Urban Farm entry for 2015, as this was the last urban farm I visited this year. I am featuring Green Grrrl Gardens, located in Hayward, California, which is owned by educator and artist, Mimi Dean. The lot size of Green Grrrl Gardens is .67 acre/29,185 square foot of which .2 acres/8,712 square feet is set aside for a vegetable garden and 1,200 square feet is used for urban farming (i.e., 25% of the total lot size). This property is unique in that it has a long-standing history of farming—first farmed in the late 1880s, and again, in the 1940s. Ms. Dean is in the process of lovingly restoring the property to its former glory, including making significant repairs to a historic barn located on-site. She has even created a private yoga studio inside her barn where she and her friends gather to practice.
Like other urban farms, Green Grrrl Gardens has a vegetable and flower garden, fruit trees, a native and drought-resistant habitat intended to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Ms. Dean maintains a bamboo grove which serves as a source of building material and food.
What sets Green Grrl Gardens apart from other urban farms visited is Ms. Dean's incorporation of recycled art throughout her vegetable gardens and areas where she keeps her livestock (e.g., junk store chairs used as squash trellises). Ms. Dean and her artist friends known as the Trash Sistas, turn junk into works of art with an eye to reduce, reuse and recycle, which they sell to support their endeavors.
Although the aesthetics of Green Grrl Gardens may not be pleasing to everyone, there is a lot of heart, hipness and hospitality to this place such that it was a delight to visit.