Swainway Urban Farm

Innovative. Compact. Sustainable. Friendly. Swainway Urban Farm is a new model for growing.

Settled on a large lot in Clintonville Ohio, Joseph Swainway and partner Jess Billings (of Jess Bee Natural lip balm fame) have a half acre empire dedicated to growing edibles in an earth friendly way.

Their farm grew out of a desire to provide themselves with healthy fresh food. As their interest deepened, their garden grew to the point of being able to give and sell the excess to friends and family. Soon, restaurants came calling and Swainway Urban Farm was born.

In 2011 the farm applied for and received Organic status by the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association.

Minimizing garden inputs is one goal of the farm. Joseph maintains several large compost heaps designed to produce rich organic matter to return to the soil. Part of the motivation for growing edible mushrooms was to use the spent mushroom beds in the compost. The enzymes found in the mushroom compost 'closes the loop', as these nutrients are unavailable from traditional plant compost.

The farm was also founded to be an educational resource for home growers and healthy eaters. Jess and Joseph are eager to share gardening and cooking advice at their Clintonville Farmer's Market stand. They are participants in the Clintonville Farmer's Market children's program where kids visit and help work on the farm. On August 7 from 2-4 pm the farm will be open for a tour through OEFFA.

Joseph and Jess gave intern Keara and I a tour in mid-April. The farm was in the midst of seedling production. Heirloom seed starts grew under artificial light and then were transfered to the large greenhouse. They were transplanted into four inch pots for selling at the Clintonville Farmer's Market and Clintonville Community Market.

Joseph and Jess also grow a wide variety of produce for restaurant chefs and farmer's market shoppers. From early spring through the fall, the farm provides radish, kale, and pea shoots. Shitake mushrooms have been a popular item for years and this spring Joseph debuted oyster mushrooms. Lettuces, herbs, greens, tomatoes, carrots, and more are available seasonally.

Keara had this to say about visiting Swainway: "Rachel introduced me to two amazing, hard working farmers, Jess and Joseph. They live in an urban area and yet are still driven to have the most sustainable lifestyle possible. I was in awe of their backyard as they used every inch they could for gardening purposes.

Never before had I thought that such comprehensive farming was possible in urban Columbus. Seeing how they went about it I could tell they put an enormous amount of work into their extensive garden. Jesse and Joseph obviously care deeply about a healthy lifestyle for themselves as well as the Earth. Witnessing how they live makes me want to let everyone know that even though you might live on a street by a busy city with long rows of houses adjoining your house doesn’t mean that you can’t have a significant farm in your backyard."

Added to Hearth and Soul 51.

Eggshell Seedlings

The lovely Catherine of Photo Kitchen came over last week to take photographs for Hounds in the Kitchen Egg Week. After blowing out eggs, dying with natural dyes, and baking a dutch baby, we were left with an excess of shells.

We could have tossed the shells in the compost. Instead, we aimed to recreate some easter eggshell planters Lil has been coveting at the big box home improvement store.

All we did was fill an eggshell with potting material and a few seeds for Lil's favorite herb, chives. Then we watered the shells and placed them under lights with the rest of our seedlings.

After the frost free date, we will transplant the whole set up into a bed outside. The calcium rich shell with break apart and dissolve in the soil, giving nutrients to the plant.

I would not advise planting carrots or other root vegetables in eggshells because they need unencumbered space to grow straight down. Most other seeds are fair game for starting in shells.

If you don't have a grow light, try planting a few dry beans in shells in a sunny window. Though beans don't need to be started indoors, they are very quick to sprout and grow fast enough to satisfy even the most impatient child.

All photos with the Photo Kitchen watermark belong to Catherine and were generously shared with me. You may purchase copies and view the whole set of photographs in the online gallery. Use the coupon code houndscrossover to receive 25% off prices until May 15.

Added to Simple Lives Thursday 40th Edition.

What's Growing: April 27, 2009

This week marks the start of a new series, What's Growing. We hope to post once a week a list and pictures of what's growing in our backyard garden and around the neighborhood. So, this week, here's What's Growing:

Tomato, pepper, foxglove, and broccoli seedlings, being hardened off for a growing number of hours a day Broccoli raab and broccoli in their beds Pea shoots about 3 inches tall Spinach and lettuce with second and third leaf sets Garlic and onions

Peach trees blossoming Dwarf cherries with one tiny dwarf cherry blossom Blueberries with blossoms Wicked crop of mint

Strawberries with buds Carrot and Kale seeds just sown One tiny pole bean sprout

What's Growing in your world? Please join in and let us know your URL if you make a What's Growing series.