Pittsburgh’s urban farms a growing business
By Ann Belser, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Yet in urban neighborhoods through the region, women -- and they are mostly women -- are turning what had been blighted lands back into fertile ground.
It is a sector of farming that was mostly passed over by 2012 Census of Agriculture, released Friday by the
As cities tore down neglected housing, they left behind relatively cheap vacant land. These places don't match the averages seen in the census review of
One of those people is
After buying and moving into a three-unit apartment house in 1994, Ms. Schwartz, 49, built raised garden beds and began growing produce -- more than she could eat. So she sold some of her vegetables to local restaurants.
In the spring, she set up a rack in her basement near the warm steam boiler, and hooked grow lights to shelving.
"Next thing you know, I have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of seedlings," she said.
The first year she gave seedlings to friends. The second year friends came back, so she charged them a quarter to help defray the costs. The third year, those friends brought their friends and she charged a little more.
"I realized that with selling seedlings, I could make this enterprise viable," she said. She started a business selling those seedlings in 2001.
This year, 45,000 to 50,000 seedlings are coming through Ms. Schwartz's urban farm, called
Ms. Schwartz said her goal for the business, which is paying salaries to the workers, is to stop losing money.
Money is key when it comes to the census. A farm, as defined by the
On Friday,
Land in the rural areas is also double-checked by census takers who drive the roads looking for any farms they may have missed.
But in urban environments, it is hard to spot some of the farms.
One of them sits on a hilltop in Garfield, with a view of
"The goal is that Healcrest will become a major producer of herbs," Ms. Graziani said. Herbs are being blended into medicinal teas that are frozen into popsicles for sale.
Ms. Graziani learned about community development in Garfield working for the
Farms like Ms. Graziani's are only going to be more plentiful, said
He said he sees a future in urban farming if only because, on the train from
Despite the urban decay around them, Ms. Reiff at Garden Dreams and Ms. Graziani at
Ms. Reiff said maybe once or twice a year a youngster running through might knock something over. At Healcrest, there are small tears in the plastic of the greenhouse where youngsters tried to peek in.
Neighborhoods like the
The farm is just one of the strategies that the collective, which also operates a boutique for its artists and a small business incubator, is using to bring economic opportunities to the neighborhood.
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