December 2, 2016 - Mary's List of Likes

Working among the rows of daikon radishes pushing out of the ground or the lacey carrot tops bending in the breeze that comes many afternoons at GrowGood, or planting seeds for new crops (more than 1,000 on a recent Saturday) has been a respite from the difficult election season.

And that’s made me think about the people who ask me why I’m so happy to be there. Here are a few there things I love about the farm.

Unexpected wonders. If you pay attention, nearly every day brings at least one. Like the giant egret that landed among the fruit trees. Another day we put our ears to a container of grubs collected for the chickens; I had no idea that the grubs make such a racket. Another day, I plucked a blossom from a dagga plant and tasted the sweetest nectar imaginable.

Getting dirty. OK, maybe this particular aspect of GrowGood is not for everybody. But getting in the car at the end of the day with dirt everywhere — even embedded in my brow — feels so satisfying. After a career as a journalist, when getting dirty mostly happened only when something went wrong, it’s oddly refreshing to be really grubby. And stepping into a hot shower is all the more satisfying.

Personal bravery. All summer, I was in awe of the way Katie, one of the most experienced farmers at GrowGood, dealt with the onslaught of June bugs. She pulled them off plants and crushed them in her hands. I shuddered, and then felt a little prissy for doing so. But one recent afternoon, I came across a black widow spider on a brown paper bag among our drying herbs. After just a moment of terror, I picked up the bag and emptied the herbs before I moved it far away.

Showing up. GrowGood is one of those places that takes you in as much as it draws you in. Show up, do the work, and you are part of a community that knows its work matters, that takes pride without being arrogant. I know how corny it sounds, but it’s a privilege to listen to someone’s life story as you transplant broccoli, or tell your own story over lunch. 

Change is constant. Stay away from GrowGood for as little as a week and you may return to a transformed land. A new system of rows has laid out for fall crops. The dozens of tomato plants that produced all summer are gone to the compost heap. New volunteers, new employees have arrived. 

And finally, we’ve got a dozen baby chicks. Need I say more?

By Mary MacVean

October 17, 2016 - My Second Season at GrowGood

GrowGood farmhand Mary MacVean writes on how she's seeing the farm differently: 

I’m starting my second season at GrowGood, and it’s startling how differently I’m seeing the farm. Little seedlings I put in the ground have yielded their food and been taken out of their rows. In fact, many of the rows have been completely reorganized into beds. New crops are in the ground or being readied for transplant.

Now, about four months after I arrived, I look at unplanted ground and see potential I didn’t understand then. I’m eager for the carrots, chard, broccoli, kale and other foods that will be picked all fall. 

And those tomatoes I found so completely charming as we tied the vines up fences? I’m growing impatient with them and with the melons that still are not ripe – beautiful fruit hanging on tight to vines that are drying out and crinkling up. 

The changes to the rows should make the farm more productive, says the farm manager, Corinne McAndrews. We’ve been digging ditches (In all honesty, some of us have done some digging, but it’s James who gets the lion’s share of credit on that.) to create beds that are four feet by 40 feet; significantly wider than the old rows. She says that will give us more space for plantingmore diversely while preserving access for maintenance and harvesting. It might make walking around a bit harder, but the changes will feed our mission of feeding people who need abundant, nutritious food.

The June bugs, which harbor no respect for the actual sixth month, are – at long last -- very rare. But I’m delighted by the dozens of baby lizards scooting everywhere we walk. There are hawks in the air, and the days are growing shorter, though mid-September is leaving us with Southern California’s usual late-summer heat.

That heat seems to have contributed to a sad moment at GrowGood. Germana, one of the four chickens who amuse everyone who comes to the farm -- and provide eggs – died. She was found on a Sunday morning and buried that afternoon. She is missed.

In preparation for next year, we’ve saved seeds for next spring from many plants, but there’s still one tomato plant, a Cherokee purple, that carries a sign not to pick it to preserve the seeds.

We’ve picked the first of the chard, and we’re beginning to send acorn squash, a hard-shell variety, into the kitchen at the Salvation Army Bell Shelter.

McAndrews says she’s always thinking three or four months ahead, so in June she was thinking about our fall harvest. Unlike my backyard garden, GrowGood doesn’t run on a whimsical choice of what seems appealing in the shop. In the summer, she talked about what crops had to be in the ground by early September, what will grow in October, when the temperature may stay high but the light will be diminished – spinaches, chiles, late-season tomatoes.

Also ahead are bunching onions, Chinese cabbages and heat-tolerant lettuces. And of course we will have root vegetables: carrots, beets and radishes. I planted two rows of purple queen garlic recently; it won’t be ready until next summer.

September 22, 2016 - Inside the Shelter's Kitchen

One morning this summer, workers picked more than 100 pounds of tomatoes at GrowGood – big squat red ones, yellow and green striped ones, cocktail tomatoes and more. Along with basil, cucumbers and other food, they were rinsed and then wheeled in a green garden wagon across the parking lot to the kitchen at the Bell Shelter.

That tomato bonanza day also happened to be a day I was volunteering in the kitchen, and soon after the farm delivery, we were at work on a simple but stellar summer salad for the shelter clients.

Amie Carrillo-Wolfe, the food service manager at the Bell Shelter, says she appreciates being able to use food that comes from just a few steps away from the kitchen. And she believes that also has an affect on those who eat it.

“The No. 1 thing is that it’s really about knowing what you can do on your own. Who knew you could grow this food here?” she says. And she hopes the clients see it this way: “This is your home, your back yard.”

GrowGood also encourages the shelter residents to think of the farm as their back yard. They are welcome to visit, enjoy the peaceful atmosphere or volunteer.

The kitchen, staffed with six full-time employees plus volunteers, serves 450 to 480 meals a day in the Pregerson Dining Hall, starting with a 4:30 a.m. breakfast for people who leave the shelter for early work shifts. That means the staff begins work at 2 a.m. to put on coffee and start the first meals.

Mary and kitchen staff member slicing tomatoes.

Carrillo-Wolfe came to the Bell Shelter from the world of high-end catering.

“It was a very big culture shock,” says Carrillo-Wolfe, who had decided it was time for a more satisfying job and heard about the Bell job through an aunt who works for the Salvation Army. “My whole theory was that God sent me here.”

It was a sometimes-rough transition. “I was learning to adapt to staff members without any culinary training,” she says. “I did question myself.”

The mother of 3-year-old twins, she returned three years ago for a second stint at Bell after five years at the Salvation Army camp in Malibu. It’s been a long time now since her haute cuisine days.

“It’s a spiritual journey,” she says one recent morning, sitting in her little office off the kitchen. “I’m losing my experience, but it’s really not about that.”

These days, she says, she’s bolstered by the thank-yous from diners.

GrowGood supplies about half the produce for the kitchen from its 1.5-acre plot. Much of the produce is used in soups, sauces, stir-fries and other dishes – all of which are made from scratch, she says.

In an effort to make sure the produce gets used as soon as possible, Carrillo-Wolfe and the farm manager, Corinne McAndrews, made some adjustments this summer. In the kitchen’s walk-in refrigerator, there’s a set of shelves dedicated to the farm produce. Food gets put into bins marked by date. What isn’t used in a week goes to a “farmers market,” where shelter residents who have kitchens can take whatever food they’ll use.

By Mary MacVean 

August 11, 2016 - Why Save Seeds?

Volunteer Mary MacVean on saving seeds: 

The other day, I took a bucket and headed toward the green bean plants. But I left all the green ones alone, instead poking through the vines looking for the pods that had dried out and turned from deep inviting green to a yellowish color. 

It’s part of the effort over the summer at GrowGood to save seeds for next year’s sowing. A few weeks earlier, we had inspected the bean plants — mostly bronco and Maxibel — and decided which ones looked strongest, fullest, healthiest. Those, of course, are the kinds of plants we want to grow again next year. So it would be those plants from which we would harvest seeds. 

Using small flags, we marked those plants to keep anyone from picking the beans until the pods were completely dry in the persistent, hot sun of Bell.

The dried pods are opened, and healthy-looking beans are saved in brown paper bags. (It’s fun to find some interlopers, volunteer pods holding multicolored Christmas beans or favas; we save those too.)

Beans have what are called perfect flowers; they self-pollinate within the flower before it opens. Things are not so simple for saving seeds from summer squash.

GrowGood has also been harvesting several varieties of summer squash: Ronde de Nice (a spherical pale green squash), zucchini, yellow crookneck, painted serpent and others). To save seeds from these plants, the pollen must be transferred by hand from a male flower to a female flower.

The easy part is telling which ones are male and which female; the latter are atop the young squash. I taped small brown bags over 10 unopened female blossoms; the idea is to ensure that no bees or other creatures pollinate those flowers. And when the flowers blossom, we’ll pollinate them with a male flower.

My first batch was an unmitigated failure. I waited too long – several days – to check back in with my little ladies. All the blossoms had either rotted or dried out in the bags.

So I tried another 10. This time, four were OK. So with a cotton swab, I transferred pollen from male flowers to the center of the female flowers. Then I taped the flowers closed and marked them with flags to make sure they don’t get picked. It’s still no guarantee of seeds – animals or other problems could still interfere. And I’ll start the process with some new plants, too, because we hope to get plenty of seeds.

Why go to all this trouble? GrowGood could easily buy seeds next spring.

Corinne asks. “Why would we buy seeds over and over from Vermont, Northern Europe, Taiwan, South Africa, when we can witness the process of nature here on our farm?” 

July 1, 2016 - My Experience at GrowGood

Volunteer Mary MacVean on her experience at GrowGood: 

The first day of my summer internship at GrowGood, I worried I would get lost. It’s a small farm, 1.5 acres, but the land is fully used – an orchard, four areas for vegetables and herbs, a small spot for the chickens and a serene natives garden, as well as a hoop house, a shed and compost areas. And I live an urban life measured in square feet, not acres.

I know my way around now, a few weeks into the summer, and each time I walk from my car toward the table that acts as the hub for the farm workers I feel more in awe. It’s not unlike a baby you haven’t seen for a couple of weeks. You can’t quite grasp how much she’s grown.

To experienced growers the pace of change at this time of year may be routine, but for the uninitiated, it’s remarkable that the tomato plant I put into the ground from a four-inch pot needs to be staked to a fence so soon. Or the squash vines bearing only blossoms suddenly carry gorgeous, deep green zucchini.

Of course this is nothing unusual.

It is, however, one of the points of urban farming. In just a few generations, people have lost the everyday knowledge of how their broccoli gets into that shrink-wrapped package. Those of us who live in cities and buy our food in stores have to make an effort to know more, and reading labels is only a very small part of the story.

Anyone who comes to GrowGood – to work, as a volunteer, from the Salvation Army shelter or just to look around -- has the chance to see five kinds of squash on the vines, strawberries on low-to-the-ground plants (some tasted by creatures), Aztec spinach, amaranth, a swarm of “volunteer” tomatoes and so much more. The purslane grows where it wants to, which seems to be everywhere. There’s a grapefruit tree whose blossoms smell so sweet they remind me of the flavor and aroma factory that operated next to my elementary school. Rabbits, lizards, gophers, butterflies and bees act like it’s their world.

As lovely as that is, does it matter? As Corinne McAndrews, Farm Manager at GrowGood, asked during one lunchtime conversation, “Are we a necessity? Why are urban plots popping up all over?”

The Center for a Livable Future at Johns Hopkins University considered the questions in a recent report called “Vacant Lots to Vibrant Plots.” The researchers include nearly every sort of city growing imaginable, including school and community gardens.

They conclude yes, urban agriculture matters – though perhaps as only a part of the solution for inequitable access to healthful food and environmental degradation. Instead, they say, endeavors like GrowGood improve the connections among people and promote “agricultural literacy” and civic engagement.

As Corrine also said, “My relationship with plants saved me from cynicism.” Not bad for a little plot of land.

You can find the full report here:

http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-future/_pdf/research/clf_reports/urban-ag-literature-review.pdf

June 6, 2016 - Update From Farmer Corinne

From Farmer Corinne: 

A warming system is moving across the western United States bringing an end to Spring.  The cool, overcast mornings and warm, breezy afternoons characterize a fifth season in Los Angeles - “June Gloom."  On the farm, we spend the foggy mornings harvesting the last of our turnips, carrots, beets, and kale.  In the afternoon, we plant our summer crops.  Now, as temperatures rise, the watermelon, tomatoes, and eggplant will get the warmth and solar energy they need to thrive. 

Now that almost all of our crops are in, our job now turns to maintenance to ensure our crops grow. The greenhouse is full of microgreen test trays and medicinal herb starts.  In July, we will harvest leeks, broccoli, and Asian greens. Our interns have been an amazing help keeping us on our planting schedule and helping with trellis training, pest management, and compost applications to get these long-season crops off to a great start. 

I almost forgot, in the month of May, we provided 541 lbs of produce to the Shelter's kitchen! 

I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come. 

April 30, 2016 - Installing a pH Injector

With the help of volunteers, GrowGood installed a pH injector in order to reduce the pH of the water going to our hoophouse. Currently, GrowGood's water is very basic, which is hard on some varieties of baby plants. The pH injector will keep the pH of our water at a consistent, healthy level for all our plants - saving us time and making GrowGood a more efficient operation. 

April 7, 2016 - Tomatoes, Trellises, Volunteers, Flowers, and Farm Dogs on Patrol

March 17, 2016 - Fava Bean Harvest

 150 pounds of fava beans harvested and counting!!! 

February, 29 2016 - GrowGood's New Hoophouse

Thank you to Elliot Richman and crew for building GrowGood's new hoophouse, which we will use to grow starts for the farm.  This hoophouse will also to support GrowGood's social enterprise business, which we hope to launch in May 2016. 

January 25, 2016 - Moringa "Miracle Tree" Cultivation at GrowGood

From Farmer Corinne - 

We are so excited to start Moringa (Moringa oliefera) at GrowGood this year. Known for its incredible nutritional value, Moringa boasts over 92 nutrients and 46 natural antioxidants in its leaves alone.  A serving has four times the calcium of milk, twice the protein of yogurt, and three times the potassium of a banana--and that's just naming a few.  The seeds and pods are also edible! Additionally, Moringa is a huge benefit to our regenerative efforts at Bell Shelter.  These trees produce nitrogen in the soil, grow incredibly fast, and provide much-needed shade during the blistering summer heat.  Did I mention they are drought-tolerant? 

Moringa is from the foothills of the Indian Himalayas, but have been widely adapted to grow across the world.  The leaves are traditionally used as a tea, but are also delicious added to smoothies other beverages.  I first encountered Moringa in Haiti in 2012, where it was added to savory meals as a nutritional supplement for children.  In Haiti, it was lovingly referred to as "Miracle Tree".  

Deep gratitude and thanks to Rod at Moringa Farms for the generous donation of seed.  We are thrilled to be able to cultivate these trees and share their miracle with the clients of the Bell Shelter.  

                             A baby Moringa tree that one day will be planted at the farm :) 

January 14, 2016 - GrowGood Visits Whittier College

On January 14, Corinne and Jayne left the farm to meet and visit with Whittier College Professor Nat Zappia's Environmental History class.  Nat's students are studying the history of agriculture in America, and digging into the values and cultural ethos around food.  With the students, Corinne and Jayne discussed GrowGood's history, mission, as well as Biodynamic principles and agrarian values. 

After the discussion, Jayne and Corinne toured Whittier's student garden and checked out their awesome garden plots.  It was an inspiring day to meet with Nat's passionate and interested students, and the GrowGood team can't wait to go back!

Thanks Whittier! 

                                            Professor Zappia with Corinne

November 21, 2015 - SPPY-WY Day

On November 21, 2015, the San Pedro and Peninsula/Wilmington YMCA (SPPY-WY) Youth and Government Program came to the GrowGood farm with 70 amazing volunteers.   SPPY-WY is one delegation out of 100 across the state of California that meet weekly.  Their mission is to train high school students to participate in the California YMCA Youth and Government Program. 

The volunteers did a number of different tasks, including: painting amazing signs, building a post-harvest facility, weeding, and planting. 

We were so impressed by these kids and grateful for all their hard work! A BIG thank you to Lauren Fierro for spearheading the event!    

October 20, 2015 - We Need Your Vote!

With your VOTE GrowGood will make LA the healthiest place to LIVE. We are participating in the MY LA2050 grant challenge competing for a $100,000 prize. 

GrowGood's plan is launch its UCLA award-winning social enterprise business plan to build a greenhouse on-site to grow and sell produce year-around to LA's finest restaurants. The social enterprise business will employ Shelter residents. 

VOTE here: http://myla2050live2015.maker.good.is/projects/GrowGood

October 1, 2015 - Crackin' a TON and other happenings...

In October, we cracked a TON... 

...YES! in 10 months, we provided  2,000 LBS OF PRODUCE to the SHELTER'S KITCHEN!

September was also noteworthy because of the record amount of volunteer hours!  Bell Shelter and Wellness Program residents contributed 89 hours of hard and hot work in September. We were also incredibly fortunate to have been on the receiving end of two wonderful volunteer organizations: LA Works and The Community HealthCorps team from the Community Clinic Association of LA County.  

In addition to keeping the chickens happy, the worms wiggling, the plants and trees watered, the shade cloth up or down, the bugs and critters (mostly) at bay, the compost turned, the produce picked, together, we accomplished the following: 

1. We seeded an assortment of more than 3100 vegetable varieties including beets, turnips, carrots, onions, spinach, kale, chard, to name a few…
2. We transplanted just over 1600 seedlings.  We also put in a Nopales patch and planted comfrey - an amazing plant for healing degraded soils - in the orchard.
3. U.S. Veteran, Shelter resident, and carpenter, Juan Valdez, built us a chicken playpen.  Now we can move ‘the girls’ around the farm, providing them with varied goodies like plant matter, yummy bugs, and caterpillars. This way they can enjoy themselves clearing, fertilizing, and aerating the soil for the next round of plants. 
4. The Topanga Women’s Circle generously donated two wheelchair accessible wooden planter boxes and a much needed wagon. They are wonderful!
5. Help the Children provided a pallet of concrete pavers, which will soon be the floor of our new post-harvest area.
6. The Food For Life Workshop Class 2 ended on September 10.  GrowGood and The Salvation Army awarded certificates of completion to two amazing participants who we continue to see out at the farm. Class 3 is underway…
7. Julia Kleemann, volunteer intern extraordinaire from Cal Poly is back! Julia interned with GrowGoow last spring and has returned to us after several months abroad. 

September 11, 2015 - CHC Day of Service

A HUGE thank you to Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County's Community HealthCorps team for their volunteer work at the farm. The event was organized as part of a 9/11 National Day of Service. Volunteers did a number of important tasks at the farm such as mulching and weeding. A special thank you to Malory Katz for spearheading the event. See great photos taken by Erin (http://www.capturedgracebyerin.com). 

September 13, 2015 - LA Works + Northrop Grumman Volunteer Day

A HUGE thank you to LA Works (http://www.laworks.com) for organizing an amazing volunteer day at the Bell Shelter with Northrop Grumman employee volunteers.  These Northrop Grumman volunteers were some of the hardest working volunteers we have ever had - we got so much done! The volunteers were broken up into two groups. One group was tasked with painting an agricultural themed mural inside the Shelter's mess hall. The other group went out to the farm performing a number of important tasks, such as: weeding, mulching, amending garden beds, as well as fixing a section of our irrigation system. Overall, it was a great day!  See the photos below :)

“Santiago: Do any of you volunteers want to help fix our irrigation system?
Volunteer: I will - I’m an engineer.
Santiago: Oh cool. What kind of engineer are you?
Volunteer: Well, I build F-35 Fighter Jets.
Santiago: Ok, I think you are qualified. ”

Pretty cool right?! Shows what you can do in a few hours with some great volunteers. 

September 9, 2015 - Update from Corinne from the Farm

Transitioning from summer to fall plantings is never easy in Southern California, let alone in a historic drought.  This week's heatwave is another example of the high temperatures that come after Labor Day.  At the farm, we are currently seeding a diverse selection of fall crops to ensure that we beat the heat, conserve resources like water and labor, and keep harvesting produce into the new year! Some varieties we are especially excited about include:

• Hon Tsai Tai Broccoli-- A delicious sprouting (& leaf) broccoli that produces in warmer temperatures.  Heavy producing and delicious with a light mustard flavor.  Nutritious with vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin  E, calcium, iron, manganese, protein, and dietary fiber. A great transitional crop! 
• Golden Globe Turnip-- These turnips have a texture similar to carrots in their thin, delicate skin, and are easy to germinate in warmer temperatures.  They are also harvested young, with greens and all, to be eaten before the late heat can make them tough or unappetizing.  No fall crops thrive in the high 90's, but these turnips are sticking it out.  The greens are like mustard, with calcium, iron, folate, and the roots are rich in vitamin C.  
• Dwarf Grey Sugar Snap Pea-- Starting peas is risky in the heat, but with some shade cloth they are doing great.  This heirloom variety is loved for its peas as well as pea shoots-- a delicious addition to our salad mix.  Increasing functionality and yield by harvesting the shoots and pods is a great way to make the most of limited resources.  Peas are an excellent source of fiber, vitamins A and E, iron, potassium, and protein.  
• Grandpa Admire's Lettuce-- A favorite butterhead lettuce that is also heat tolerant.  This pre-Cilvil War heirloom has high yields of large, fluffy, gorgeous heads that are slow to bolt and tender.  Grandpa Admire's is a great variety for Southern California growers that matures quickly and can hold in variable temperatures. Tasty and fresh lettuce is full of vitamin A, vitamin C, beta carotene, and folate.  
• Bull's Blood Beets-- These beets are gorgeous and incredibly versatile, with heavy producing greens and bulbs that can withstand heat and cold.  We always get a lot of mileage out of our beet greens, and are glad we can sow these all the way into fall.  A classic red beet (with unbelievable hue) complete with high nutrient content of vitamin C, potassium, manganese, and folate. 

Thanks, and more updates to come! 

Corinne :)

August 8, 2015 - SYP and GrowGood Summer Fundraiser; 275 attendees enjoyed an amazing event!

On August 8th, GrowGood teamed up with the Society of Young Philanthropists “SYP" for a summer pool party event in Brentwood.  The event was a great success with over 275 attendees!! 

A HUGE thank you to everyone at SYP: Obai Ahmadi, Francesca Ruzin, Leo Grifka, Alex Smith, Rebecca Sahim, Adam Blazer, Adam Pugatch, David Ravanshenas, Deyan Sabourian, Adam Kahan, Kevin Klein, and Sarah Noorian!!! Thank you also to Matt Landes and his Cocktail Academy crew for serving amazing drinks (http://cocktailacademyla.com). 

SYP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization designed to create a network of distinguished professionals by promoting philanthropic causes through charitable events. SYP's goal is to offer an attractive opportunity for young professionals to contribute their resources and skills to charitable causes.  Check out what they do at: http://www.sypla.org. 

September 4, 2015 - GrowGood's "Food for Life" Garden Class Workshop Begins Again!

GrowGood's "Food For Life" garden class workshop for Shelter residents began its fall session on September 4, 2015.  Farm Manager Jayne Torres is leading the workshops. The workshop classes consist of classroom instruction, hands on training, and ongoing maintenance of the farm.  The lesson plan roughly follows a six-week schedule, with two sessions per week.  A certificate of subject mastery is issued to residents who complete the program. 

So far, three Shelter residents are participating.  On the August 4th class session, GrowGood Farm Manager Jayne started the session covering farming methods and philosophies such as Biodynamics and Permaculture, then moved on to topics, including: seed saving and propagating, creating and utilizing 'on farm' organic fertilizers (compost, worm tea, animal manure, etc.), soil biology, native plant propagation, and the wonder of bees. 

GrowGood was also honored to have three guest workshop leaders!

Master Gardeners Don Smith and Lora Hall led the soil and hands-on native plant propagation workshops.  Moreover, Katie Lewis, Bee Keeper and GrowGood volunteer conducted the Bee workshop where residents learned many interesting facts about bees (did you know that bees are responsible for one out of every three or four bites of food we eat?) and built a native bee nest!

Native bee habitat created at the workshop.