Calliope's Table

If we're going to do more urban farming and grow more food in the city we need to find more places to do the growing. Good growing spaces come disguised as all kinds of places, lawns, parking medians, porches, balconies, rooftops, vacant lots, and even current garden spaces that have lost their vigor and need some love. If you have, or know of, a space like this, even one you think is too shady or has another challenge, we'd love to talk to you about growing some food there.

So what's in it for you? Well, growing spaces are as unique as the people that live at them. We don't try to fit you into our situation or a formula, but rather find out what would work best for you and what would grow well in your space. For our part, we're looking for more space to grow more food, and we find that ends up growing more gardeners and farmers as well.

We've found we can often help in situations where:

• There has been a garden before but now the gardener lacks the time or physical ability to continue.
• Someone has a space they'd like to see planted with a garden but they don't know how to get started.
• There is yard space with a lawn and the resident is tired of the time and expense of maintaining it.
• The resident has tasted locally grown produce like carrots, kale and tomatoes and no longer finds much taste in what can be bought at a supermarket.
• There are fruit or nut trees, or other seasonal fruit, herbs or flowers growing in a yard and they often go to waste for lack of someone to harvest them.
• The resident sees where our food supply is heading and would like to help us create some food security here in Portland by offering us space to grow.

Some of the benefits for using your space for growing include:

• No more mowing your lawn! We'll convert the lawn area you now have to take care of, to food production that we will take care of for you.
• You'll also have fresh produce growing just steps from your door that's available to you anytime. You'll also become part of our network of urban farms where we grow a huge variety of produce, and you'll receive a weekly share of other produce similar to a CSA share.
• The local ecosystem, yes even the one right in your yard, will be improved by our growing there. We'll increase the beneficial organisms in the soil, add plants and flowers that attract bees and other beneficial insects, and increase the organic matter in your soil by adding compost and other nutrients.
• You'll be helping create an urban foodshed here in Portland so that we can develop a sustainable food supply as we become more reliant on food that is grown within the city.

We're working to grow (and harvest) more and better food in the city, and we can't do it all by ourselves, so we're happy to put gardeners and farmers together with yard owners in other areas of greater Portland that we can't practically get to ourselves. If you are looking for garden space, or space to farm, have some space you'd like to see cultivated, or have fruit or nut trees you can't harvest, send us a note. We'll do our best to try to send your info along to someone we know who is closer to your area. You can also look at the Links page under the "Neighborhood Gardening and Yard Sharing" heading to find groups working to bring us all together in growing more food in the city.

Land-lenders, those who are willing to let some food be grown in their space, are a very important part of what's needed to grow more food here in Portland on a scale that matters. But there are other important roles too, farmers, gardeners, those good with tools and other mechanical gifts, folks that can move things from place to place, folks to help with harvesting, processing and preserving food, and those with a gift for organizing. If you have any of these talents and resources please consider joining us as we grow food for ourselves and our neighbors.

For more info: