http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/10/2941554/kc-urban-farmers-want-to-make.html
... Most urban farms are less than two acres. This 13.5-acre property, about two acres larger than Mill Creek Park next to the Country Club Plaza, will be one of the largest urban farms in the country.
The couple were looking for just such a place — maybe not this large — after an urban-farming experience turned sour near State Line and Bannister roads. The operation there drew complaints from some neighbors and hassles with city officials.
That shouldn’t happen at Urbavore, the couple’s name for the farm. They bought the land from a city-related housing agency. Thousands in tax dollars were spent every year just to keep it mowed. The couple won rezoning for agricultural purposes, an unusual case of “downzoning” in the city.
“That was a huge victory,” Salvaggio says. “After the situation at Bannister and State Line, we really went looking for a place to fulfill our urban pastoral dreams.”
The farm is big enough to nearly forget the city is all around. The west end is relatively flat and sits high. Before the neighborhood trees leafed out, the couple could catch glimpses of downtown and, earlier, the Plaza lights. When the wind was right last year, they heard music from Starlight Theatre.
“Urban farm moments,” Salvaggio says.
The east portion of the property is a gentle upward slope from Bennington Avenue, well-suited for an orchard, which they began planting last fall. They have 160 fruit and nut trees, including 10 varieties of heirloom apples and five pear varieties, although it will be several years before the trees bear fruit.
About two acres of the west portion is planted in vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, fava beans, beets, rainbow chard, spinach, sweet potatoes, okra, Asian lettuce mixes, turnips, garlic, onion, kale — to name a few. The farm is organic and no-till, which means weeds weren’t killed by tilling or using herbicides but by covering the ground in straw more than a foot deep.
“This is thousands of dollars worth of straw, all laid on the ground by hand,” Salvaggio says, nodding toward the crops.
There are 60 chickens and a mobile chicken house, a pond that’s not yet filled and an area to be planted in grapes. Plans include a barn and a greenhouse and, eventually, a home. They live nearby for now.
In addition to launching the composting program last Saturday, Urbavore also opened a farmstand, which will operate 2 to 6 p.m. Saturdays.
The grant was funded in part by the MARC Solid Waste Management District and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Its purpose is to help establish a pilot program and to educate folks in neighborhoods nearby — the most likely people to participate — about food scraps recycling, says Nadja Karpilow of MARC.
“Your old meatloaf could be next year’s heirloom tomato,” Salvaggio likes to say. “The farmstand will give us a chance to make that connection for people.”
The couple also offer a Friday market downtown from 4 to 9 p.m. at Bad Seed Market, 1909 McGee St. In fact, Bad Seed just won the “Farmers Market of the Year” award for 2011 from the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
Kansas City Councilwoman Cindy Circo took a tour of the farm at Saturday’s opening and liked what she saw.
The city needs to work with pioneers like Salvaggio and Heryer, she said, and avoid wasting money on vacant property.
“The economy tanked, and we knew there was no developer coming,” Circo said. “This is a great location for them between the city and the suburbs.”
Several of the neighbors who visited the farm Saturday also were impressed — and appreciative. Etta Canady and her granddaughter Lashai Moss both live nearby.
“Every time I drove by I could look over and see, but I didn’t know all this was going on,” Canady said. “I’m trying to eat more healthy and organic food. This is the best thing that could happen to the neighborhood.”
WANTED: DEAD FOOD
What: Household food scraps composting program
What: Household food scraps composting program
When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays
Where: Urbavore farm, 5500 Bennington Ave., west of Interstate 435 near Blue Parkway and Eastwood Trafficway
How it works: Save kitchen scraps and old refrigerator food in a bucket with a lid for about a week, then bring it to the farm and toss it in the marked trash bin at the farm entrance. Untreated grass clippings and leaves are welcome, too.
Farmstand: Open 2 to 6 p.m. Saturdays. Food stamps are accepted and their value doubled.
Information: www.badseedkc.com
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/06/10/2941554/kc-urban-farmers-want-to-make.html#ixzz1OyX7Wc1V
