Tuesday, June 16, 2009
I want to be an Urban Farmer
I think about this a lot. I look around at my area of town with blocks of vacant grass covered lots, which have been deeded to a land grant university (OSU). And I think why doesn't OSU support Urban Agriculture as a degree program. OSU is the agricultural center of Oklahoma, why does it not offer agriculture programs at it's Tulsa campus. Maybe no one has pointed this out to the administration or wrote letters to our state representatives. Maybe I should post signs that say "Hey OSU Plant food here." Anyway here is what is happening at Wayne State University.Just a note my brother-in-law is named Wayne and three guesses where he is from.
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When I was working full-time and running my business I worked at the Homeless Shelter just north of downtown inside the loop. It has this huge lawn - green grass lawn. Bigger than either one of my gardens but not as big combined - and PSO was doing a day of sharing and we mowed and weeded and cleaned the area - spiffed it up.
ReplyDeleteShortly after that, back when the markets were not so popular back then, I had 5 cardboard boxes of ripe tomatoes - that I took to the shelter and when I walked in I felt guilty and figured everyone they would not even get a bite of a sliced tomato because it was so full.
These people can shower and try for jobs and keep cool but they don't sleep there - maybe a few women might but in general this isn't a night facility. But the boredom they must face during the day sitting. Think of the food that could be produced by people who have no jobs and nothing to do but stare at each other. They could provide their own lunches thru the summer - I know that seems harsh to consider making the homeless work for growing their own food - but give a man a fish and he eats for a day but teach them to fish .... am I wrong in viewing that as an opportunity? Just seems like a waste of possibly willing labor, a means to teach a trade/food security and space.
You know TCC has a Hort Program for a degreed program - colleges hate to overlap since resources are so limited anymore. And if you think about it, the HIS I mentioned in a previous posting is really helpful if you are just getting into becoming a farmer because the old hands are attending and the new dudes can ask questions. I cornered Tom Bergey from Newalla, OK who owns the Golden Trowel when I first came into the business and geez, it was helpful. There was an org called The Oklahoma Herb Growers and Marketers Association - kinda defunct since way back then but it helped me with herb plants and the veggie garden has always been adding and improving. Besides, OSU still uses chemicals - just call a Master Gardener and ask questions - it's all got chemical answers unless you very specifically beg for organic answers.
ReplyDeleteSue Gray leans way organic but it is not the norm for the majority of the professors - when they can't find an outside speaker and end up with a college professor at HIS - a lot of the advise is based on huge ag farms and not very sustainable, practical or urban. In that area they could use some real improvement. Some guy covered equipment and it was more about combines than tillers.
shrugs - I mow a while - and type a while - back to the mowing.
The community gardener have been kicking the idea around now for several years about setting up a homeless garden Downtown. So far it has not been a very popular idea.
ReplyDeleteTulsa proper isn't very proud of its homeless situation - I just thought the homeless shelter would give people something constructive to do but then being homeless probably takes a lot of wind out of the human spirit's sails.
ReplyDeletePeople want the homeless to move on and stay away. People in Tulsa don't want anything that might 'attract" homeless and give them a reason to stay around. It is sad.
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