City Farm

I have officially returned to one of my favorite spots I have ever encountered-- a little urban organic farm in the Southside of Providence. This little gem of a place is called City Farm. Hidden among the litter and concrete beyond Broad Street lies an oasis of greenery, a sanctuary for plants, {wo}man, and other animals. Birds thrive in this area, both wild and domestic- today I was especially enchanted because as I entered the gate of the farm, the sound of a fife filled my ears; Phil, a longtime gardener of the adjacent community garden, was serenading the chickens with a beautiful song; the chickens happily listened with calm curiosity.



I was reminded at this moment why I had returned.

After listening with the same soothed expression as the chickens, Rich Pederson, the manager of City Farm, greeted me with a warm hug and explained the day's agenda. This summer, I will be working with him on the farm as an intern.

The first task that Rich introduced me to was washing and sorting through arugula, one of various vegetables that City Farm sells to local restaurants and customers. Munching on arugula leaves deemed unacceptable for sale was the most delicious part of this task-- I love the spicy flavor of this plant.

Rich weighed and bagged the plants heading to local restaurants-- oregano, lettuce, dinosaur kale, chocolate mint leaves, paak choi, and scallions are among the many plants that are harvested in the spring at City Farm. Today, we set out in Rich's truck to see Catherine Mardosa, a local farmer at Red Planet Vegetables. Rich and Catherine have been working together to pool vegetable resources, part of the network of farmers in the Little City Growers Cooperative, and delivering fresh produce to Providence restaurants Local 121, AS 220, and La Laiterie, among others.

Rich has been involved with compost pick up at these restaurants as well; Local 121 and White Electric Cafe regularly save their vegetable scraps and coffee grounds for his compost pile at the farm.

Produce Delivery: Check.
Compost Pickup: Check.

So, how do you even compost anyway...? What is the best way to turn you vegetable scraps into dark, rich humus to make your soil amazing so your vegetables thrive?

One of the many pallet compost bins at City Farm:


Rich explained to me and a few other interns that there is the need for a 3 to 1 ratio of carbon (or browns) to nitrogen (greens). Carbon materials include leaves, coffee grounds (according to Rich- this varies depending on the farmer), straw, cardboard, etc. while nitrogen rich materials are basically your veggie scraps, chicken manure, weeds, etc.

Before putting down the compost we gathered, we had to make sure the bin was doing its proper job by feeding it oxygen. We did this by taking a stake and thrusting it into the top of the bin (so it goes deep into the pile) and moving the bar around to create a small pocket of air in the pile. This also discourages rats from nesting in the bin; you can also use a pitch fork for this.

Rich composts in layers in his pallet compost bins: starting with flattened cardboard box over the first layer,we started by spreading vegetables, then coffee grounds, and finally used straw from the chicken coop. We repeated this layering, again starting with the layer of cardboard.

Before leaving, we weeded the kale beds; digging my hands into the dark brown earth was a sensation much like that of plunging my hand into a moist chocolate cake. I love dirt. Those little microorganisms do great work!