Urban farming in Minneapolis

Hello all! I posted a lot on a personal homestead forum titled: Trace's Minneapolis Area Food Oasis' (building towards sustainable human settlement)
https://permies.com/t/255681/Trace-Minneapolis-Area-Food-Oasis.

I realized the updated material should go in this forum not the homesteading so I ll continue here.

What was said at the intergenerational farmers round table? The intergenerational Farmers Round Table discussion held on October 10th at Macalester College hosted a panel of four farmers of different ages, backgrounds, and experiences. Nura Ahmed, from Kenya came to share her perspectives as a mother, farmer at Frogtown Farms, and meal provider/cook. Mason Berube drove in from Pelican Rapids where he had been farming for a few summers at Lida Farms. Karla Moreno Polanconco, Farm steward at Youth Farm, and student at Macalester studying environment, economics, geography, and food and ag came to share his perspective. Michael Chaney on the far right brought in his perspective as a highly experienced activist and organizer with Juneteenth, founder of Wendell Phillips Credit Union, and now urban farming and environmental justice. Collectively they shared concerns, knowledge, and vision.

A professor posed the question: “What would you say to students at Macalester who hope to achieve high ranking positions in the working world with their degree?”

Michael Chaney (in response):  “Why do you think you are so special, that you are not responsible to respond to the urgent needs of the planet? ...I want to caution each and every one of you as we see over in Palestine that wars are being fought, won and lost over food security. Food security is national security… If you are not part of the solution, then you are the problem… That’s the kind of ...thinking that has undermined our society, and has made this rift between urban, suburban, and rural divide, and so I would challenge each of you ‘are you your brother’s keeper?’”

This panel made it to the hearts of people who filled the room, hallways, and waiting area to the brim, but remained unheard by the ears that needed it most, those less aware of the necessity of gardens to solve the world’s problems. Nevertheless valuable information and motivation was shared.

As the fall progressed, we saved seed, took people's yard waste, went to more conferences, and let the tomatoes ripen inside.

Farm at the Arb is a University of Minnesota project to educate a new generation of farmers tired of their day jobs and willing to participate in food production. I chose not to participate, as I want a more intimate permaculture education next summer. I also hypothesize I can learn more and make more money from working on an actual organic farm.

The benefits of a first snow are you can see microclimates and work and determine if your vermin eaters are still residing.

Final pictures of this summer and fall. This is cut and paste from my weekly email.

The Environmental Justice Worldmaking Symposium at the University of Minnesota on October 25 was a powerful gathering that brought together voices dedicated to environmental justice, decolonization, and cultural reclamation. Beginning with an african drum calling by Truth Maze, and an introduction and land acknowledgement by Dr. Rose Brewer and Elder Louis Alemayehyu, the event held here on Mni Sota Makoce, Dakota land, emphasized interconnectedness with land and people as fundamental to sustainable, just futures.
Panel 1
Multigenerational, International Perspectives

Quotes and points:
-“First, I want to welcome you all. Welcome. Until we’ve been welcomed, we cannot arrive”
-“Our mission is to find each of our own generational trauma roots…
…We have traces of generational colonialism in our genes.” -Jayan
-Each of us must look in the mirror, listen to elders, pass it on, and heal ourselves, starting with empathy.



Panel 2

Quotes and points:
“The vision of Environmental Justice making is being able to manifest your culture without block.”
“Our mission is to build collective resistance [and] … carry the torch [in] … hospicing the world.” The collective must be made resilient with an array of locations and skill sets. This leads to a place to continue our work: “How can we create spaces to nourish collective resistance and vision making?”

When discussing the ending of the HERC, we must address the real question. Why do we have all of this trash in the first place? In the US we are so disconnected from the rest of the world that we forget that the point is to dismantle the settler colonial enterprise the country is built off of. In order to stop biosphere collapse and achieve mutual liberation, this country needs to stop its running, and we need to honor the earth, for when we love something, we protect it. We have to shift our culture to repair and rehabilitate. Shift our connection to stuff.

In the midst of all the green careers and societal changes, we must guard ourselves from greenwashing and getting too excited about green energy. What needs to happen is a much deeper shift than putting in rain gardens and solar panels. We need a lifestyle change. We have to build awareness of the true definition of sustainability: a system which produces more energy than it took to build and maintain. Little changes aren’t gonna stop the billionaires from getting richer, the military from conquering, deserts expanding and salting, and the oceans to rise and displace millions. If we want to change any of that, we need to be honest with the whole of our lifestyles and take initiative to change the systems in place one seed at a time. To fix instead of buying new, to get our hands dirty in the soil, to co-op, and to get along with our neibors. The only true renewable energy is natural, powered by life cycles like photosynthesis, not mere substitutions of fossil fuels, solutions promoted by the system oppressing us. No solar panel can compete with the energy production/sustainability (and no battery can compete with the energy storage) of a nut tree. Plant ecosystems are regenerative.

Does refusing to identify as indigenous if we are not all Native Americans perpetuate our being unfulfilled souls; dopamine, wandering, searching, extracting, fearing; a settler colonial mindset, reflected in society? Does it keep us disconnected from the land, numbed to far-off feedback loops, indifferent to not knowing how to have a sustainable culture? What if we took it upon ourselves to rekindle community, to be stewards of the land; learned how to grow food, fiber, and building materials; knew by observation what kinds of trees like to grow in the soil outside the kitchen window, how we can create natural springs, become creators of life, not pillagers of people and resources. Acknowledging white people’s position of occupying land and deciding where to go from there with ethics. How has our culture become ok with being just “more sustainable” when it is every aspect of our society that needs to return to appropriate energy transactions. Malcolm X said “land is the basis to revolution”. It could be a revolution of peaceful sedition. Caring for the earth is caring for people and vice versa, but is bringing a reusable bag to the store the best we can do?


Too Black from Indianapolis expressed strikingly descriptive poetry on environmental justice, and shared a piece he made during the day as a reflection on what he heard at the conference.
His poem expressed notes of pain, numbness, exporting responsibility, avoiding our shadow self, losing accountability, fear, propaganda, and ‘the belly of the beast’.

Are we willing to alter our habits, work, career, minds, and way of relating to implement the urgent and drastic action that is needed?

Thank you to all who put on this panel, participated, and took time to read this. May its impact ripple.

EJWS Friday Schedule:
https://sites.google.com/view/ejworldmaking/2024-environmental-justice-worldmaking-symposium/program-schedule

🌺 Planting the seeds of change


Project Sweetie Pie Garden Team



Environmental Justice Worldmaking People’s Assembly
October 26th Urban Research and Outreach Engagement Center (UROC)


African Drum Calling, Truth Maze

Panel 1 and audience questions

The panel reintroduced many common sense, not common knowledge ideas:
In many Native American languages there is no word for wilderness.
Some people talk about nature as if it is something to go see. They forget that only nature sustains us, and that we are nature.

Genocide is also a US problem. For just one example, most rockets sent to Gaza and Lebanon were made in states such as Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas. You have to pay your taxes, but you may take your money out of Boeing. 22.8 billion dollars sent not to us, but to the bombing of Gaza and Lebanon.

“We make the mistake often of being generalists. Let's give the mic to the oppressed.”-Michael Chaney








Joshua (left) and Glenda (right) presenting post HERC ideas.

Quotes and synthesized comments:
“1. Until you have registered as a threat, you are ignored
2. Once you are a threat, you are repressed
3. You form co-ops
4. Subordinate coordination” (grassroots groups uniting against oppressive systems for a sustainable future)

We must create liberation zones in our life to create space to visualize a better future. What are the prototypes we can put on the ground to begin to eat, breathe, and communicate better?

What if the river was our mother, or if every stranger was your mother? How would you treat them?


Final Pictures are of Emerging Farmers Conference. Erika Allen made a showing. She's the founder of Urban Grower's Collective in Chicago. She started a methane digester which provides waste energy to thousands of homes. She told me this should be done instead of composting. What do you think?

There are more loans, schools, information, conferences, jobs, and grants than I can comprehend for emerging farmers, there has never been a better year to start a farm.

Hey Trace. I’ve been reading your posts from this summer and it’s really incredible. You’re doing great work. I’m also a younger permaculture enthusiast and I’m curious if you have any advice on getting community gardens off the ground. I’m in an urban environment and while there is a community garden in town, there’s A LOT of room for growth. So I’m thinking of different ways of getting access to land and resources to create more food production and community in my city as you appear to be doing. Hope to hear back! Again, keep up the inspiring work!

Trace,   You may have come across this information already, but just in case you haven't:  Deep Winter Greenhouse information and examples in Minneapolis from the U. of Minnesota.  Good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPk7vTCzPPc


https://extension.umn.edu/growing-systems/deep-winter-greenhouses#design%2C-construction-and-operation-2066620

John Weiland wrote:Trace,   You may have come across this information already, but just in case you haven't:  Deep Winter Greenhouse information and examples in Minneapolis from the U. of Minnesota.  Good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPk7vTCzPPc


https://extension.umn.edu/growing-systems/deep-winter-greenhouses#design%2C-construction-and-operation-2066620

I've been there!
Thanks for sharing the links.

George William wrote:Hey Trace. I’ve been reading your posts from this summer and it’s really incredible. You’re doing great work. I’m also a younger permaculture enthusiast and I’m curious if you have any advice on getting community gardens off the ground. I’m in an urban environment and while there is a community garden in town, there’s A LOT of room for growth. So I’m thinking of different ways of getting access to land and resources to create more food production and community in my city as you appear to be doing. Hope to hear back! Again, keep up the inspiring work!

Wow, thanks! i'm glad.

I have never started a community garden, but I am working on doing that for this spring. I have found that there are a lot of grants through statewide ag organizations, the USDA/Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the county, and the city. The money is ranging from $500 to $100,000 per year for whatever you want to do within their framework. Some grants are even for home gardeners. I have been communicating (kind of a one-sided conversation) with the city I live in, a suburb. In Minneapolis though, I have more governmental friends who are more open to change and helping out. I plan to barrage my suburb government until they answer me, and be nice to them. Then I plan to door knock all over my neighborhood to find people interested in helping out. I've made a budget and plan.

One thing you can try is hooking up with organizations already in place. They may already own the vacant lots or have the infrastructure to take on more opportunities if you apply for grants through their name. You can ask neighborhood organizations, workforce development centers, grocery stores with extra parking lot space, the skys the limit. Once you have the land, then look for how to get free compost: Minneapolis delivered to me 6 y^3 without a question when I said I had a community garden.
feel free to text or call me@ I have just one year of experience, but glad if I can be of help.
952-836-6124

So, I was listening to the radio, I can't remember which station - it might have been 98.9, and there was a woman explaining the issue with this sort of urban farming initiative in North Minneapolis. The issue is that you have chemical plants in the near vicinity, and that soil quality is going to be toxic - at least to grow food that you plan on eating.  So, while the education is good and the intention is totally spot on... you really should not be growing food to eat in North Minneapolis.  I would argue not growing anything at all in the cities, unless perhaps you can contain everything in a greenhouse or something.