| Kipp Nash raises vegetables in suburban Boulder with the help of his partner and a part-time employee. He sells to restaurants and at the Boulder Farmers Market. He's also got a CSA. On a sunny morning in early October, we stood among the salad greens in his neighbor's front yard, and he pointed across the street to the home of one of his CSA members, mentioning that the homeowner on whose property we stood was also a member.
 
Kipp Nash harvesting arugula from one of his Boulder gardens |
I first heard about Kipp's work when I read an article he wrote in the Eating Local Resource Guide recently published by Boulder County Going Local (alas, no online version of the guide is available ... contact me if you'd like to see a copy). He had worked on a small farm, and had a dream of finding a way to make it a livelihood, but he wasn't sure how to proceed.
One day, he realized that the land he needed might already be close at hand. Kipp started talking to neighbors, and made an agreement that let him use the next-door neighbors' front yard for a garden.
Here's before:
Here's after:
After reading about his work, I met Kipp at a workshop he gave during our area's Renaissance of Local celebration, where he described how things have been going. He started last year with a few plots, and expanded this year. He's got nine CSA members, and many of them are from his immediate neighborhood. When he sets up for the weekly distribution, he's setting up right in his driveway.
I visited a bunch of Kipp's gardens with him, and they're both productive and beautiful. In fact, they're striking enough that since he started, other gardens have popped up in the front yards on his street, and he's learned that at least one neighbor was inspired by his gardens.
(It's actually a neighborhood where other great things are happening, too ... we stopped by to visit a neighbor a block over who has chickens, ducks, and bees!)
It's such a great approach to local food production that I have the feeling we'll be seeing more of it in Boulder. Kipp's already thinking towards how the concept might be replicated in other parts of town ... and the community-building benefits interest him as much as finding a livelihood in the line of work that he loves.
| | Another of Kipp Nash's gardens, this one in a back yard |
I asked a bunch of questions about his plans for the future, what works and what doesn't, etc. Some of his thoughts:
1. As far as making an economic go of it, this is still a work in progress. He feels strongly, for example, that to succeed he'll need to involve more volunteer labor -- perhaps including an internship program of some sort.
2. One of the things that has worked well this year is that he's got a part-time job driving school buses that accomodates his need for garden time. He's busy in the mornings until about 9 a.m., and after 2 p.m. in the afternoon, but he's got a chunk of time in between for the day's horticultural tasks.
3. He's been selling at the farmers market, but not every time. Next year he'd like to get there every time, since that'll help him build the seniority that can result in a better location at the market. The Boulder Farmers Market has been doing what it can to assist new growers with getting established, including a (lower) fee structure during an initial period. The market's help has been valuable.
4. Kipp's harvest processing area has some planned improvements, including a shady storage shed that will keep vegetables at the peak of freshness after harvest. The highest quality produce is important to local consumers, and post-harvest handling is a a big part of ensuring that quality.
5. From some online research, Kipp found another example of someone doing similar work: Wally Satzewich's and Gail Vandersteen's highly successful SPIN Farming in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Personally, my take on the project is that it's one of the most inspiring and innovative things I've run across in years. I follow garden goings-on pretty closely in Boulder. I really think this concept is poised to take off, both because it builds community and because of the stunning visual display and high quality of food.
I'm looking forward to working with Kipp for a day or two next season ... maybe I'll get back to you all with more news then! |
