Urban Farms Bike Tour = Sunday Fun Day Adventure

Reader Contribution by Staff
Published on July 1, 2011
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One advantage city farmers have over their rural counterparts: Accessibility. The farms and gardens are more easily visited and admired by neighbors and other city dwellers, and it’s easier for the farmers to bring their harvest to market. Proving this point was last weekend’s Urban Farms Bike Tour in Kansas City, where I biked with a group of fellow riders to four urban farms, all by pedaling a mere 9.6 miles. (When I worked on an organic farm last year, I biked 10 miles each way to get to work every day!) 

The organized bike ride, hosted by Cultivate Kansas City, went to many different types of gardens, but all of them practiced organic methods. The first garden, at the Niles Home for Children (conveniently located at the top of a steep hill!), was accompanied by a thorough tour of the beautiful grounds. The children help the lead gardener cultivate a variety of vegetables and fruits, which are used in the center’s kitchen and sold in a small weekly market. Apart from raising food, the children also participate in carbon sequestration by grinding charcoal that is then added to the garden beds to create a small-scale version of the Amazon’s rich terra pretas.  Here, the lead gardener shows off his strawberry and raspberry patches.

We pedaled our way downhill to Root Deep Urban Farm, where the raspberries were ripe (and so tasty) and the freshly made basil lemonade was refreshing and ice cold. Her single-lot space produced enough food to sell at a large weekly farmers market, as well as provide the farmer with enough food to eat fresh, share with friends and preserve for most of winter. We all gathed into her garden for a group shot, right behind one of her herb beds.

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