Celebrate Earth Day at Alemany Farm!
By The Farm Team | April 16, 2013
Dear Farm Friends:
Please come to Alemany Farm this Saturday, April 20, for our 7th Annual EARTH DAY BBQ.
We’ll start the day at 11 AM with spring garden tasks including planting potatoes, peppers and tomatoes and also doing some garden bed tillage weeding, and new greenhouse sowings in our brand new greenhouse.
Around 2 PM we’ll gather for a feast, including a spit-roasted pig, plenty of other grilled meats, and lots of vegetarian options. We’ll have a farm-fresh garden salad, but please bring a side dish or dessert to share.
In addition to eating and gardening we’ll have:
Face painting for kids of all ages
T-shirt stenciling (please bring your own t-shirt!)
A culinary and medicinal herb walk, in addition to other farm tours
And a super-eco Green RV that you can check out
We’ll also have music from the Bernal Heights band, La Familia Peña-Govea. Check out this cool KQED segment about the band.
We’d like to thank the San Francisco Parks Alliance and the Alemany Resident Council for helping to organize this community celebration.
Please note that this Saturday celebration will replace the regularly scheduled Sunday workday. There Will Not be a workday on Sun, April 21.
Please spread the word far and wide about our Earth Day BBQ. We hope to see you there.
The Farm Team
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Spring Planting, Earth Day BBQ, Beekeeping Apprenticeship
By The Farm Team | April 5, 2013
Dear Farm Friends:
After an exceptionally dry February and March, the past week of spring rains has been a relief. Our newly dug garden beds are soaking up the moisture and our orchards, now in bloom, are taking a good, long drink. The lupines are in flower and the poppies are starting to appear. We’ve already got our first beets, squash, tomatoes, beans, and carrots planted.
To experience Alemany Farm in its full spring glory, please join us at one of our upcoming community workdays. In the coming weeks we’ll be busy with plantings of tomatoes, potatoes, more squash, and our first cucumbers.
You can join the fun:
Sunday, April 7, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, April 8, 1 PM to 5 PM
Saturday, April 13, Noon to 5 PM
Monday, April 15, 1 PM to 5 PM
And please mark your calendar for our 7th Annual Earth Day BBQ and Festival, SATURDAY, APRIL 20. We’ll start with garden tasks at 11 AM. There will be Farm tours around Noon and 3 PM. Kids will enjoy face painting and t-shirt stenciling (bring your own t-shirts!). As usual, we’ll be spit roasting a pasture-raised pig and will have plenty of veggie options on the grill. A local band will be providing music. Please bring a dessert or side dish to share!
We’re also pleased to announce that Alemany Farm is launching a Beekeeping Apprenticeship program in collaboration with San Francisco Bee-Cause (SFBC). The purpose of the Program is to train charitable and educational beekeepers who will actively participate in SFBC in future years.
The Program provides a structured opportunity to learn about honey bees and beekeeping through a combination of monthly homework reading and meeting discussions, as well as supervised and unsupervised hands-on learning. Apprentices will be divided into teams of 2 for the purpose of managing an assigned SFBC colony of honey bees through 2013, beginning with installation of a package of honey bees on April 21; managing the colony for honey production, swarm and disease/pest control; preparing the colony for winter; extracting and bottling honey. SFBC will provide apprentices with the use of all hive equipment needed, as well as honey bees. Apprentices will need to purchase their own personal protective clothing, hive tools and smokers.
For more information, including how to apply, go to www.sfbeecause.org.
We hope to see you at Alemany Farm soon!
Thanks, as always, for your work to make SF more food secure.
The Farm Team
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Help Chart Alemany Farm’s Future
By The Farm Team | February 17, 2013
Dear Farm Friends:
First, we want to give a huge shout-out of GRATITUDE to all of you who came out for the recent greenhouse rebuildings. Thanks to you, the new greenhouse looks fantastic. This coming week we will put some of the finishing touches on the interior, and by the end of this month we will busy with seed sowing. So come on out and get your hands dirty with a little greenhouse propagation.
In the meantime, we want to invite you to participate in charting the Farm’s future programming. Alemany Farm’s Community Advisory Council is now up and running, and members of the public are invited to attend the group’s meetings. The next advisory council meeting is this Tuesday, Feb 19, at 6 pm at the St Mary’s Recreation Center, right above the Farm. We look forward to seeing you there.
For those of you who might be more interested in national and international sustainable agriculture issues, also on Tuesday, 2/19 Alemany Farm co-manager Jason Mark will be speaking at SPUR along with Mother Jones ag journalist Tom Philpott, writer Twilight Greenway, and writer Allison Arieff. Get your tickets here:
http://www.spur.org/events/calendar/food-politics-national-and-local-perspectives
And please mark your calendars for these upcoming workdays:
Monday, President’s Day, 1 pm to 5 pm
Saturday, February 23, Noon to 5 pm
Monday, February 25, 1 pm to 5 pm
Sunday, March 3, Noon to 5 pm
We look forward to seeing you at the Farm soon.
Thanks, as always, for all of your work to make SF more food secure,
The Farm Team
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Greenhouse Rebuilding Feb 2 and Feb 9
By The Farm Team | February 1, 2013
Dear Farm Friends:
Get ready for an old-fashioned barn-raising — or in this case, a GREENHOUSE Raising!
During the next two Saturdays, February 2 and February 9, regular Alemany Farm volunteers and Alemany Dwellings residents will come together to rebuild our greenhouse. … We hope you can join as we take this important step for the Farm.
We’ll start at 11 AM sharp and wrap up around 4 PM, in time for a garden harvest. Throughout the day we will have snacks and juices to keep us going as we refurbish the building and get it ready for a busy 2013 season.
This coming Saturday we plan to remove the hard plastic walls, cut new plastic sheeting, re-install the walls, and then stretch fresh plastic across the hoop roof. We will also be installing the window vents and doors and perhaps starting on trenching for a new plumbing line.
On February 9 we will mostly concentrate on building propagation tables and work benches for the interiors, plus installing the vents.
Both days we will be laying-out and cultivating new flower beds and perennial gardens around the greenhouse.
We’re looking for any and all hands to help out. If you have building or carpentry skills, we would be especially eager to see you. And remember — it’s a barn raising, so feel free to bring your tools!
We look forward to seeing you at the Farm over the next couple of weeks for the greenhouse rebuilding.
Thanks, as always, for helping to make SF more food secure.
The Farm Team
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Tree Planting at Alemany Farm + Greenhouse Rebuild
By The Farm Team | January 25, 2013
Dear Farm Friends:
The start of the new calendar year is treating Alemany Farm right. The garlic and strawberries are coming on strong, our winter cabbages have been delicious, and we’re pretty far along with our winter fruit tree mulching and pruning. After those days of cold, clear weather, the arrival of some new rain has the gardens and orchards sparkling.
We hope you can join us at the Farm this Saturday, January 26 for a special tree planting. We are working in partnership with Friends of the Urban Forest to replace some older trees that we are removing. We’ll be planting a range of pears, plums, prunes and apples that we have selected especially for our coastal California climate.
So please come out to the Farm this Saturday at Noon and help us to give these trees a new home!
And please mark your calendar for two upcoming workdays to rebuild the Alemany Greenhouse. On Saturday, February 2 and Saturday February 9 we will be refurbishing the greenhouse on Housing Authority property. These special workdays will start a little earlier than usual — at 11 AM — so we can complete all of the necessary tasks.
On February 2 we will be removing old and damaged plastic, putting new plastic walls in place, and stretching new clear plastic sheeting across the top of the hoop structure. We will also be building and installing frames for vents and one door.
On February 9 we mostly will be building work benches and propagation tables for the greenhouse interior.
Volunteers with any kinds of skills are encouraged to join us. We are especially eager for help from any volunteers who have experience with carpentry and construction.
We hope to see you at the Farm for the Jan 26 tree planting and the Feb 2 & Feb 9 greenhouse rebuild.
Thanks, as always, for your work to make SF more food secure.
The Farm Team
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All We Want for Xmas Is a New Greenhouse
By The Farm Team | December 19, 2012
As we approach the Winter Solstice during this cold and rainy season, all of us at Friends of Alemany Farm are taking a step back to review our many accomplishments from 2012 and to look forward to our aspirations for 2013.
Thanks to your help, there is much to mark this year as a success.
• We grew more than 10,000 pounds (five tons!) of organic fruits and vegetables and, in the process, boosted San Francisco’s food security. Much of that produce went to residents in Alemany Dwellings during our free Wednesday U-Picks and to St. Martin de Porres Soup Kitchen. The rest went of the food went to …
• Our incredible network of volunteers. This year we logged more than 5,000 hours of volunteer time at Alemany Farm. Thanks to your continued energy, we are growing an incredible urban farm oasis in the middle of the city. At each of these volunteer-powered community workdays we …
• Increased people’s farming and gardening knowledge. This year we hosted nearly 50 field trips at the Farm. Visitors included elementary school kids, high school classes, college courses, corporate groups, and faith-based organizations. These one-day field trips, along with our year-long course in ecological horticulture, give people some of the skills and inspiration they need to grow their own garden.
To help us continue our work, please make a tax-deductible donation to Friends of Alemany Farm today through our fiscal sponsor, the SF Parks Alliance.
Looking to 2013, we are especially excited to announce that we will finally repair the derelict greenhouse. In January and February we will be working with Housing Authority staff and residents of Alemany Dwellings to refurbish the greenhouse. This will mark an important step forward in the farm’s week-to-week sustainability, as we will finally be able to grow our own plant starts from seed on-site. The greenhouse should also deepen the opportunities for learning and skills-sharing at the Farm.
Of course, this will take some money — funds for lumber, new plastic, nuts, bolts, screws, nails, tools, watering system, potting soil, and other miscellaneous items.
If everyone on this email list gave just $5 to this endeavor, we would be able to cover the materials costs for the greenhouse today, with funds left over for our other annual operating costs.
So please visit our Online Donations Page and make your end-of-year donation to Friends of Alemany Farm, via our fiscal sponsor, the SF Parks Alliance.
As always, we thank you for all of your work to make San Francisco more food secure. We look forward to getting our hands dirty with you once again in 2013!
The Farm Team
PS: Please note these HOLIDAY CLOSURES. The Farm will NOT be open for regularly scheduled workdays on Monday, December 24 and Saturday, December 29.
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VOTE! Yes on Prop 37 and Prop B
By The Farm Team | November 5, 2012
Dear Farm Friends:
We’re writing today with a special election message encouraging you to vote YES on two measures that advance the mission of Alemany Farm: Proposition 37 and SF’s Prop B.
California’s Proposition 37 will require that processed foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) carry a label informing consumers of those ingredients. There are a variety of reasons to be hesitant about genetically modified crops. Ecologists worry that the spread of GM crops is reducing biodiversity, cutting down on the habitat of species like the monarch butterfly, and failing in its central promises to boost food production and cut down on the amount of chemicals we use in our agriculture system. Many farmers fear the consequences of having our seeds, and therefore our food supply, controlled by a handful of corporations.
But regardless of your views on GM technology, almost everyone agrees that we have the right to know what’s in the food we eat. For that reason alone, Friends of Alemany Farm urges you to vote YES on Proposition 37.
To learn more, visit: http://www.carighttoknow.org/
If you are a San Francisco voter, we also urge you to vote YES on Proposition B.
The San Francisco Clean and Safe Neighborhood Park Bond will provide badly needed resources to the SF Recreation and Park Department. In the past, Friends of Alemany Farm has expressed some frustrations with RPD management, and we share many of our friends’ and allies’ concerns about some of the department’s priorities. But in the final analysis we feel that SF RPD can only benefit from increased resources.
The bond is focused on improving playgrounds, pools, playfields, trails, tree planting, ADA improvements, nature restoration, environmental remediation and park development along the waterfront. Prop. B also includes $12 million for the Community Opportunity Fund (COF). COF grants may be applied for by community groups doing programs and activities on Rec & Park land. Friends of Alemany Farm and other grassroots groups doing urban agriculture projects could benefit greatly from this funding.
So please vote YES on Proposition B. http://yesforparks.com/about-us/
And if you have any doubt that your individual vote matters, check out this video over at The Nation, produced by one of the Alemany Farm co-managers:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/171006/what-if-you-had-no-voice
And when you’re done voting, come on out to the Farm and get your hands dirty at one of our upcoming community workdays:
Saturday, Nov 10
Monday, Nov 12
Sunday, Nov 17
Monday, Nov 18
Thanks, as always, for all of your work to make SF more food secure,
The Farm Team
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Harvest Festival THIS Saturday!
By The Farm Team | October 23, 2012
Dear Farm Friends:
Right on time. Today’s rains have the Bay feeling very autumnal, and at Alemany Farm we’re on schedule with all of our fall and winter plantings. The cabbages, cauliflower, chard and kales are all in the ground, and today we’re picking up our garlic seed. The farm is about to turn from gold to green.
Perfect for our 8th Annual Alemany Farm Harvest Festival THIS Saturday, Oct 27.
The festivities will start around 11 AM with garlic planting and other garden and orchard tasks.
Games for kids, T-shirt stenciling, and music will start shortly thereafter. We’re especially looking forward to hearing the sounds from local Bernal Heights band, The Knuckleknockers.
The BBQ will be in full swing by mid-afternoon. We’ll have a pig on the spit roast, Louisiana-style BBQ, veggie burgers, and a farro salad made from the wheat we grew ourselves this summer! It’s a potluck, so please bring a side dish or dessert to share.
The rains are expected to continue through Wednesday, but the forecast is calling for clear skies on Saturday, so this is a party you won’t want to miss.
Thanks, as always, for all of you work to make SF more food secure.
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Alemany Harvest Festival Sat Oct 27!
By The Farm Team | October 10, 2012
Dear Farm Friends:
The days are getting noticeably shorter, we’re harvesting the last of our tomatoes and zucchinis, and our trees are loaded with apples and quince. This can only mean one thing: Fall … the season for our annual Alemany Farm Harvest Festival.
We hope you and your family can join us Saturday, October 27 from 11 AM to 5 PM for our 8th Annual Harvest Festival.
As usual, we’ll have plenty of games and activities for folks of all ages, including:
Face-painting
Bike-powered hayrides
Farm tours
Garlic planting
and various garden + orchard tasks.
We’ve got a couple of great musical acts joining us this year! The Knuckle Knockers will kick off a set around 1 PM. At 3 PM, Ghost Town Gospel will begin playing.
And as always we’ll have plenty of great food including a spit-roasted pig, Louisiana style BBQ, vegetarian options, and pies from Mission Pie! … Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.
We hope to see you at this celebration of food, farming, and community.
In the meantime, please don’t forget these upcoming Farm workdays:
Saturday, October 13
Monday, October 15
Sunday, October 21
Monday, October 22
Saturday, October 27 — HARVEST FESTIVAL.
Thanks, as ever, for your work to make SF more food secure.
The Farm Team
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Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema Party to Benefit Alemany Farm
By The Farm Team | September 11, 2012
Dear Farm Friends:
Friends of Alemany Farm is thrilled to be the beneficiary of the opening night party for Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema, a great group that highlights the work of local filmmakers.
This Wednesday, August 29, Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema is hosting a party at Roccapulco Supper Club (3140 Mission Street) to preview the upcoming film season, hear live music and meet our neighbors and Alemany Farm volunteers. An additional treat is the appetizer menu including Alemany Farm produce prepared by Tony Ferrari and Jonathan Sutton of Hlliside Supper Club, the pop-up restaurant and soon to become a brick and mortar establishment at the site of Caffe Cozzolino.
Doors open at 7pm. Minimum $10 donation gets you a $5 drink ticket and a chance to sample the fare. Get there early, because these tasty treats are going to go fast: Macerated Gooseberries, Ricotta Cheese, Crostini; Summer Corn and Padron Salsa, Cilantro; Watermelon, Lime, Smoked Chili; Local Bass Brandade, Lemon Cucumber, Parsley; Chicken Liver Mousse, Grape Gelee, Cracker; Chocolate Cake, Strawberry, Lavender Meringue.
To learn more about Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema, visit http://www.bhoutdoorcine.org/
ICYMI, the San Francisco Bay Guardian ran a big story this week about the state of the urban farming movement in the City. You can find it here: http://www.sfbg.com/2012/08/21/farmville-real
The article has a nice mention of our work at the Farm:
“Of the city’s three largest farms, only Alemany Farm seems secure in its future. The farm is on Recreation and Parks Department land, and has been working with the department since 2005 to create a somewhat autonomous governance structure.
Community gardens on Rec-Park land are subject to a 60-page rulebook, and according to Antonio Roman-Alcalá, Alemany Farm’s operations were restricted by the rules.
Last week, the group’s plan to be reclassified as a farm instead of a garden was approved, eliminating some of the rules and creating an advisory council of community stakeholders that will exert decision making power over the farm, although Rec-Park still has ultimate authority.”
Finally, please mark your calendar for these upcoming workdays:
Monday, August 27
Sunday, September 2
Monday, September 3
Saturday, September 8
Looking forward to seeing you in the garden soon.
Thanks, as always, for your efforts to make SF more food secure.
The Farm Team
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