The urban farm in four short bullet points

I've been working on our farm plan, and one important step for me is determining the big picture of what our farm stands for and what our goals are. Today I'd like to introduce the four ideas that determine how the farm is run, what and how we grow, and the reasons behind our bicycle-themed name.

1. Two Wheels Urban Farm grows food sustainably using only organic practices. We do not use synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, nor do we plant genetically modified seeds.

2. We farm in town, taking advantage of land that would otherwise grow only grass.

3. By living and farming in the city, we are able to use bikes as a major source of transportation as well as recreation. The farm has an ongoing goal to utilize bicycles for more than 50% of all trips.

4. We strive to make farming as local and accessible as possible, growing and marketing delicious food, while fostering relationships with consumers and neighbors and reducing food miles.

Speaks for itself!

Living and farming in town offers many opportunities to bike for pleasure and transportation.

This week at the urban farm

This past week we finished building the raised beds at the home plot. Before the weather turns cold I'll have them all filled and ready to compost over the fall and winter. By spring, with some added finished compost before planting, we should be good to grow!

The new raised beds more than double the growing space at our home plot, and because they are terraced, our hill is now farmable!

Even though my instincts tell me this could be a bad idea, one of our hens now has a name: meet Lucy, the Buff Orpington with the small comb. She enjoys long walks around the yard, eating worms in freshly turned soil, and peeking into the window to spy on unsuspecting humans.

Lucy has captured the heart of our family, especially my mom and DD.

We're also already thinking about spring around here and experimenting with our new light system. Can't wait to start growing next season's seedlings!

Some barely sprouted test tomatoes seem very healthy under the lights.

Things are coming together

Spring is starting early in the Midwest, and my job in big agriculture is behind me. The dream of urban farming as a profession has finally come true, and the years of planning are over. Now is the time to jump in and do this thing!

My family and I live in the upper Midwest in a suburb of Madison, Wisconsin. Our urban lot is 0.26 acres (including the 1500 sq. ft. footprint of our house). My gardens are currently located in our backyard and in a plot at a local community garden. I am also an avid cyclist, and I bike for pleasure and transportation. The Madison area has many, many miles of bike trails and lanes and a great cycling community. Other than growing food, a good day includes getting outside and riding around.

The goal of this blog is to document my first year of full time city farming while living a fun, sustainable, urban lifestyle.