Be it rooftops, windows, fire escapes, a truck bed or neighbor’s backyard, the urban farming movement is spreading in New York City. Residents, looking to create accessibility fresh produce, are growing in every nook and cranny of this populous city.
“The poorer the neighborhood, the worse the access is to quality food,” said Lee Mandell. The 48-year-old Bushwick resident is the founder of Boswyck Farms, a hydroponic farm he runs right from his Dekalb loft home.
A New York Times article written in 2008 on Dr. Dickson Despommier, a professor of public health at Columbia University inspired Mandell to take up hydroponic farming.
A computer programmer by profession, Mandell has a fondness for plant life that has spanned at least 25 years. He spends much of his free time tending to large leaves of kale, heads of lettuce, sugar snap peas and bell peppers sprouting to life in corners of his home. He uses different hydroponic systems, all of which he built himself.
Some systems, such as the Drip system, simply require clay pebbles or coconut husks, water, nutrients, and a bucket. Others, like the Flood and Drain system, are far more complicated. Mandell enjoys building the systems, no matter how complicated. He would be the first to admit that learning the mechanics involved takes work. He spends some of his time teaching anyone with the willingness to learn how to build a system of their own.
Keeping a farm in a loft requires dedication and commitment, both of which Mandell gives. His bedroom closet houses a small lit nursery where he starts the seedlings and watches over them with great care. Once the seeds progress, they are transferred to different systems that occupy his Bushwick loft. One of the challenges he faces is keeping the plants well lit. The energy that goes into that alone often makes for a steep electricity bill for Mandell, but the venture, he says, is worth the cost.
Mandell believes urban farming is essential in “trying to bring affordable fresh produce to parts of the city where it isn’t available.” According to him, plants grown hydroponically reach maturity faster and have just as much, and sometimes more, nutrients. He believes it is important for everyone to do what they can.
“There are people doing everything from a flowerpot on a fire escape to 20,000 square foot green houses on rooftops,” said Mandell. “I think every way that people are growing food is positive.”
So back to you; tell me how you grow your own food.