Downtown Farmer's Market & Urban Farming
#1
Posted 24 May 2010 - 06:52 PM
What's the closest Farmer's Market to downtown Fort Worth?
Coincidentally The Star-Telegram had an article on Community Gardening with all the difficulties associated with getting it going and how far behind Fort Worth was to the rest of the nation, even worse, behind Dallas.
If you look at a satellite view of downtown Fort Worth notice the number of parking lots on the outskirts of Sundance Square. How many of those belong to city or government agencies that don't use them during the weekends? How many belong to businesses or Religious Groups that don't utilize them on Saturday or maybe during the week?
In the event that someone in Tarrant County actually planted and grew something, where would they go to sell it to people that would appreciate locally grown or organically grown produce?
I'd like to come up with a list of local food banks that could use local produce as well.
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#2
Posted 25 May 2010 - 01:35 PM
#3
Posted 25 May 2010 - 08:04 PM
There was a farmer's market for a time in the old train station south of the ITC; I think there are UTA classrooms in there now. It wasn't that long ago that it opened, and it unfortunately never quite got traction. I think it was open maybe a year as a farmer's market.
#4
Posted 25 May 2010 - 08:50 PM
There was a farmer's market for a time in the old train station south of the ITC; I think there are UTA classrooms in there now. It wasn't that long ago that it opened, and it unfortunately never quite got traction. I think it was open maybe a year as a farmer's market.
Sprouts is more like a lower priced version of Whole Foods. I have read that it is targeted towards people who seek quality/healthy food but are not able to afford or are simply not willing to pay "whole paycheck" prices. The "farmers market" in their name is just that - a name. It is no more of a farmers market in terms of the original question than is the produce department of any random supermarket is.
I drove up to the closest Sprouts from Fort Worth, which is in Southlake, to check them out a couple of years ago. I was quite impressed both with the price and quality of the produce on the trip. This was in 2008 the year that gas became expensive and produce prices went through the roof. Their prices were much lower than what one would have to pay for the stuff sold in conventional supermarkets and the quality was better. At the time, I was buying my produce as the so-called "Farmers Market" in Haltom City on Belknap which had very reasonable prices. Sprouts prices were comparable to theirs. Never been back simply because Southlake is too far out of my way.
The previously mentioned "Farmers' Market" on Belknap in Haltom City is also not a "farmers market" in the sense of being a place where multiple farmers can sell their crops. I believe they get their produce mostly from the real Farmers Market in downtown Dallas. They do a lot of wholesale to restaurants and such but they also maintain the shop on Belknap where the quality is generally better than the supermarkets and the prices very reasonable. The only reason I don't shop there any more is that it is out of my way and a hassle to set the time aside to make a special trip. When Fiesta took over a Sack and Save in Irving near where I work and fixed many of the quality issues that drove me away from the one in Fort Worth, they ended up getting my business back based mostly on convenience. If the Farmers Market in Haltom City were more convenient, that is where I would continue to shop though they are usually a bit higher than Fiesta.
A Sprouts opening at the old Albertsons on Hulen and I-20 is VERY good news as far as I am concerned. (It would be nicer if it would be the at the Albertsons on I-30 and Green Oaks instead.) I have been hoping that they would come to Fort Worth for quite a while. It is entirely possible that they could end up getting my business if the prices and quality are consistent with what I saw on that one occasion in Southlake.
#5
Posted 26 May 2010 - 07:27 AM
#7
Posted 28 June 2011 - 03:56 PM
Still could use one right downtown somewhere, even the near south side would be better than none at all, hint, hint.
Downtown Arlington Farmers Market
215 E. Front St.; Fridays and Saturdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. (or sellout)
Cowtown Farmers Market
3821 Southwest Blvd., Fort Worth; Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8 a.m.-noon
Farmers Market of Grapevine
325 S. Main St.; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Keller Farmers Market
1100 Bear Creek Parkway;
Saturdays, 8 a.m.-noon (or sellout)
Mansfield Farmers Market
150 E. Broad St.; Saturdays, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
Pantego Farmers Market
Bicentennial Park, 3600 Smith Barry Road; Saturdays, 8 a.m.-sellout
Richland Hills Farmers Market
Richland Hills Elementary School, 6980 Baker Blvd.;
Saturdays, 2-6 p.m.
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#8
Posted 28 June 2011 - 04:49 PM
I would love to find some fresh greens at a farmer's market but I never have any luck.
Voice & Guitars in Big Heaven
Elementary Music Specialist, FWISD
Texas Wesleyan 2015
Shaw-Clarke NA Alumna
#9
Posted 29 June 2011 - 09:05 AM
Add it to the ST article, if you have the exact address and times...There is a farmer's market that sets up at the Public Health Department at Main and Rosedale on Wednesdays. Mostly fruit, tomatoes, and peppers.
I would love to find some fresh greens at a farmer's market but I never have any luck.
I'll add it to this one.
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#10
Posted 29 June 2011 - 09:38 AM
Voice & Guitars in Big Heaven
Elementary Music Specialist, FWISD
Texas Wesleyan 2015
Shaw-Clarke NA Alumna
#11
Posted 29 June 2011 - 11:54 AM
#12
Posted 29 June 2011 - 01:07 PM
Not on the list is the Farmer's Market off Highway 183 next to that restaurant and across from Ridgmar Mall.
The one by NAS?
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#13
Posted 30 June 2011 - 08:24 AM
Yes, I believe so.
Not on the list is the Farmer's Market off Highway 183 next to that restaurant and across from Ridgmar Mall.
The one by NAS?
#14
Posted 12 July 2011 - 07:51 PM
#15
Posted 12 July 2011 - 10:45 PM
panthercityfarm.com
#16
Posted 13 July 2011 - 06:54 AM
There's a 5 acre "urban farm" in Central Meadowbrook. The owner has corn planted there now but I think he plans on plowing it under and actually starting up next year.
panthercityfarm.com
I listened to a piece on NPR about a rooftop farm in New York. They had a couple of buildings and under an acre of rooftop cultivated. Fairly high-tech, except that the only roofs they could get had walk up access. So moving dirt and such is a huge pain. Break-even enterprise, but apparently New Yorkers like the idea of food that is literally fresh off the vine. They said they would often just cut fresh veggies, walk down to the street and sell on the curb before they could get to the farmer's market.
Anyway, they figured if they could get a few more buildings, they might be able to make enough money to have actual salaries.
Farming is tough business. It can work out well sometimes, but it can be awful at other times and you're always at the mercy of the weather. I'll never go back.
#17
Posted 13 July 2011 - 10:37 AM
Farming is tough business. It can work out well sometimes, but it can be awful at other times and you're always at the mercy of the weather. I'll never go back.
I can imagine that there are several cost aspects that would work to discourage urban ag, but I can also imagine that there are things the farmer and the surrounding jurisdictions could do to make this a viable proposition.
It would seem that any "downtime" or any non-utilized land would work against the farmer. Thus, crop rotation in the traditional sense would become cost prohibitive, and soil enrichment through manure or compost would be needed to get the land back into production as soon as possible. During the growing season the farmer would need to get at least two crops brought in, some veggies have a shorter growing cycle and might return 4 crops a season. This in mind, it would seem that there are definitely crops that lend themselves to this sort of cultivation and some that do not. Another constraint to profitability is surely the cost and quality of water for the crops. The highly processed and chlorinated water provided by the water utility is probably not best for the growing crops, or for the land itself in the long run. If the farm was located near a sewage plant the processed water leaving the plant might be good for this use, rainwater reuse would be better since it is unprocessed and has no chemicals added in. I would think that when the traditional growing season is over the urban farmer can't just hunker down, but would need to have greenhouse crops underway. Hydroponics would most likely help with greenhouse efficiency
If the farmer could get a preferential tax rate for ag use it would help to make this sort of farming more tenable. In some states there is a way to commit the land to perpetual ag use in return for this sort of preferential treatment, at the same time helping the city to establish a greenbelt zone to curb sprawl. Allowing the farmer to grow a certain percentage of high-profit crops such as cannabis would help as well, but preferential tax treatment should probably be reserved for farms devoted primarily for food production. Requiring new development to collect rainwater, and allowing them to conduct that runoff to farmers' cisterns would help to address several urban issues at once. Restaurant scraps might be recycled and composted by the farmer as a sideline that would help them care for their soil, or perhaps thais might develop as a separate industry if urban intensive farming were to take off. The farmer would benefit from being able to utilize the farmers' markets to avoid losing markup to middlemen, since this industry is likely to return slim margins, especially for the first few years.
That's all I can think of right off. I am sure there are more aspects to this issue that bear discussing. My own experience is as the scion of a cattle-raising family and I don't think I would ever want to go into that myself unless it was for specialized consumer markets such as organic or kosher where the price for product is not dependent on large scale market fluctuations. I have a home garden but it usually goes south about this time of year due to the heat and from neglect when I take off on vacation.
#18
Posted 13 July 2011 - 12:06 PM
You could never grow feed grains or row crops (wheat, rice, rye, barley, corn, soybeans, etc.) because it's almost impossible to do it on a small scale and there's no premium to be had in commodities. But you may be able to do it in fruits and vegetables and specialty crops.
Also, if you could get creative about alternative income you could maybe make it work. Bring in people for tours, host events, teach gardening classes, have an on-site vegan restaurant that serves your own seasonal produce.
The problem here is that land is still relatively cheap. Anything you could grow in town you could grow out of town for a fraction of the cost. So you have to make cost not a deciding factor.
#19
Posted 13 July 2011 - 05:53 PM
Have some friends in the business, hobby/business and they can't produce much more than what their inner circles of friends need, they first thought of marketing but they can't produce enough to get to that point.
I thought the unused area on the 5th floor deck of the tower but some other issues need to be resolved before that can be even considered.
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#20
Posted 14 July 2011 - 11:12 AM
The farmer would benefit from being able to utilize the farmers' markets to avoid losing markup to middlemen, since this industry is likely to return slim margins, especially for the first few years.
Even here, in addition to all the things you mention, the difficulty with doing something like this as an actual business is that it is very labor intensive. Even without the middlemen, selling anything on a retail basis is time consuming and therefore labor intensive - especially if you have a need to sell in volume, which would be needed even in the case of specialty produce. For example, let's say you have a mom and pop "farm" with no additional employees and mom and pop depend on thing as their full time job. Let's say they live in a paid for trailer house on the same lot as their "farm" and have low expenses - let's say that between the two of them they only need to bring in $30,000 to survive and pay their personal bills. Let's say that the average retail price of their produce is $1.50 per pound. Just to pay themselves, they would need to sell 20,000 pounds of produce per year.
That doesn't cover stuff such as gas for equipment and hauling produce to market, seeds, etc - let alone land acquisition costs, insurance, taxes etc. If you think $1.50 per pound is low, then it is easy to do the math at a higher amount - but keep in mind that the higher the price the more difficult it is to make the sale. And, with produce, there is always going to be a certain amount of spoilage. And most mom and pop business owners are going to want to earn much, much more than $15,000 each per year.
Sure, composting restaurant waste as fertilizer can be done. But consider the cost and labor involved just to make the very frequent pickups from restaurants that would be needed. If pickups aren't frequent - well, the restaurant would have a very stinky mess on its hands that would probably raise a few eyebrows at the health department. And would the cost of just the gas to pick the stuff up justify the savings of having "free" fertilizer?
Not saying it can't be done - there are smalls farms in nearby rural areas who are attempting to sell specialty produce to Metroplex customers. But, as you point out, as a business, it would be very difficult. The limited time and the need to make a living for all those who will be doing all the work is the first and very difficult threshold one must cross before any small business endeavor can be viable.
On the other hand, the way it could be viable is in contexts where labor is essentially free. For example, when my grandparents were alive they always had a garden that provided them with an abundance of vegetables and fruits. What they could not eat fresh they either froze or canned - and thus ate off the garden year round. From a cost standpoint, it would make little sense for me personally to put a garden in my backyard - my free time is limited and any savings I might get after out of pocket expenses over buying my produce would translate into a VERY low per hour return for my time and effort. But my grandparents were retired - they had plenty of time on their hands. And when they were much younger, their children were required to help out in the garden as part of their chores.
In a context such as that, growing enough to yield a surplus above what one can personally consume, can or freeze can be done very inexpensively. It is simply piggy backing on labor that is already being done either as a hobby or for the sake of frugality. Whatever money one can earn from such surplus is essentially gravy because the desired return on the garden has already been achieved before the surplus was reached.
The difficulty my grandparents would have had selling such surplus is they lived in a very sparsely populated area. It would have required a LOT of time, effort and expense on their part to find potential buyers - and they certainly would not have been in a position to make any long term commitments to such buyers. But if they were closer to a population center, a local farmers market could certainly have provided them with an outlet to sell surplus produce if they so desired (which I doubt they would have wanted to).
I think that this is a much better model for a local farms market to be successful - make it easy for people who are already putting in the time, effort and expense to grow for their own personal consumption to get money for their surplus. One way of doing so might be to enable gardeners to sell on consignment. Someone might have a garden and a surplus - but they might not regard any money they might get for it as worth giving up a weekend day and spending it manning a booth at a farmers market.
As mentioned, farming is a difficult business. But, I think one gets closer to what people here seem to be wanting if one thinks more in terms of a "gardeners' market."
#21
Posted 14 July 2011 - 11:21 AM
I have a home garden but it usually goes south about this time of year due to the heat and from neglect when I take off on vacation.
I have always been told that the best time to plant in a garden here in North Texas is late July so that the plants are ready to start producing in September when the weather starts to cool. First frost here is usually in November so that gives a couple of months where the weather is nice and the garden can be very productive.
#22
Posted 14 July 2011 - 11:40 AM
There are several around. Here is one in Weatherford: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/M32398
Here is another in Sunset, Tx that has a drop of point in Fort Worth: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/M18974 There are others as well if you dig around online.
I have never subscribed to any such service myself - the unpredictability does not work out well for my circumstances. But if you are in a position to be flexible it might be a very good deal - especially if the farm one subscribes to offers varieties that are great tasting but usually not viable commercially. And receiving produce you might not otherwise think to purchase could be a bit of an adventure as well.
#23
Posted 15 July 2011 - 07:40 AM
http://www.star-tele...as-economy.html
#24
Posted 15 July 2011 - 10:46 AM
Looks like we're not the only ones having a hard time getting a list together, but I'll admit, if there was one right down the block I'd not be too interested in many other locations. Guess I'll just have to settle on Oliver's opening in a few weeks. :-)
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#25
Posted 26 July 2011 - 11:11 AM
Love to see the emergence of the community gardens around town. While they aren't viable "businesses" they make for great assets to our neigbhorhoods.
#26
Posted 06 June 2013 - 04:26 PM
Texas Monthly has published their Top 50 BBQ Joints
#2 is Pecan Lodge
Pecan Lodge is a 'stall' inside the Dallas Farmers Market
Nice example of a farmers market producing a respected, destination restaurant
http://www.texasmont...barbecue-joints
#27
Posted 19 June 2013 - 03:59 PM
http://www.bizjourna...or-farmers.html
Dallas Business Journal reporting that Pecan Lodge may move out of the Dallas Farmer's Market
The article also says that the ownership group of the Dallas Farmer's Market are planning to spend $64 million dollars to further develop the Farmer's Market and to turn the area around it into an urban village (restaurants, retail, residential, an athletic field, community garden and other projects.)
Wow!
#28
Posted 20 June 2013 - 06:55 AM
No offense intended (I'm happy that Dallasites are getting a better farmers market) but I thought "city issue" on the Fort Worth Forum meant Fort Worth, not Dallas. And Fort Worthians are still waiting for their better farmers market on the southwest side of downtown.
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#29
Posted 20 June 2013 - 07:46 AM
I don't see how posting something that relates to a drastic change to a farmers market, in our area no less, in a thread about farmers markets is all that off topic.
#30
Posted 20 June 2013 - 07:14 PM
No offense intended (I'm happy that Dallasites are getting a better farmers market) but I thought "city issue" on the Fort Worth Forum meant Fort Worth, not Dallas. And Fort Worthians are still waiting for their better farmers market on the southwest side of downtown.
I don't see how posting something that relates to a drastic change to a farmers market, in our area no less, in a thread about farmers markets is all that off topic.
I can appreciate the sentiment being expressed by johnfwd. It is not surprising, in a "specialty" forum such as the Fort Worth Forum who's interest are tailored to subjects pertaining to the city, that there could be some mild irritation for matters not directly Fort Worth centered. Of course, if the subject can be shown to have some clear relevance to Fort Worth, then you might find more engagement.
Also, you might request that the Moderator create a Topic for another city.
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#31
Posted 21 June 2013 - 05:23 AM
Again, no offense intended regarding mentioning the forthcoming Dallas Farmer's Market extravaganza, and it may even spur the owner of the building off Henderson to get on with the rehabilitation of our city's greater public market. Actually, the moderator already has a thread for topics related to "surrounding cities" (note, however, that it includes cities surrounding Fort Worth but not Dallas).
#32
Posted 29 September 2013 - 04:10 PM
Our area is not particularly kind for growing most fruit and vegetables which makes it difficult to make those farmers markets cost effective. It would be far, far more effective for all resources involved for people to give up their grass in favor of productive gardens.
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#33
Posted 29 September 2013 - 06:58 PM
There are a number of farmers markets that seem to do pretty good.
We have a good number of people living downtown now; I thought we'd have more specialty shops by now. I’m guessing the economy has had some impact, if anything it’s improved the environment for those establishments.
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#34
Posted 30 September 2013 - 10:53 AM
Not downtown but definitely urban- I spotted a yard on 6th Avenue near Seminary with a healthy crop of corn in the front yard, growing around his ornamental bushes.
He's since harvested the corn and removed all the cornstalks, now just the bushes remain. It'll be interesting to see if he does it again next year.
#35
Posted 31 August 2014 - 07:02 PM
This is where Dallas is kicking Fort Worth's butt.
http://www.nbcdfw.co...-273391451.html
With the Stock Yards and the whole Cowboy thing you'd think Sundance would OWN this concept instead of the every once in a while, have it here, have it over there type of solution.
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#36
Posted 31 August 2014 - 07:59 PM
Go watch a production of "Oklahoma!". There is a vast difference in the mindset between ranching (Fort Worth Stockyards image) and farming (Dallas Farmer's Market image). Ranching just runs cattle over the land then kills the animals, often resulting in too many cattle per acre and then dead grasslands, while farmers nurture and tend the land to bring harvests year after year. The divide between sufficient rainfall and not enough for commercial farming was right between the two cities, but that line has moved eastward over time, given climate change and depletion of aquifers. Urban farming however, is a great idea and should be encouraged as a "high use" of land in the zoning code. It provides dense urban areas with healthy food without the need for expensive truck transportation, and creates a demand for composted organic wastes that would otherwise clog up the landfills. I wholeheartedly agree that Dallas is far ahead of "Cowtown" in terms of a viable farmer's market, but fail to see the implied connection between stockyards and healthy eating habits.
#37
Posted 31 August 2014 - 10:56 PM
Go watch a production of "Oklahoma!". There is a vast difference in the mindset between ranching (Fort Worth Stockyards image) and farming (Dallas Farmer's Market image)........ Urban farming however, is a great idea and should be encouraged as a "high use" of land in the zoning code. It provides dense urban areas with healthy food without the need for expensive truck transportation, and creates a demand for composted organic wastes that would otherwise clog up the landfills......
I admit to having not actually viewed the NBC video about Dallas Farmer's Market, that being said - Is Dallas upon the verge of having a cottage industry of urban farmers who then will provide the DMF with its produce,etc.?
#38
Posted 02 September 2014 - 03:27 PM
He's since harvested the corn and removed all the cornstalks, now just the bushes remain. It'll be interesting to see if he does it again next year.
I can't imagine the amount of irrigation needed to make that happen. Perhaps they have a well.
"Corn grows fast and needs lots of water to grow properly. It also has shallow roots that make it susceptible to drought. Soaker hoses will insure that your corn gets the water it needs. However, for a large planting, soaker hoses may not be practical."
"Average corn water use will increase from about 0.76 mm (0.03 inches) per day soon after emergence to over 7.0 mm (0.27 inches) per day during ear formation. However, during July and August, hot, windy days can push water use to over 9 mm (0.35 inches) per day."
(quotes from various online sources)
#40
Posted 10 December 2014 - 10:03 AM
... Another constraint to profitability is surely the cost and quality of water for the crops. The highly processed and chlorinated water provided by the water utility is probably not best for the growing crops, or for the land itself in the long run. If the farm was located near a sewage plant the processed water leaving the plant might be good for this use, rainwater reuse would be better since it is unprocessed and has no chemicals added in.
Here is a short article on local sewage being processed into "biosolids" that can be used by agricultural concerns in the region as a soil additive. A big problem has been the smell, and it has apparently been getting worse until recently. The city's Village Creek treatment plant has experimented with adding iron to the product and that has been successful in significantly reducing the odor. This improvement could make the product acceptable for use in urban farms within nose-shot of other residents:
http://www.star-tele...adlines-default
#41
Posted 22 June 2016 - 09:51 AM
Fort Worth's planning staff is getting ready to present a new land use policy that would allow urban farming without the need for expensive rezoning:
http://www.star-tele...le84718547.html
This is great news for urban farmers, of course, but also for individuals looking to buy home-grown fruits and veggies that are ripe when picked. It will benefit neighborhoods that are short on food stores, and will provide educational resources for students to learn where food comes from and how it is grown. This effort is part of the Blue Zones Initiative, a five year project to improve the health of residents in the city. This is great news for advocates of progressive planning and zoning in Fort Worth.
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