Greenies Urban Farm in San Antonio to demonstrate agriculture in the city
Project will provide food, health/wellness education, more
By Paul Schattenberg
AgriLife Today
Oct 16, 2020
Excerpt:
The planting and groundbreaking event was attended by more than 60 people. Hosted by Bexar County, which is funding the urban farm project, the event celebrated the urban farm’s initial crop planting.
The farm is a collaboration of Bexar County, the Bexar County Commissioners Court and AgriLife Extension in Bexar County. The project, which has an estimated construction cost of $2.1 million, is being developed on 10 acres of property previously owned by the Union Pacific Railroad and acquired by Bexar County in 2016.
When complete, Greenies Urban Farm will include demonstration and teaching gardens, an outdoor classroom and kitchen, a 300-person event center, a farmers’ market and more.
The first round of crops, planted at the urban farm by Bexar County Master Gardener and AgriLife Extension volunteers, were cool-season vegetables, including a Texas Superstar variety of broccoli, as well as cabbage, kale and spinach. Teams of 10 were used to maintain social distancing requirements.
“The crops we are producing now as well as the next crops we will plant, which will include cool-season spinach, Swiss chard and collard greens, will be donated to the San Antonio Food Bank once they are harvested,” said David Rodriguez, AgriLife Extension horticulturist for Bexar County. “We have timed the planting so the produce will be ready for harvest from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.”
