An industrial Riverwest parking lot is now an urban farm, created by Crops on Top restaurateurs
They see that you can make a business out of 118 by 65 feet.
By Kristine M. Kierzek
Special to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
July 15, 2021
Excerpt:
Jamie: We use a lot of found objects.
Joel: The beds, they’re repurposed. This community in the warehouse has been so inspiring. Everybody is so ready to help each other.
Jamie: Even the tools. If you don’t have it, someone in this space has it. The pavement here is still underneath, but trees and weeds were easily three to four feet tall. We started going at it with a hoe and an ice scraper. All of a sudden, so and so has a Bobcat. We had it down in another three hours. We had access to a landscaper. You need some wood chips to go over that. I have more coming, do you want it? Yes, we’ll take it. Joel: Then Urban Craftsman, he provided (logs) for our raised beds.
Joel: I chose things thinking of the food as a chef. This interests me, I want to cook it. I can make a really fun dinner out of all this stuff. I could go to four different raised beds and pick food and do a dinner. That’s the goal, if the garden works with me. The goal is learning how much I can utilize out of everything, and to be able to educate people on that as well.
Jamie: Teens Grow Greens came out here.
Joel: We want to teach them. How would you prepare this? Why are you growing it? Let’s think about why we would make this into a business, not just growing at home. Teens Grow Greens liked that we were not a nonprofit, we’re a for profit. We’re about showing ways to use all this knowledge.
Jamie: They see that you can make a business out of 118 by 65 feet.
