Good Earth Urban Farm grows community roots on Madison
“I was surprised at how diverse it was. We ended up with about 20 families and 26 raised beds. People from Nepal, the Dominican Republic, Burundi and some other B country … Burma!”
By Leann Lewis
The Land
September 1, 2022
Excerpt:
You normally don’t expect to find a farm across the street from a nightclub. But just a short stroll south from Detroit Shoreway over the train tracks on 85th, if you mosey west on Madison past a charter school, two bars, and several apartment buildings, you’ll suddenly find yourself in an improbable oasis of greenery.
Just before you get to the intriguing new woman-owned record store Shepard Records and the Imprint Arts Collective and across from Belinda’s bright-orange nightclub, you’ll find Good Earth Farm.
On this half-acre property, following in the footsteps of a previous community garden, a local couple has expanded the space to include buzzing bees, strutting chickens, and hyper-local produce that gives back to the neighborhood and also beautifies this unexpected corner of the Cudell neighborhood of Cleveland.
I had heard of Good Earth several months back from my activist buddy who stops by the farm on occasion to buy their local honey and also eggs when they are available. The two small bottles on her counter were completely different shades of amber and, when I inquired, she explained to me that one was a winter honey, and one was a spring one.
“Apparently it has something to do with the differing plants that the bees pollinate at different times of year. I got them down the street at Good Earth. Have you been there?”
