Ghost Town Farms

The first set of photographs documenting this season's growth at Ghost Town Farms.

Well before our eyes turned West, I came across Novella Carpenter's book "Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer" in the New York Times.  A story of one woman's adventure turning an unused lot into a working farm (livestock and all) in inner city Oakland, I gifted it to a foodie friend from the Bay Area.  While I had it tucked onto my own "to-read" list, I never got around to it.  Until we were slated to be neighbors.What an amazing coincidence that the apartment we secured upon moving to the East Bay was just a block away from Novella's urban farm!  While we waited for our move-in date to arrive, I got my hands on my own copy of her book and loved it.

After we moved in, I would walk the dog past her fence and peer in to catch a glimpse of the honey bees and see what she might be growing.  It was December, though, and even in California things were in repose.  One day, she happened to be outside digging away with her daughter when I was walking the pup, and I introduced myself through the fence.It's essentially springtime now in Oakland, and Novella has begun holding regular farm work days on Thursdays.  (3-5p, here's her blog if ya wanna join!)  As we work to transform the plot into this year's incarnation of Ghost Town Farms, Novella has kindly allowed me to document the process.  So, here's the first installation!