I love veggies from a backyard garden but I have to admit, I am not the most committed gardener. And I definitely have never kept my backyard in event space shape. After visiting Mortimer Farms in Dewey, Arizona, I’m pretty sure I would leave the food production to them and enjoyment to me!

That would be fine to Ashlee Mortimer who’s family started farming this property years ago on a lease and was later able to purchase it. And they are now growing 54 crops here, many open for u-pick customers as well as available harvested for sale in the farm’s market. You won’t want to miss some of the foods they make themselves in the market or the Windmill Kitchen. We talk about all of that in this episode.

An AI generated transcript for this episode is available.

Checking Out Arizona Agriculture

Arizona has always lured me in with that seemingly constant sun. And it’s no accident that some of the first episodes of Grounded by the Farm were recorded there. (Who remembers Jon talking to us about growing lettuce? I have never looked at romaine the same!) The presence of such great light has made Arizona agriculture a piece of lots of our plates!

I was recently in Arizona for a conference and asked my friend Julie if she had ideas on farms I should visit. She is one of the folks behind the Fill Your Plate site that helps you find farmer’s markets, agritourism, etc. reminded me of the Mortimer family. I had met them several times, but never gotten to the farm. I had my plan and headed north from Phoenix toward Prescott. The drive was GORGEOUS and Mortimer Farms was definitely worth the trip.

Overview of Mortimer Farms

Mortimer Farms is right along State Route 169 and it’s probably best known for some of the festivals it runs but it’s so much more!

They grow an impressive 54 different crops, including sweet corn, tomatoes, and also have created an incredible connection with the community through its market, deli, Windmill Kitchen, farm park, and animal encounter. It’s the perfect destination to immerse yourself in farm-to-table culture whether you are looking for the way to spend several hours or just want to grab a tasty bite to eat (check out the Farmer’s Club I had for breakfast)!

Ashlee Mortimer, who handles the farm’s marketing, shares her family’s history in agriculture, and how they transformed their farm into an agritourism destination. And as the family moved from renting the property to purchase, they have been adding infrastructure including several hoop houses to extend the number of fresh veggies available year-round.

The community reaction is a major factor for employees, “when we set our produce out and we see the customers coming in and everyone’s so happy to see the good quality produce, that’s what makes it worth it.”

Join us for a tour of the farm with Ashlee!

Working with Nature, Facing Challenges

One of the best pieces of Mortimer Farms, is that they actively share what’s happening day in and day out so it’s easy to get a feel for the way they work with nature. (Find them on Instagram, Facebook and the Mortimer Farms website/subscriber email.) Like other farms, nature also can hit them with challenges Ashlee points out.

She says farmers and ranchers face many challenges, from unpredictable weather events to market fluctuations. “We have to diversify. Having diversity in our crops helps us to combat challenges like weather events, pests, and diseases,” Ashlee explains.

And she says the team at Mortimer has been able to make some major shifts in water use over the years as science and technology advances. She highlights the importance of efficient use of resources like water, adding, “We’ve been able to water where it needs to be watered and be more efficient in doing so, saving water.”

There are a few things that came together on that including installing pivot and drip irrigation which puts the water exactly where its needed and amounts are closely monitored. Adding in more perennial crops like the new orchard also encourages deep root growth and rotational grazing adds to soil health. 

Farming isn’t just about producing food, it’s common for farmers to be “living and breathing your work,” Ashlee notes. “It’s a passion that farmers and ranchers carry with them every day, even when they’re not on the clock.” 

If You’re Not in the Area

Seriously, I’d love to have a farm like this in my backyard. So much good food, a chance to really track all the seasonal foods (definitely different in Arizona than here in the Midwest). But we have great farms here in my neck of the woods and probably have some farms near you too!

An AI tool helps me convert the audio into text making my writing go faster. You can read my thoughts on it in this LinkedIn article. If you would like to try it, I’d appreciate your using my castmagic.io affiliate link so I get a small commission from your purchase. It will not change the price you pay. 

The post The Farm Willing to be Your Backyard Garden & Event Space appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.

Urban farming has so much potential but it can be hard to make a living doing it. With the economy today, every city and town seems to have more people experiencing homelessness. In Iowa, there is a unique approach connecting individuals utilizing services at Central Iowa Shelter & Services (CISS) to fresh local food in a win-win and a unique farm right downtown.

Urban farm manager Aaron Thormodsen and Josh Spain who connects the farm program to culinary efforts at the facility and to restaurants in town sit down with Janice to talk about what the program is seeing, how trainees and local chefs are finding more common ground and more in our latest episode.

(A transcript on this Mulberry Farms episode created by AI is available here.)

CISS was founded years ago in response to a storm in 1992 when sadly five men died on the streets of Des Moines. Despite the freezing temperatures of winter, they were denied by area shelters because they were intoxicated. With nowhere else to go, they went to sleep outside and didn’t make it through the night. CISS was created to offer the city’s residents a place of refuge that doesn’t require sobriety. And they continue to offer unique services.

Nutritious Food a Priority

It didn’t take long for the staff to realize that nutritious food would be an important piece of serving people who were in need of their services.

The facility has been growing vegetables every summer for years but this winter, they opened a greenhouse. Now, some of the people looking for the next steps to housing and employment are spending time planting seeds and growing job skills and their confidence too.

There are other areas of the shelter that also help build skills, etc including working with the chef in the kitchen, working on the building’s upkeep, etc. Trainees frequently enjoy finding the right place to contribute while they are working through paperwork and all the other pieces of housing, employment, etc.

Aaron tells us, the trainees work for a max of 4 hours per day to insure they have plenty of time to work on the other areas. Meeting several trainees during this greenhouse tour, it felt so incredibly positive that I couldn’t help but be moved. I will say, it did give me trouble with the audio though — LOL!

Connecting to Local Chefs

A key factor that sets Mulberry Farms apart from other urban agriculture projects is its close connections with chefs and restaurants in the area. From the very beginning, the team saw potential in partnering with local chefs and restaurants to provide fresh, high-quality produce, while also supporting the local food scene.

This partnership has proven to be a win-win situation for both sides. Chefs and other food professionals get access to a reliable source of local, sustainably grown produce, which helps them to create unique, flavorful dishes. Meanwhile, Mulberry Farms is able to generate revenue by selling their produce, which in turn helps to fund their job training and support programs for people experiencing homelessness.

But Josh tells us the connections with chefs and restaurants go deeper than just a business partnership.

Local chefs have also been involved in helping to shape the production and direction of Mulberry Farms. Josh and Aaron have regularly sought feedback and ideas from chefs when deciding what to grow — either because of limited availability or shipping complications.

This has allowed Mulberry Farms to focus their efforts on growing the most sought-after produce, and has helped to ensure that their products are always in high demand. And a production continues to increase, more locals will have chances to purchase this produce locally.

Learn More about the Urban Farm & Shelter

• The CISS shelter website and the site’s Mulberry Farms page
• The Shelter’s Facebook Page
• CISS on Instagram

If you would like to support the Mulberry Farms program & planned agrihood, you can donate to the greenhouse program or purchase some things from the farm’s Amazon wish list and have it shipped directly! There is also a wish list for the shelter if you’d like to provide some of the items needed there as well. And people in Iowa are encouraged to come volunteer in person. Lots of groups organize volunteers days as does the shelter itself. You can see more on the CISS how to help page.

The post Homeless to hopeful: How urban farming is changing lives in an Iowa shelter appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.