Written by Natasha Zuhur | 31 August 2011

Antonio from SFUAA presents the food policy platform at the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association meeting

"Future: it's a time to think about the past," the ubiquitous Cut Copy has keenly observed (John Avalos has also noted as much). Enter the Mayoral Meet 'n' Eat, which Hayes Valley Farm and the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance (SFUAA) co-sponsored last Thursday, August 25, for the community to meet and share a potluck with San Francisco mayoral candidates running for election this November. Phil Ting, John Avalos, Terry Baum, David Chiu and staff for Dennis Herrera were in attendance, along with Hayes Valley supervisor, Ross Mirkarimi. All took a tour of the farm and mingled with Hayes Valley neighbors, SFUAA members and farmers. The community potluck featured many dishes made with greens from the farm.

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Written by Natasha Zuhur | 22 August 2011

Salvaged windows are a common sighting in San Francisco. Or, perhaps, like so many things in life, once your eyes are open, you see them everywhere. Salvaged windows make great cold frames or greenhouses for your garden. If your seeds are having trouble on the stoop or you've planted a little late in the season, planting them in a cold frame provides protection from the cold and traps the sun's warmth inside, which can extend your growing season and keep critters out of your beds. On hot days, the structure of the cold frame allows you to remove the glass and let the plants cool off.

Requiring little more than scrap wood, nails, a saw and a tape measure, this is a very easy project that can transform your backyard (or stairwell) garden into a thriving little plant bed. In fact, we were recently paid a visit at Hayes Valley Farm by a 17-year old girl in town for a few days who, upon seeing all the necessary resources on site, made a cold frame (see photo above). While she had experience building them in school, you don't have to for this fun, easy project.

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Written by Editor | 16 August 2011

Hayes Valley Farm sits on two parcels on Laguna Street between Fell and Oak, Parcel O and Parcel P. A Purchase and Sale Agreement was signed for Parcel P, the upper portion of the site, earlier this year, which means that the farm may need to be off the site as early as February 2012. Tomorrow evening, August 17th, at 7 p.m., the developers of Parcel P, Avalon Bay and Build, Inc., will hold a meeting at 333 Fell St. to discuss their development proposal. It was described in a notice that was distributed around the neighborhood as: one wood-framed, 5-story building with 182 units and 127 parking spaces.

Please join us at meeting tomorrow to learn more about the details of the project. We are thrilled to have had the support of the Hayes Valley community and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Department of Environment and the Office of Urban Agriculture at our current site and look forward to continuing to our work together to provide a valuable space and learning environment for the community in the future.

For more information from the developer on this project, please visit Build, Inc.'s website.

Written by editor | 13 August 2011

At Outside Lands? Drop by for a mini urban farm experience at Farmlands, the eastern spot near the hay bales of Outside Lands. We're next to fellow farm friends at the Fully Belly Farm booth and across from Wine Lands. 

• Play at the FARM PHOTO BOOTH, snap away with farm friends, tools, and props!
• Grab some SEED BOMBZ, see your own garden explode at home!
• Explore the Hayes Valley Farm in 2D, and LEARN about our sustainable farm projects (worm composting, cob ovens, food forests, and more) with the MAPS PROJECT!
• Register to WIN a MINI VEGGIE BOX, so fresh and so delicious!

Written by Margaretha Haughwout & Zoey Kroll | 05 August 2011

The Hayes Valley Farm Governance Story in 8 panels