Deep within a residential neighborhood near downtown Suwanee, there is a tomato crisis going on. The unrelenting rain has almost wiped out dozens of water-sensitive tomato plants at Harvest Farm, Georgia’s largest organic community farm.
But the 76 plots worked by residents who rent them are overflowing with plenty from other water-loving plants. Mammoth sunflowers nod, bright orange squash blossoms peek out from green leaves and multicolored beans hang, ready for picking.
The shared community farm began as a city initiative to create green space and has grown into a community gathering place, learning environment and destination for Suwanee visitors.
» Interactive: View a map of urban farms around metro Atlanta
On a recent walk through the gardens, Kim Thompson, the chair of the garden’s managing board, snapped pictures of a cucumber plant sagging with the weight of the bright green fruit.
“Time to pick!” she texted to gardeners.
Community gardens, where people from a neighborhood share space on public or private plots, have gained in popularity in the last decade. Gardeners join in for the joy of growing, for fresh, inexpensive produce, for profit or for a chance to give to neighbors and local helping organizations.
The Suwanee farm has produced enough food to send weekly baskets of zucchini, green beans, tomatoes and other fresh food to the North Gwinnett Co-op and Rainbow Village in Duluth, which serve low-income and homeless people.
Within the past five years, dozens of local, community-run farms and gardens like it have sprouted around metro Atlanta.
“It really took off two years ago in Atlanta,” said Sara Kleinfeld, the chair-elect of Harvest Farm. “With the recession hitting and the cost of produce, there are a lot more gardens picking up. … It’s becoming a nationwide awareness of what we are eating, putting into our bodies.”
The city spent $137,966 to construct Harvest Farm in 2010. Overrun land was leveled out and volunteers worked to install the plots, paint the butterfly garden and put walkways in place. Each plot-holder pays from $50 to $100 yearly, depending on the plot size, and is required to work 12 volunteer hours in the garden.
People are finding that locally grown vegetables are cheaper and last longer, said Michael Wall, the director of programs for Georgia Organics, a nonprofit that connects families to local food.
Laurie Baggett, a dental hygienist, grew up with fresh produce from her grandfather’s farm and is dedicated to providing organic food to family and friends.
Baggett and her husband, Russell, are often up before dawn to garden and return again after their day jobs, averaging about 20 hours a week, she said. The pair, along with another couple, lease one of seven garden spaces on five acres of land in Ormewood Park. They discovered it through word-of-mouth, and were invited to grow there.
The Atlanta area is an ideal place for farmers to work, because of the temperate climate, passionate clientele and innovative restaurant scene.
“Atlanta is a really exciting place to have a growing operation. We are criticized for our sprawl, but we are using it as a resource for growers,” said Joe Reynolds, a farmer at Gaia Gardens, a five-acre farm in DeKalb County.
Reynolds leases his land for $1 each year from the East Lake Commons homeowners association to grow organic produce. He makes about $30,000 a year running a community agriculture program and selling at farmers markets, he said.
He attributes his survival to the growing number of farmers markets, devoted growers and the interest of local restaurants to serve “farm-to-table.”
“Atlanta is a leader for culinary arts. Now you can’t be a top restaurant without a farm-to-table component. Almost all of the top restaurants are buying locally,” said Wall.
Truly Living Well, an urban farming and educational center in Atlanta, runs six farms, employs over 30 people and has trained over 200 in sustainable urban farming in the last three years, said CEO Rashid Nuri. It runs educational camps and sells to top restaurants in the area, including Restaurant Eugene, Empire State South and Miller Union.
Nuri is a big believer in the health and community benefits of community gardens.
He said, “You can do everything with a rake and a shovel.”
