The Vale Urban Farm is an organic, community- supported farm located Schenectady, New York's historic Vale Cemetery.
TO VISIT OUR CURRENT WEBSITE
Click on our new web address;
https://www.valeurbanfarm.org/
or
call 518-831-0545
(THE PAGES ON THIS WEBSITE HOLD BLOGS, PHOTOS AND PLANTING NOTES FROM OUR 2013-2015 SEASONS)
The Vale Urban Farm (VUF), located at the Brandywine end of Vale Cemetery in Schenectady, is an all-volunteer organization that provides a place primarily for people in the Vale neighborhood to garden together, whether they are experienced gardeners or have never grown anything at all.
We are able to offer two ways of sharing this wonderful garden space. People can sign up to contribute monthly work hours to the larger garden in exchange for a share of the produce or they can contribute fewer hours per month to the large garden to have a right to their own individual plots. We think of it as a CSA and a community garden based on work time instead of money. Click here for more info:
The 2015 Growing Season - our goals and resources for the coming year
Membership & Participation Options general membership info & applications
THE VALE URBAN FARM IN THE NEWS - Articles about the VUF
Our Bit of History
In the fall of 2012, Transition Schenectady took over the vegetable garden formerly run by Roots and Wisdom on unused land near the Brandywine entrance to the beautiful and historic Vale Cemetery. During the 2013 growing season, we donated fresh produce weekly to the Schenectady Day Nursery and the City Mission’s meal program. Gardening work was contributed by local volunteers, students from both Union College and Schenectady High School, and inmates from Schenectady County Jail. Donna did an incredible job coordinating our first year in this beautiful city space.
When we started planning the 2014 growing season, we decided on a different format - a member-worked city truck farm producing high quality vegetables for our members and their families that could also offer individual plots in exchange for work time on the farm garden. We found it to be an exciting format that made more neighborhood participation possible. We had 15 members altogether, with skills ranging from expert to newbie. We had gorgeous days together in the garden, sharing garden lunches, taking home generous amounts of food, and still being able to donate several hundred pounds of food. We also experimented with selling produce to two small nearby cafés, which generated a small amount of revenue to put back into the garden.
TO VISIT OUR CURRENT WEBSITE
Click on our new web address;
https://www.valeurbanfarm.org/
or
call 518-831-0545
(THE PAGES ON THIS WEBSITE HOLD BLOGS, PHOTOS AND PLANTING NOTES FROM OUR 2013-2015 SEASONS)
The Vale Urban Farm (VUF), located at the Brandywine end of Vale Cemetery in Schenectady, is an all-volunteer organization that provides a place primarily for people in the Vale neighborhood to garden together, whether they are experienced gardeners or have never grown anything at all.
We are able to offer two ways of sharing this wonderful garden space. People can sign up to contribute monthly work hours to the larger garden in exchange for a share of the produce or they can contribute fewer hours per month to the large garden to have a right to their own individual plots. We think of it as a CSA and a community garden based on work time instead of money. Click here for more info:
The 2015 Growing Season - our goals and resources for the coming year
Membership & Participation Options general membership info & applications
THE VALE URBAN FARM IN THE NEWS - Articles about the VUF
Our Bit of History
In the fall of 2012, Transition Schenectady took over the vegetable garden formerly run by Roots and Wisdom on unused land near the Brandywine entrance to the beautiful and historic Vale Cemetery. During the 2013 growing season, we donated fresh produce weekly to the Schenectady Day Nursery and the City Mission’s meal program. Gardening work was contributed by local volunteers, students from both Union College and Schenectady High School, and inmates from Schenectady County Jail. Donna did an incredible job coordinating our first year in this beautiful city space.
When we started planning the 2014 growing season, we decided on a different format - a member-worked city truck farm producing high quality vegetables for our members and their families that could also offer individual plots in exchange for work time on the farm garden. We found it to be an exciting format that made more neighborhood participation possible. We had 15 members altogether, with skills ranging from expert to newbie. We had gorgeous days together in the garden, sharing garden lunches, taking home generous amounts of food, and still being able to donate several hundred pounds of food. We also experimented with selling produce to two small nearby cafés, which generated a small amount of revenue to put back into the garden.
It is now the middle of the 2015 growing season and things are moving right along with new members and old members, volunteers from Union COllege & Schenectady High School all helping the veggies grow. Spring pea harvest is almost finished, we'll soon pull up the garlic we planted last fall, tomatoes are on the vine, and weeds are EVERYWHERE !!! It;s only July, buit it is time to start thinking about second plantings for our fall & winter crops.
Camille, our spring intern from France has gone home and the Union College fraternity guys are also gone for the summer. Fortunately, we've added a terrific crew of students from Schenectady High School's International Baccalaureate program. They have mostly been coming on Tuesdays & Thursdays, from 4-6PM
Camille, our spring intern from France has gone home and the Union College fraternity guys are also gone for the summer. Fortunately, we've added a terrific crew of students from Schenectady High School's International Baccalaureate program. They have mostly been coming on Tuesdays & Thursdays, from 4-6PM
FENCE & SHED ARRIVALS:
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PEAS - HARVEST THEM ! ! ! ! They are nearing the end of their season, but there are still a lot on the vine and more to come. Actually, the more we pick, the more they produce. In particular, I discovered one of the new pea varieties we are growing makes delicious round garden peas in thick pods that are DELICIOUS !!!! They are the ones on both sides of the pea fence at the end closest to Brandywine Ave.
BASIL - is big enough to pick - pluck off the top leaves - that makes the plant branch out & make more leaves. BEANS - next week we should be able to start picking the bush beans. Pole beans STILL need to find a place to go in - it's pretty late for them! RASPBERRIES - this is the first year they have produced any berries and they are yummy ! ! ! There aren't enough for anyone to harvest & take home, but consider them available for snacks to anyone working in the garden. They are ripe when you give them a gentle tug and the berry comes off easily. If it hangs onto the vine, leave it for another day or two. SHED WAS DELIVERED MONDAY JUNE 8 BUILT BY CLASSIC SHEDS & GAZEBOS ON STATE STREET IN COLONIE HALEY BROTHERS FENCE WILL PUT IN THE NEW FENCE WEDNESDAY to FRINDAY, JUNE 10-12. Our thanks to the Carlillian Foundation for the generous grant that makes the shed & fence possible. March 15, 2015 THE VALE URBAN FARM was chosen as one of Kitchen Gardeners International's Sow It Forward garden grantees. We are one of 70 "full grants". There were also 130 "partial grants." You can see all the projects they selected here: http://kgi.org/garden-grants-2015 . You can also see them on a Google map here. KGI received over 1100 applications this year, so it's really impressive that we were selected for one of the full grants! The grant is for $300 cash, $100 Gardener's Supply Co. gift card, $50 worth of seeds from the Ark Institute and Renee's Garden Seeds, and a $25 one-year subscription to the KGI Garden Planner, which we used last year. WOOHOO ! ! |
We are able to offer two ways of sharing this wonderful garden space. People can sign up to contribute monthly work hours to the larger garden in exchange for a share of the produce or they can contribute fewer hours per month to the large garden to have a right to their own individual plots. We think of it as a CSA and a community garden based on work time instead of money.
Click here for more info:
The 2015 Growing Season - our goals and resources for the coming year
Membership & Participation Options general membership info & applications
Scheduled group work times (where dates and work needs are posted )
THE VALE URBAN FARM IN THE NEWS - Articles about the VUF
Our Bit of History
In the fall of 2012, Transition Schenectady took over the vegetable garden formerly run by Roots and Wisdom on unused land near the Brandywine entrance to the beautiful and historic Vale Cemetery. During the 2013 growing season, we donated fresh produce weekly to the Schenectady Day Nursery and the City Mission’s meal program. Gardening work was contributed by local volunteers, students from both Union College and Schenectady High School, and inmates from Schenectady County Jail. Donna did an incredible job coordinating our first year in this beautiful city space.
When we started planning the 2014 growing season, we decided on a different format - a member-worked city truck farm producing high quality vegetables for our members and their families that could also offer individual plots in exchange for work time on the farm garden. We found it to be an exciting format that made more neighborhood participation possible. We had 15 members altogether, with skills ranging from expert to newbie. We had gorgeous days together in the garden, sharing garden lunches, taking home generous amounts of food, and still being able to donate several hundred pounds of food. We also experimented with selling produce to two small nearby cafés, which generated a small amount of revenue to put back into the garden.
All food at the Vale Urban Garden is grown as organically as possible, using no pesticides or herbicides. We work together with the cemetery, beautifying our .62 acre to enhance this stunningly gorgeous piece of land and history in the heart of Schenectady. The cemetery is generous with its' resources, helping us out with the use of their facilities in various ways. We couldn't do it without them! In the fall, they bundled and drop tons of leaves that became our winter mulch and are gradually becoming our fertilizer as well, keeping leaves out of the landfill and enriching our soil.
We want to thank our donors who contributed to 2014's success:
Home Depot - tools & supplies
Schenectady's Central Park Greenhouse - early spring greenhouse space - and advice!
9 Mile Farm in Delmar - early spring high tunnel space & seedlings - an organic heritage CSA in Delmar NY
Hudson Valley Seed Library - high quality seeds
Seed Savers Exchange - high quality seeds
WATCH OUR PROGRESS FROM 2013 TO THE END OF THE 2014 GROWING SEASON !
Click here for more info:
The 2015 Growing Season - our goals and resources for the coming year
Membership & Participation Options general membership info & applications
Scheduled group work times (where dates and work needs are posted )
THE VALE URBAN FARM IN THE NEWS - Articles about the VUF
Our Bit of History
In the fall of 2012, Transition Schenectady took over the vegetable garden formerly run by Roots and Wisdom on unused land near the Brandywine entrance to the beautiful and historic Vale Cemetery. During the 2013 growing season, we donated fresh produce weekly to the Schenectady Day Nursery and the City Mission’s meal program. Gardening work was contributed by local volunteers, students from both Union College and Schenectady High School, and inmates from Schenectady County Jail. Donna did an incredible job coordinating our first year in this beautiful city space.
When we started planning the 2014 growing season, we decided on a different format - a member-worked city truck farm producing high quality vegetables for our members and their families that could also offer individual plots in exchange for work time on the farm garden. We found it to be an exciting format that made more neighborhood participation possible. We had 15 members altogether, with skills ranging from expert to newbie. We had gorgeous days together in the garden, sharing garden lunches, taking home generous amounts of food, and still being able to donate several hundred pounds of food. We also experimented with selling produce to two small nearby cafés, which generated a small amount of revenue to put back into the garden.
All food at the Vale Urban Garden is grown as organically as possible, using no pesticides or herbicides. We work together with the cemetery, beautifying our .62 acre to enhance this stunningly gorgeous piece of land and history in the heart of Schenectady. The cemetery is generous with its' resources, helping us out with the use of their facilities in various ways. We couldn't do it without them! In the fall, they bundled and drop tons of leaves that became our winter mulch and are gradually becoming our fertilizer as well, keeping leaves out of the landfill and enriching our soil.
We want to thank our donors who contributed to 2014's success:
Home Depot - tools & supplies
Schenectady's Central Park Greenhouse - early spring greenhouse space - and advice!
9 Mile Farm in Delmar - early spring high tunnel space & seedlings - an organic heritage CSA in Delmar NY
Hudson Valley Seed Library - high quality seeds
Seed Savers Exchange - high quality seeds
WATCH OUR PROGRESS FROM 2013 TO THE END OF THE 2014 GROWING SEASON !
Saturday APril 12, was 2014's FIRST WORKDAY - GREAT JOB EVERYONE & THANKS!
We had a stunning day at the farm Saturday April 12th - phenomenal weather, a great crew of hard working volunteers with seriously satisfying results!! Deep thanks to all the Union College students and individuals who came out and raked and dug (and sorted for bugs) with us. Most of the rows between the beds are packed with leaves & wood chips now, the compost pile is spread around (neatly) so the rest of it will thaw, and one bed is completely planted - snow peas, lettuce & radishes. Thanks to everyone for all your work. [email protected]