Till More, Grow More
We're raising money to purchase powered tilling and cultivation equipment for our 1/4 acre flower farm. Clearing, prepping, and replanting used to take us days - with these tools it will take hours!
Leader
Sarah Pappas
Location
Woodbridge, Detroit Detroit, MI 48208
About the project
Fresh Cut Detroit is a flower farm in the city of Detroit, growing 150 varieties of blooms so that each week of the season, something new is reaching its peak beauty & bounty.
In 2017 the farm is focusing on improving efficiency and output. Our current fundraising campaign is aimed towards buying a high quality, walk-behind tractor. This essential tool will increase our productive capacity by allowing us to "double-crop," or plant the same bed with two different salable crops during the same season. The tractor and accompanying tools will support our ecological farming practices, improving the health & resiliency of our land. In our unique urban setting, the footprint of our farm is limited - so we must maximize our care & use of the space we have!
We maintain a beautiful and inspiring farm on 1/4 acre of land on the edge of the residential neighborhood Woodbridge, across the street from Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men and a neighborhood basketball court. We host youth visits from Detroit groups at no cost throughout the season, as well as visits from adults studying gardening and urban agriculture. Fresh Cut is growing Detroit producer's share of the flower market by education, example, purchasing from other local flower farmers, and fostering connections between producers & customers.
Farmer Sarah Pappas is a proud and active member of the Garden Resource Program, the Grown in Detroit cooperative, and the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. Pappas is a graduate of the UC-Santa Cruz Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture, the Keep Growing Detroit Urban Farmer Training Program, and BUILD Institute. Fresh Cut has received support through NEIdeas, Kiva, Detroit SOUP, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
The Steps
1. Purchase tractor, tiller, and other cultivation attachments.
2. Assemble equipment.
3. Start tilling!
Why we‘re doing it
In 2017 Fresh Cut is building infrastructure & improving efficiency, so that we can continue to grow and expand in years to come. We are leading the way for more local growers to enter the lucrative and rewarding world of cut flower production through individual relationships & through the Cut Flower Working Group of Grown in Detroit. We work across industry sectors to increase Detroiter’s share of the seasonal cut flower market, encouraging regional and local flower farmers, wholesale purchasers, and conventional florists to meet and collaborate.