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SUPPORT THE BUSHWICK CAMPUS GREENHOUSE PROJECT!

lee — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:19:28 +0000

Now through December 30, 2011

A partnership between Boswyck Farms, Ecostation: NY, and the four high schools at the Bushwick campus.

We’re raising $15,000. Help us out. Details on Kickstarter and on our blog.

Bushwick Campus Farm/Greenhouse

heidi — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 05:26:10 +0000

On November 18th, the Bushwick Campus Farm officially opened with a ribbon cutting celebration. The project, pictured in an earlier post, is a joint effort between the Academy of Urban Planning, Ecostation:NY and Boswyck Farms.

Faculty, staff and students from the Bushwick High School Campus who have been working on the project were out in full force, celebrating the beginning of the farm and also the culmination of service week at the school. Event highlights included delicious food made by Sean-Michael Fleming of Ecostation:NY and a performance by the African drumming group inside the hoop house. Some students even got to sign their names on the hoop house wall.

Now, Boswyck Farms and Ecostation: NY are fundraising via Kickstarter campaign to raise the money to support the project through the next year- filling the greenhouse up with everything it needs (including hydroponic systems!) The goal is $15,000 by December 30th.

For more information and the opportunity to donate to this project, click here!

Final Harvest of the Season

heidi — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:05:50 +0000

While the rooftop farm withstood the short taste of winter that blew in for Halloween, the end of November (and with it, diminished hours of daylight) brought the growing season to a close. The past two weekends have been spent cleaning systems and mats and reservoirs, getting all the equipment set for a few months of storage.

That said, the last harvest was a marvel in itself. Check out the colossal collard plants below, winners of the Last Plants Standing Contest 2011.

And of course, a huge thanks to our friends Keith, Quin and Barry who made it all happen!

Alex Middleton, Innovation Hero 2011

heidi — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:34:01 +0000

Boswyck Farms is proud to announce that one of our very own hydroponicists, Alex Middleton, was presented the 2011 Innovation Hero Award for Region X by the American Association On Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The Innovation Hero award recognizes an individual or organization promoting innovative ideas and solutions that transform disability services. Alex was selected for this award in light of the work he is doing teaching hydroponics at United Cerebral Palsy here in New York City.

From all of us at Boswyck, congratulations Alex!

Why, hello Winter.

heidi — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 04:09:04 +0000

Just as we were settling into the cozy, crispness of fall, the city gets blanketed in snow. For our plants at the Bushwick Starr, this wasn’t terrible news- kale sure loves it some cold weather. The rest of us in the city, however, were not as pleased. We hope those brave souls who did venture out on that historic Saturday popped in to the Calabaza Fest, presented by our friends at EcoStation:NY. Even though the snow forced the event indoors to PS 123, spirits were high, costumes were creative, and the pumpkins were plentiful.

While the weather seems to have returned to normal (for November), the Boswyck Farmers are gearing up for winter’s official arrival. This winter we will unveil: The Hoop House.

Hoop houses are great for outdoor hydroponic growing. Chances are good that even if you don’t recognize the term, you have seen one before. Take the long hollow pipe of a chain link fence, bend it into a half circle, repeat a couple of times, cover them with plastic and voila! A hydroponic long house (and a throwback to 5th grade social studies.)

If Halloween weekend was any indicator of what winter will be bringing this year, we will be needing to keep the hoop house plant roots toasty warm. Our plan? The ultimate in repurposed materials: COMPOST! Thanks to the composting expertise of Maggie from Ecostation:NY, Boswyck Farm’s hoop house will be rocking out a custom compost heating system all winter long.

This past weekend, Boswyck Farms had a hoop house raising at the Academy of Urban Planning, at the Bushwick Campus. As we start to winterize the systems at the Bushwick Starr, we will start building and populating systems in the hoop house. More photos to come!

NY Bounty Visit

heidi — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 03:04:48 +0000

Earlier last week, Boswyck Farms welcomed Margarida Correia from New York Bounty to the rooftop of the Bushwick Starr. Check out her interview with Lee, held at our “Willy Wonka-esque” farm full of heirloom produce varieties long unseen in supermarkets. Don’t forget to keep reading once you get over there– New York Bounty has plenty of fact-packed articles and updates about the rise of urban agriculture in NYC.

Believe it or not, roof top hydroponic farms can handle hurricanes just fine!
Once the winds and rain of Irene abated, we found the rooftop of the Bushwick Starr unscathed, save for some missing seedlings. Many thanks to Peter and Jacob from NYFloristics for their help getting our systems extra ready to withstand the storm conditions.

Chrissy’s Cooking Club

meghan — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 22:53:34 +0000

Chrissy, of Chrissy’s Cooking Club, recently stopped by the Bushwick Starr, the location of our rooftop research and development. Chrissy’s Cooking Club (find them on facebook here) is a not-for-profit organization that promotes and facilitates all natural, from scratch cooking. You can find her at the Bushwick Farmer’s Market every Saturday cooking up some delicious foods, like french toast, blueberry buttermilk pancakes, and made to order grilled cheese sandwiches (pictured on right). The Corbaci Pepper, which was our first pepper of the season, was featured on many of the sandwiches and added a rich, sweet flavor. The Corbaci Pepper (pictured on left) is an heirloom variety that originated in Turkey and is a voracious producer, giving us unique yellow to red fruit. As more foods come in, we look forward to working with Chrissy and her crew to get our awesome local produce into her delicious meals!

The Point

meghan — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 22:03:09 +0000

For the last several months, Boswyck Farms has been working at The Point in the South Bronx to teach an after school program with hydroponics. As the school year has ended, we have wrapped up our time with them, but are looking forward to partnering with this amazing organization in the future. The kids, mostly 4th and 5th graders have learned various grow systems and have built their own soda bottle systems which are currently growing fresh herbs. They learn basic botany, team work and get a chance to get their hands dirty in the coconut husk mixture we use in some of our systems. The kids also built two different types of drip systems using 5 gallon buckets and a raft system based in a Rubbermaid tote. They’ve even participated in aquaponics (although not with us).

The Point Community Development Corporation is a non-profit dedicated to youth development and the cultural and economic revitalization of the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx. Each of The Point’s programs is based on the principles of asset-based community development. Their programs and projects embrace the belief that the residents of the South Bronx, especially the young people, have the inherent vision and ability to transform their neighborhoods. For The Point, at-risk children and teens are not bundles of problems – they are wellsprings of solutions.

Bushwick Open Studios – Sat., 6/4 & Sun., 6/5

meghan — Sat, 28 May 2011 13:27:26 +0000

We are busy on the roof at the Bushwick Starr this week getting ready for Bushwack and Buswick Open Studios! The Bushwhack Series is a performance festival devoted to the development of new work within the neighborhood of Bushwick. Performances are Thursday – Sunday at 8 pm. Also, Bushwick Open Studios is Saturday and Sunday from 12-6 pm. The Open Studios is a community event that showcases local artists, visionaries and businesses in the neighborhood, and is a great social event in Bushwick! We will be on the roof all weekend with our systems up and running. Stop by and see what we have growing, grab some refreshments and have a chat with us! See you next weekend!

First Harvest at the CDSC – Tues, 5/24

meghan — Tue, 24 May 2011 00:47:51 +0000

The Child Development Support Corporation will be proudly harvesting the first heads of lettuce at 1 pm on Tuesday, May 24th. It’s so exciting that after many months of planning, construction and getting all the last minute glitches worked out, that all of the hard work put in by our crew, CDSC’s staff and countless volunteers and interns, has paid off! The normal harvest days will be on Wednesdays after this week, so that the greens will be at their freshest for the Thursday food pantry. The first harvest will be an heirloom variety of lettuce, but soon we will also be growing collard greens and bok choy. Our mission, as a company, is to decrease the amount of food deserts in NYC and help make fresh foods more available to people of all income levels. We are very grateful for the opportunity to work with the CDSC to provide fresh, organic greens to a portion of the Bed-Stuy community. We will be bringing more updates on these systems in the future, so check back in!