Rooted in art, the urban farming business Black Radish is growing new landscapes in Minneapolis

Two Minneapolis artists have taken their visual skills to the soil in the creation of Black Radish an urban farm and Locality Supported Agriculture CSA business that doubles as a landscaping firm Located in the Standish-Ericsson neighborhood in South Minneapolis Black Radish partners with neighbors to create vibrant gardens full of fresh locally grown foods They re named after the fierce black radish vegetable with an allusion to the black flag used by pirates according to co-owner Jade Townsend We kind of take over people s yards and do things a lot differently than a standard farm Townsend is also an artist with a background in drawing sculpture and installation His wife Carrie Elizabeth Townsend is a photographer They met on Tinder about years ago when Jade Townsend was visiting from New York Since they ve been channeling their creative power into growing things Their main focus is on edible crops like rhubarb garlic tomatillos komatsuna Japanese mustard greens tomatoes lettuce root vegetables herbs and even mushrooms and they also offer freshly cut flowers like dahlias and zinnias to their CSA members They re both still practicing artists but fine art has taken somewhat of a backseat to farming It s more on the side because this is a huge job Carrie Elizabeth Townsend commented This is kind of like an art project for us It s like public art Jade Townsend sees a lot of overlap between farming and art making as well There s this system of craft involved he announced It s like art on steroids The couple decided to start an urban farm in part because they were sick of the vapidness of the art world We demanded to do something that made a difference in particular quota Jade Townsend announced Black Radish now spans residential yards In exchange for using a homeowner s yard the couple creates an aesthetically pleasing landscape featuring both produce and flowers such as marigolds and sunflowers Since it s people s yards we try to make it look good Carrie Elizabeth Townsend explained The idea isn t just to grow food it s to create something beautiful Black Radish now spans residential yards In exchange for using a homeowner s yard the couple creates an aesthetically pleasing landscape featuring both produce and flowers such as marigolds and sunflowers Credit Sheila Regan For chosen of the participating yards Black Radish uses raised beds while others have gardens planted directly in the ground Black Radish also employs trellises for peas cucumbers beans and melons to climb over the discipline of the summer creating lovely walkways in the yards CSA member Tiffany Enr quez who lives a sparse blocks away from the Townsends and owns a second property in the neighborhood is one of the neighbors on whose yard Black Radish operates CSA member Tiffany Enr quez left is one of the neighbors on whose yard Black Radish operates under the direction of Carrie Elizabeth Townsend right and her husband Credit Sheila Regan For three years Enr quez had done her own gardening before realizing it was a full-time job She discovered Black Radish after participating in a society art project with the City of Lakes Public Land Trust Enr quez had become a homeowner through the Land Trust and through the organization participated in This House is Not for Sale in collaboration with artists and poets Basically they worked with homeowners who had bought foreclosed properties to sort of process that grief and what that means for a homeowner to move into a foreclosed home she explained She was partnered with artist Witt Siosoco and also met Jade Townsend through the project Enr quez is delighted to have Black Radish create a garden on her property This is such a win for me she reported Each week the Townsends open up their backyard for the CSA pick-up for their members It s kind of like an art opening Jade Townsend noted They invite all members to pick up the week s harvest and use Jade Townsend s whimsical chalkboard menu displays with drawings to organize the different items It s very much thought out in the same way you would have an exhibition or a show Jade Townsend mentioned You want them to have a certain experience The project has also been one of society connection We introduce people and share recipes and different gardening techniques Jade Townsend explained Besides their regular members Black Radish has also partnered with the Sanneh Foundation through a grant from the Minneapolis Homegrown project We partner with them to purchase particular of their CSAs and we distribute those at our food distributions at Corcoran Park revealed Joe Walker director of nutritional services with the Sanneh Foundation Black Radish was a wonderful way for us to work with someone from the society and supply to the region which is something we re inevitably trying to focus on he explained It s a really great way to be prescriptive about what our participants want in our food distributions as well as bringing healthy nutritious and locally grown produce It s just really been a win-win and they ve been fantastic They ve knocked it out of the park every year The Sanneh Foundation is also partnering with Black Radish to double its space Credit Sheila Regan The Sanneh Foundation is also partnering with Black Radish to double its land space The foundation is acting as Black Radish s fiscal sponsor for an online fundraising campaign with the funds going toward what Black Radish necessities for a down payment on square feet of empty land in the neighborhood Black Radish is initially raising for the down payment with a long-term goal of to purchase the land For now they re holding off on becoming a nonprofit because if they end up needing to apply for a USDA loan they must do so under their current status as an LLC rather than a c We have a board we have the paperwork in order but we re waiting until we secure the land Carrie Elizabeth Townsend revealed The new site could triple Black Radish s production because the new land is all in one location Their current model that spans different yards requires workers to advance between locations each with different shade levels and water systems Each yard has a different microclimate personality Carrie Elizabeth Townsend mentioned With the new land they could reserve neighborhood yards for low-maintenance crops and dedicate the larger plot to plants requiring daily care Already Black Radish has raised almost a third of the initial goal The Townsends hope is to bring their artist-driven society farming project to the next level blending artistic skill with agricultural know-how The post Rooted in art the urban farming business Black Radish is growing new landscapes in Minneapolis appeared first on MinnPost