Bounded by two skyscrapers and another pair of high-rises, the Pops Up Garden has filled a long-vacant lot with plots of peppers, corn, quinoa and other crops, promising fresh produce for Philadelphia residents for the next few months.
Open since mid-June, the ¾-acre parcel cultivated by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society aims to grow urbanites' expanding appetite for healthy eating and local farming. The garden is also designed to get people thinking about what's possible for green thumbs, even in a concrete jungle.
"This can really kind of inspire people to do something on their own," said Sharat Somashekara, a food crop specialist with the Horticultural Society.
As urban foodies have become increasingly passionate about homegrown fare, the "locavore" movement has gone mainstream: The American Restaurant Association named locally sourced meats and produce the top trends for 2011. Even first lady Michelle Obama planted a garden at the White House to promote sustainable, nutritious eating.
The Pops Up Garden, just blocks from City Hall, is Philadelphia's latest and perhaps most visible statement of support for urban agriculture.
The city founded by William Penn as a "green country town" had nine farms in 2002, compared with 17 in 2007, according to the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture. That land produced about $487,000 worth of goods in 2007, up 34 percent over five years.
The fervor for farming appears to be growing, with city dwellers selling out agriculture classes offered by Penn State Extension in Philadelphia, said Doris Stahl, a horticulture educator at the agency.
Stahl said the extension is investing more time and energy in equipment, programs and curriculum to accommodate all the young entrepreneurs eager to learn how to supply fresh, local food to urban residents at every income level.
"You can't just take some land and grow some food and think you're going to have a business," Stahl said.
Mary Seton Corboy, who founded Greensgrow farm in the city's Kensington section in 1998, agreed that economically sustainable farming is easier said than done.
"It's not easy to make a living, it's not an easy lifestyle," Corboy said. "Your main boss is Mother Nature and she's kind of a cruel taskmaster."
Greensgrow, which now has 24 employees, had doubters at first, she said. Residents didn't prize locally grown food the way they do today, Corboy said, and restaurants couldn't have been less interested in homegrown produce.
"It was all about getting the strangest food from as far away as possible," she said.
No longer. The Marathon Grill chain of restaurants in Philadelphia now proudly advertises the harvest from Marathon Farm, which it began operating about four months ago in the low-income Brewerytown neighborhood.
The ¼-acre parcel transformed a junked-up vacant lot into crop space and a smaller community garden for neighbors. The chain buys about half the vegetables and herbs, underwriting the farm's ability to sell the rest at rock-bottom prices to residents at weekly farmer's markets, said project director Cary Borish.
The markets sell out each week because there is nowhere nearby to buy fresh produce, farm volunteer and longtime resident Emma Latimore said.
"Look at the bounty," said Latimore, 58, as she worked amid tomatoes, Swiss chard and collard greens. "This is beautiful compared to what it was."
The crops at the Pops Up Garden will be used by chefs at six local restaurants, and proceeds from those dishes will go to City Harvest, which provides fresh produce to underserved residents. City Harvest will also directly receive some garden produce to supply local food pantries.
But not for long. The garden, which sits on land borrowed from a major commercial real estate developer, will be dismantled in October after the growing season. It will "pop up" again next spring in another location.
Somashekara, of the Horticultural Society, said he is repeatedly asked if the current garden site is permanent.
"I have to break people's hearts and say no, it's only going to be here for a couple of months," Somashekara said. "If we were going to be here for 10 years, we could really do something amazing."
