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| Fresh Produce grown by Finca Tres Robles; head out to their farmer's market! |
A few weeks ago, I discovered a treasure on Houston’s East
Side:
Finca Tres
Robles; Finca Tres Robles is Houston's first private farm within the 610
loop. To get there, you drive past several warehouses and other
industrial properties (and think you are lost 5 times) before finding a secret
garden. Seriously, it looks as though the stunning 1.25 acre lot was just
walled off and then given much love from an army of garden gnomes. I had the pleasure to sit down with one of
the Farm's founders
Tommy Garcia-Prats a native Houstonian who decided to return
home after years of working on various farms around the world (including
a small family owned farm in Maine, a larger vegetable farm in Iowa, and a
large agro-forestry and educational farm in Nicaragua).
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| Apprentice working in Garden |
After many years away, Tommy returned to Houston to discover a
huge new foodie community but noticed diet related health issues, especially in
children. Tommy was also surprised to find that Houston only has a handful of
farms for 4 million people. (As a comparison, in Maine, there are 350 organic
farms for 1 million people.) He wanted to live in a city with farms and
agriculture, so with great initiative, he decided to start his own.
The garden didn’t just happen over night. Tommy spent 6
months just talking and asking questions, going to local organizations
for help, more research, and looking for a plot of land in a part of the city
where land would be affordable and also where a garden would be the most
beneficial. Once he found the perfect plot of land, he had to have the soil tested and start a sustainable business plan. The
result? An Oasis in Houston’s east
side. Finca Tres Robles was
recently awarded a Young Farmer’s Grant from the Texas Department of
Agriculture which enabled them to hire an apprentice and support improvement projects around the farm; currently, there are 2
interns/apprentices and 5 volunteers on the farm.
Before working on the farms in Maine, Iowa, and Nicaragua, Tommy
had no previous gardening experience, so he had no preconceived notion of what
a farm was supposed to be like.
In
fact, most people with whom he worked had never worked in farming. Tommy recalls, “I went to each
farm just wanting to learn where my food comes from – without knowing that I would
later open a farm of my own.” When asked what advice he would be give to those
who want to grow a small garden of their own, Tommy laughs and replies, “People think that if they kill plants that they’re not a good gardener.
I’ve killed more plants – You just have
to keep trying. Shifts in weather, pests, and difficult places to grow
(Houston) will all affect your garden.”
Tommy hopes that Finca Tres Robles will help show Houstonians
that agriculture is sustainable and belongs inside a city. I, for one, would love to see the project expanded to other parts of Houston. So support your local
farm and head out to Finca Tres Robles to discover what a little imagination, a
lot of hard work, and an overwhelming love for nature and your community can
create. You can visit the farm during their open hours listed
here or donate to the farm
here.
+++++Volunteer Days and other events are listed on
Finca Tres Robles website; so keep an eye out for their changing schedule. You can receive
a small discount on fresh produce for volunteering or for donating your compost
(yard leaves included).
+++++A cool fact about the garden: the soil is created from
raw tree trimmings. The layer underneath is clay which is no good for growing.
VISIT the finca! View the location and the Hours
here.
Buy local at the Farmer’s Market:
On the Farm Market :
SAT 9-1PM
WED 3-7PM
(Finca Tres Robles
257 N. Greenwood
Houston, TX 77011):
East End St. Market:
10AM – 2PM
(Navigation Esplanade
2800 Navigation Blvd.
Houston, TX 77003)
One of my favorite new places in Houston.
Until our next green adventure,
xo,
The Bayou Botanist
