Four-generation farm now offers fresh vegetables and gardening experience for many

by Melissa Martin

Fruit and vegetable seed sales soared nationwide the past year as a record number of people turned to gardening as a soothing, family-friendly hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only did planting and harvesting crops help people pass the time during lockdown, it helped ease their minds as unemployment and food insecurity numbers skyrocketed.

Both numbers, as well as the pandemic itself, have declined in recent months, but a survey conducted by the National Garden Association in April indicates America’s new favorite pastime shows no signs of slowing down. More than 42 percent of gardeners said they increased the size of their gardens in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, with a whopping 89 percent planning to expand their gardens again this summer.

Nowhere is this trend more popular than in local community gardens, where available plots, including those in Brecksville and Broadview Heights, filled up before the snow melted. With no more plots available, the names of dozens of budding gardeners now sit on waiting lists hopeful that space will open up next year, if not sooner.

Learning of the heightened interest in local community gardening was music to Doug Fawcett’s ears. As founder of Cleveland Roots, a nonprofit organization that promotes healthy living by providing access to affordable fresh produce, he has learned that community gardens are more than places to cultivate fresh fruits and vegetables. They can be one of the best places to nurture social support and emotional well-being.

“Community gardens can be one of the best places for people to share, give and teach, and that’s what I’m hoping to share with the members of this community starting this year,” Fawcett said.

A man on a mission

Since 2016, Fawcett has been working with teams of volunteers to make sure all residents of Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, regardless of income. In addition to purchasing and operating a greenhouse and several community gardens in Cleveland over the past six years, Fawcett and the Cleveland Roots volunteers have been growing and distributing food and empowering those in the community with the knowledge to grow food for themselves.

The bulk of the organization’s growing happens at its 17-acre Cleveland Roots Farm, located on the border of Brecksville and Richfield at 3095 Boston Mills Road, using dozens of volunteers.

“We produce thousands of pounds of pesticide-free vegetables every year, as well as apples, pears, and cherries in our orchard,” Fawcett said. “In our young berry patch, we grow blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and elderberries, and we have four active bee hives on the farm that provide pollination and produce honey available for purchase at our market stand.”

The market stand, located in a storefront at 3257 West 41st Street in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, sells pesticide-free fruits, vegetables and more. Customers are asked to “pay what they can,”  which allows shoppers who can pay more to help offset the cost for those who can’t.

After learning of the increase in gardening in the suburbs, Fawcett said he launched another community garden this spring at the Cleveland Roots Farm, where 144 gardening plots, measuring 10 feet by 10 feet, are open to the public, with plenty of room to build more if needed.

The all-organic plots are available to the public for $20 a season, in addition to what Fawcett terms Cleveland Roots’ “5-5-5” commitment.

“This means that over the growing season, we ask all community garden members to donate at least five pounds of produce, five hours of volunteer time and $5 worth of soil amendments,” Fawcett said. “Considering one tomato plant produces up to 20 pounds of produce, we don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

Those who rent plots can plant whatever produce they desire and rent the space in advance for the following year should they need to overwinter some of their crops. Water, garden tools and access to master gardeners are all available onsite, he added.

The total farm experience

Unlike other community gardens, typically located in urban settings, Cleveland Roots Farm offers gardeners access to something many of them have never experienced before: traditional farm life.

“This is far more than a place where you come just to plant and maintain your crops,” Fawcett said. “It’s a place you can bring the entire family to spend the day and truly enjoy all we have to offer.”

Steve Morris, a Cleveland Roots board member, has been integral in the development of the farm as a community garden. He said that since the farm opened to the public May 1, he has watched families pet the animals, fish in the pond and get to know others farming on the site.

“We had one family who brought their young son here one night. When it came time to leave to pick up another child from soccer practice, the boy begged to stay at the farm while one of the parents went to get the older brother,” Morris said. “To the parents’ surprise, he just didn’t want to leave.”

The farm seems to have that affect on people, Fawcett said, noting the family that owned the farm before 2015 worked the original 100-acre property for four generations, since 1909. All but 17 acres were sold before Fawcett bought the farm to prevent the property from becoming another housing development.

“Our goals for the farm are to preserve the land, renovate the remaining buildings and grow fruits and vegetables, specifically to provide fresh produce for Cleveland’s food deserts,” Fawcett said, noting that the former owners Bill and Beth Sobecki continue to rent the farmhouse on the property part-time and oversee the restoration of Bill’s childhood homestead.

Fawcett, who lives a few houses from the farm, has been restoring the outbuildings on the farm. To date, the barn’s foundation has been relayed and rebuilt using original sandstone on a new cement footer. The original hand-cut sandstone in the barn’s lower level has been relayed, the septic system has been replaced, the old pond has been dredged and restored to its original three-fourths acre, and the chicken coop has been restored.

“With the help of our volunteers, we apply the best farming practices to grow fruits and vegetables onsite and also maintain a flock of chickens, two goats and four beehives to support pollinators and honey production,” he added.

A greater cause

Fawcett said Cleveland Roots expects to host events onsite in the near future, such as scout troops camping overnight and a fall festival featuring hayrides, pumpkins and more. Barbeques and berry picking could also be possibilities.

“This will be a great place for the community to come together, not only to garden, but to have a little fun and benefit a good cause at the same time,” he said.

All proceeds from the community garden, as well as events held on the farm, including excess produce grown and donated by community gardeners, will be taken to Cleveland and used to further the mission of food independence and the right to healthy food, Fawcett said.

For more information about Cleveland Roots community garden or to rent one or more plots, visit clevelandroots.org/community-garden or call 440-817-2814. ∞