Archive of Past News of the Farm:
Farm Walks April 12, 2011 |
Farm Walks
April 12, 2011
--Joyce Sayle
Greetings Friends of Farms,
This Sunday, you will walk where generations of farmers, since 1839, have walked.
Close your eyes and imagine the lay of the land as it was when the pioneers originally held a handful of this alluvial soil.... A flat prairie grazed by buffalo and deer, shaded here and there by live oak trees. Listen for the serenades of wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions. See, in your mind, the plows drawn by horses, mules and oxen turning the native grasses over, ordering the land into domesticated fields stretching from the sudden hill of Oak Springs, hopping over the pecan tree-edged Boggy Creek, and on to the cypress-lined Colorado River to the south. Farm land to feed the new City of Austin.
Changed
by floods, droughts, and finally construction, this land has been
farmed, grazed and foraged off and on for over 170 years. In the
beginning, with the vanquishing of native tribes, the limits of various
farms and plantations were marked by nails in the trunks of long-gone
trees, and the crops were few compared to those grown today. Wheat, corn
and cotton were the staples. Grist mills along the Colorado, powered by
the passage of water, turned the grist -- the raw grains -- into the
flour and meal of bread and pone. Wild dewberries grew in the tangled
brush; honey could often be found in hollow bee trees.
The few farm houses boasted swept dirt yards so that wandering snakes could easily be detected. Long skirts brushed the dirt as the maids and matrons passed from outdoor kitchen to dog trot breezeway or farm house dining room. Salads and cabbages were tended in kitchen gardens, and wild lettuce, garlic, creek onions and lambs quarters were plucked from uncultivated areas, along with spring berries. Masters, slaves and peasants toiled in the hot summer fields to bring in the harvests of corn and shivered in winter weather to tote the matured wheat.
Through the years the plantation model gave way to truck farms, divided from the large acreages into more democratic fields. Cars and flat-bed farm trucks followed the same tracks christened by the hooves of horses and mules. The crops became more various, as seeds made their way to Central Texas from the east and north. Grafted pecan trees mixed with the natives lining Boggy Creek, and spinach became the signature fresh crop of the bottomland farms. Gradually, brick stores, located along civilized streets, furnished the staples while the inhabitants bought their vegetables from the truck farmers or tended kitchen gardens.
In the mid 1900's, as world wars accelerated changes, the farms gave way to house lots and non-edible commerce. Folks got used to buying their groceries from stores, and with the advent of refrigerated rail cars -- and eventually 18-wheelers -- food production moved farther away from the city and disappeared out of view many, many miles away. The farms near the city were faint memories, marked only by some rather large lots here and there in East Austin and huge old pecan trees marching in lines across neighborhood backyards.
(An aerial view of Boggy Creek Farm, 1966. The creek is the dark line at the bottom. Above it is Lyons Road and the farm. The farm driveway leads to the farm house and the big oak tree. Note the line of pecan trees <dark smudges in the photo> to the right. At the bottom right corner: the first railroad tracks to come to Austin.
Pioneer Elizabeth Smith ceded the right-a-way.)
In this new century, with its ongoing economic uncertainty and chaotic world politics, the promise of the elusive fertile farm land (and its vanishing water resources) seems more important than it has in a long time.
Rising like a new age, four farms are now neighbors in the inner-city bottomland along Boggy Creek. All are unique, with personalities created by their owners, but all have in common the desire to grow real food for the community. They are part of the wave of interest and the need for nourishment that results in busy community gardens and private back yards stripped of their lawn grasses and turned into gardens.
(The Back Field at BoggyCreek Farm)
The
four urban farms are on tour this Sunday, April 17 (1PM to 5PM). You
can walk, bike or drive the short few blocks between them, down paved
streets shaded by tall pecan trees planted seven decades ago. At each
farm, the farmers will offer tours of their vegetable plantings and the
obligatory hen houses. You will see crops growing that the pioneers only
dreamed of, and guest chefs will make fine use of them as tastings.
Locally-made beverages and spirits will slake your thirst.
The old days may be gone, but the soil is still here. Most of it lies under streets, warehouses, shopping centers, and homes. But some of it is protected and nourished on these four farms. Come see them.
Carol Ann
The info:
East Austin Urban Farm Tour, Sunday, April 17, 1 PM to 5 PM. $35 for those over 12 years of age (kids free.) Tickets in advance from http://www.farmhousedelivery.com (credit card).Tickets, cash/check, from Boggy Creek Farm at Wednesday and Saturday farm stand. You can also buy tickets at any of the farms on tour day, cash/check.
Tours at each farm, by the farmers, will begin at 1:15, 2:15, 3:15, 4:15. Gardeners, bring your questions!
Chefs will sample out farm food artfully prepared. Local drink makers will serve portions. Here is the stellar line up:
Hausbar Farm on Govalle Avenue: Bola Pizza, East Side Cafe, Paula's Texas Orange, Dripping Springs Vodka
Springdale Farm on Springdale Road: Driskill Grill, Dai Due, Pesche, 512 Brewery
Rain Lily Farm on Shady Lane: La Condesa, Fabi & Rosi, Pie Fixes Everything, Republic of Texas Tequila
Boggy Creek Farm on Lyons Road: Wink, Zoot, Barrie Cullinan Baker, Live Oak Brewery, and Zhi Tea
This Sunday, you will walk where generations of farmers, since 1839, have walked.
Close your eyes and imagine the lay of the land as it was when the pioneers originally held a handful of this alluvial soil.... A flat prairie grazed by buffalo and deer, shaded here and there by live oak trees. Listen for the serenades of wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions. See, in your mind, the plows drawn by horses, mules and oxen turning the native grasses over, ordering the land into domesticated fields stretching from the sudden hill of Oak Springs, hopping over the pecan tree-edged Boggy Creek, and on to the cypress-lined Colorado River to the south. Farm land to feed the new City of Austin.
The few farm houses boasted swept dirt yards so that wandering snakes could easily be detected. Long skirts brushed the dirt as the maids and matrons passed from outdoor kitchen to dog trot breezeway or farm house dining room. Salads and cabbages were tended in kitchen gardens, and wild lettuce, garlic, creek onions and lambs quarters were plucked from uncultivated areas, along with spring berries. Masters, slaves and peasants toiled in the hot summer fields to bring in the harvests of corn and shivered in winter weather to tote the matured wheat.
(The pioneers surely picked lambs' quarters, above left, but probably not Italian radicchio!)
Through the years the plantation model gave way to truck farms, divided from the large acreages into more democratic fields. Cars and flat-bed farm trucks followed the same tracks christened by the hooves of horses and mules. The crops became more various, as seeds made their way to Central Texas from the east and north. Grafted pecan trees mixed with the natives lining Boggy Creek, and spinach became the signature fresh crop of the bottomland farms. Gradually, brick stores, located along civilized streets, furnished the staples while the inhabitants bought their vegetables from the truck farmers or tended kitchen gardens.
In the mid 1900's, as world wars accelerated changes, the farms gave way to house lots and non-edible commerce. Folks got used to buying their groceries from stores, and with the advent of refrigerated rail cars -- and eventually 18-wheelers -- food production moved farther away from the city and disappeared out of view many, many miles away. The farms near the city were faint memories, marked only by some rather large lots here and there in East Austin and huge old pecan trees marching in lines across neighborhood backyards.
(An aerial view of Boggy Creek Farm, 1966. The creek is the dark line at the bottom. Above it is Lyons Road and the farm. The farm driveway leads to the farm house and the big oak tree. Note the line of pecan trees <dark smudges in the photo> to the right. At the bottom right corner: the first railroad tracks to come to Austin.
Pioneer Elizabeth Smith ceded the right-a-way.)
In this new century, with its ongoing economic uncertainty and chaotic world politics, the promise of the elusive fertile farm land (and its vanishing water resources) seems more important than it has in a long time.
Rising like a new age, four farms are now neighbors in the inner-city bottomland along Boggy Creek. All are unique, with personalities created by their owners, but all have in common the desire to grow real food for the community. They are part of the wave of interest and the need for nourishment that results in busy community gardens and private back yards stripped of their lawn grasses and turned into gardens.
(The Back Field at BoggyCreek Farm)
(I
imagine the pioneers had brown eggs, but not white nor green. And
17-year old Aunt Droptail, who believes in going to bed early, would
have likely met the stew pot when she was much younger.
Rosie, behind her, seems shocked at that news!)
Funds
raised benefit Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
http://www.farmandranchfreedom.org, an organization dedicated to working
with state and national governments to enable these four farms, and
thousands more like them to continue, without dire interference, to
produce food that people want and need, food that is fresh, organic --
food that derives its nutrition from the fertile soil. Rosie, behind her, seems shocked at that news!)
The old days may be gone, but the soil is still here. Most of it lies under streets, warehouses, shopping centers, and homes. But some of it is protected and nourished on these four farms. Come see them.
Carol Ann
The info:
East Austin Urban Farm Tour, Sunday, April 17, 1 PM to 5 PM. $35 for those over 12 years of age (kids free.) Tickets in advance from http://www.farmhousedelivery.com (credit card).Tickets, cash/check, from Boggy Creek Farm at Wednesday and Saturday farm stand. You can also buy tickets at any of the farms on tour day, cash/check.
Tours at each farm, by the farmers, will begin at 1:15, 2:15, 3:15, 4:15. Gardeners, bring your questions!
Chefs will sample out farm food artfully prepared. Local drink makers will serve portions. Here is the stellar line up:
Hausbar Farm on Govalle Avenue: Bola Pizza, East Side Cafe, Paula's Texas Orange, Dripping Springs Vodka
Springdale Farm on Springdale Road: Driskill Grill, Dai Due, Pesche, 512 Brewery
Rain Lily Farm on Shady Lane: La Condesa, Fabi & Rosi, Pie Fixes Everything, Republic of Texas Tequila
Boggy Creek Farm on Lyons Road: Wink, Zoot, Barrie Cullinan Baker, Live Oak Brewery, and Zhi Tea
Thanks for supporting local agriculture!
Back