By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista For Leah Penniman and Jonah Vitale-Wolff, Soul Fire Farm is more than just another farming project trying to change the world one leafy kale plant at a time. It’s a project rooted directly from…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista “I remember exactly where I was when I got the letter,” said Zia Queenbees Farm & Field Institute Co-Founder, Melanie Kirby. The year was 1997. Melanie had recently graduated from St. John’s College in…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting Hannah Koski, director of the We Over Me Farm at Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas. During our near three-hour conversation, Hannah repeatedly mentioned…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista Ten years ago, Colombian native Pilar Quintero found herself knee-deep in surplus. The Atlanta, Georgia suburb farm where she had been boarding horses and giving riding lessons had subsequently given her a gift —…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista Every day thousands of grocery stores, restaurants and markets have a surplus of food that qualifies as edible, but doesn’t quite meet the standard to be considered sellable. In most cases, in most cities,…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista South of Dallas on highway 45, the city breaks beyond the Trinity River and gives way to a nondescript swath of land seemingly occupied by thick trees and dense underbrush. Exit at Simpson Stuart…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista Happy 2015 from the Urban Farmist! It’s a brand new year and I am excited to introduce you to a whole new round of Urban Farmist innovators, dreamers and doers! Having said that, it…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista “I’m wearing blue shoes with red soles if it helps” the text message read across my screen. This would be our final communication before attempting to find each other in a crowded market space…
By Joseph M. de Leon LatinaLista Yolanda Baz-Dresch grows decorative plants in her heavily shaded North Austin yard, but starting a veggie garden seems overwhelming to her. When her husband, David, recently retired, she signed up on VolunteerMatch to…
By Joseph M. de Leon LatinaLista On 5 acres in Southwest Austin, nature wears away at tons of shredded trees. Chickens and guinea fowl peck and scratch among the piles. Ducks bathe in a large water container. Every…
By Joseph M. de Leon LatinaLista Growing up in a rural Texas border town called Zapata during the Great Depression gave Gus Garcia the tenacity he needed to overcome poverty, language barriers, and racial prejudice to help transform…
By Joseph M. de Leon Hispanic News Online Compost is nature’s way of recycling dead plants and animals into new life. You can easily make your own compost for a healthier, more resilient garden. Soil anchors plants…
UrbanFarmist — Any first-grader can tell you that for a plant to grow it needs just two things: water and sun. With most of the country suffering through triple digit heat, it’s obvious there’s no shortage of sun, but…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista Later this week, a great number of us will gather around a table with friends and family to give thanks to those we are thankful to and celebrate our many blessings. We will gather…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista I first met Mitch Hagney in an empty parking lot behind an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of downtown San Antonio, Texas. His friendly smile and firm handshake lend to his unassuming presence as…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista When I was 4-years-old, all I wanted to do was go fishing. I wanted to catch a fish more than I wanted a pocket full of candy! One day my Dad made good on…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista Several years ago, I volunteered to join a caravan of recreational vehicles being driven half way across the country. Somewhere near the Mexico-Texas border, one of the vehicles had some trouble. We contacted a…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista On a cold, rainy night, a group of men gathered over a hole in the earth. They stood wide-eyed and uncertain of what was to take place. “Are you sure this is right?” one…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista “You want some history? I can give you history dating back to 1890.” Pat of Pat’s Produce said with great pride. Pat’s history lesson was delivered in the middle of an adventure. The location…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon in Dallas, Texas, the kids and I stepped onto a quiet neighborhood sidewalk and followed it into the back yard of a modern, two-story, urban farmhouse. To the…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista Far beyond the flashing lights and familiar sight of tourists scurrying about, busy downtown Dallas city streets give way to narrow alleys and cramped two lane roads. As commuters pass through the shadow of…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista Standing in a spectacular back yard in beautiful Austin, Texas, I am captivated by the energy permeating from the well-though-out landscape. To my left, a traditional, seasonal vegetable garden proudly contributes an assortment of…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista Welcome to The Urban Farmist! Here you will find a collection of all things Urban Gardening, Sustainability, Innovative Products, How-To’s, Community Gardens, Chicken Cooping, Bee Hiving, Worm Farming, Aquaponics and the like. Most importantly…
By Joseph M. de Leon Hispanic News Online (Editor’s Note: Due to the steady interest in urban farming, Treviño TodaMedia (TTM) is resurrecting the popular column Urban Farmist. We are not only keeping the column in the TTM family…
By Aaron de Leon LatinaLista Several months ago, I was told of a rooftop garden on top of a hotel in downtown Dallas, Texas. Intrigued, I embarked on a quest to locate this garden. I took a walk one…
