Sally Freeman and Claudia Mazola have been friends for more than two decades — living in University Village, raising families in the neighborhood and eventually retiring there. A common, and avid, interest both women have long shared has always been gardening.

Earlier this year, that interest became less of a personal pursuit and more of a public one, as the Taylor Street Farms were born on what is nearly a half-acre of vacant land on the north side of Taylor Street, just west of Ada.

“Sally and I both have a love for gardening,” Mazola said. “We had this idea but didn’t really know what we were doing. So we put out some feelers and got an incredible response from so many people.”

In plots that are either 4-by-8 or 8-by-16 feet in size, some 43 gardeners are now cultivating plants in raised beds filled with dirt. In the plots, tomatoes dangle from green branches, strawberries peek out beneath leaves and sunflowers stand in the afternoon sun.

Per-season prices for space presently begin at $100, a fee that covers basic supplies needed to create and maintain the garden, including lumber for a bed, hoses and rain barrels.

Many of the supplies are purchased from the Rebuilding Exchange, a Chicago-based organization that diverts building materials that would otherwise be thrown away and then sells them at low cost.

Each gardener is free to use whatever method they see fit to maintain their plots. One popular method is called square-foot gardening, in which the plot is sectioned off into small squares, and it can be seen throughout the farm.

“We want to teach people how to sustain life in the city,” Mazola said.

In addition to renting a plot, all are invited to plant flowers and crops in one of several communal plots. And two plots have been reserved for low-income residents, the rental fee for them waived.

The chance to grow has attracted residents like Kathy Tucker, who has lived in the area for some 30 years. She rented one of the larger, 8-by-16 foot plots for the summer even though she describes herself as a relatively new gardener.

One of the advantages of growing beside others, Tucker said, is you can see what works and what doesn’t in neighbors’ plots. She’s also read about the craft a bit, and is learning from experience through trial and error this summer as well.

The cumulative effect of the effort, in Tucker’s eyes, is something that builds links among neighbors and provides a visual reminder of the sources of food.

“When kids can see where their vegetables are coming from it gives you a better sense of local food and farming and where your food comes from,” Tucker said. “We’ve really gotten away from that.”

Taylor Street Farms is, in part, an effort to breathe life into empty spaces in the neighborhood.

Freeman, who has lived in the area for 37 years, recalled thinking as far back as 2007 about ways to do that but wasn’t sure how to proceed.

She said conversations with Dennis O’Neill, executive director of the University Village Association, revealed other residents felt the same way about vacant land. Other residents, O’Neill said, had approached him about doing a garden as well. In March, he convened a meeting to discuss doing a garden project.

Thanks to a strong response from neighborhood members, Mazola and Freeman moved forward with their plan, with the help of O’Neill and the University Village Association. They contacted the manager of the property, Related Midwest, and proposed their idea. From there, Related Midwest contacted Chicago Housing Authority and the agency agreed to the plan, they said.

Related is the real estate developer building Roosevelt Square, the stalled project meant to replace the ABLA Homes.

“This space is one of the last in the development plan and development is behind schedule, so it was perfect for us,” Mazola said.

Gardening initiatives have long been part of vacant parcels near housing authority redevelopment sites.

Near Cabrini-Green, City Farm has long grown vegetables for sale at both Chicago’s farmer’s markets and in high-profile restaurants, where chefs demand locally sourced produced.

Earlier this year, residents living in and near Westhaven Park, the development slated for the blocks that once hosted the Henry Horner Homes, installed beds for a vegetable garden.

Although Taylor Street Farms will not be permanent, Freeman and Mazola said that for the time being it is helping to cultivate, in addition to vegetables, a sense of neighborliness and connection in the area.

“It’s thrilling for me to meet people and hear how other people are having the same enjoyment I am,” Freeman said.

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By Lynn from Mayfair
Posted: 07/28/2010 11:13 PM

I love this. I don't live anywhere near there anymore, but I went to high school and college in the Tri-Taylor area and I love gardening. Well done.