Brownfield Becomes Urban Farm in Philly

30 May 2008 - 11:00am

"Honey from the Hood" is one of the home-grown prodcuts from a Kensington neighborhood garden. To avoid soil contamination from this former industrial site, plants are grown in raised beds or hydroponically.

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"Greensgrow, a one-acre plot of raised beds and greenhouses on the site of a former steel-galvanizing factory, is turning a profit by selling its own vegetables and herbs as well as a range of produce from local growers, and by running a nursery selling plants and seedlings."

Mary Seton Corboy, age 50, co-founded Greensgrow in 1998, with the idea of growing lettuce for the restaurants in downtown Philadelphia. She is a former chef with a master’s degree in political science. Corboy explains, "Ten years ago when I said we were going green, people thought we were out of our minds. Now we are top of the party list."

Source: The New York Times, May 20, 2008