In 2017, Seedleaf leased two acres of land along the North Limestone Corridor to serve as an urban farm. From the beginning, this space was dedicated to creating opportunities for growers to produce nutritious food for the Lexington community without worrying about the cost of land. In the United States the biggest barrier to growing food for new and beginning farmers is finding affordable land on which to grow. In dense cities, this problem is magnified. Seedleaf’s Market Garden program seeks to create a diverse cadre of growers who are able to supply Lexington communities, markets, and restaurants with fresh, local produce.

The Market garden program is a year long process of guiding participants (some of whom are learning how to grow food for the first time) through basic horticultural practices, food safety, and general business planning. Participants are paid a small stipend to support their participation in the program and in the spring of the following year they are given sections of land at the Urban farm for their operations. Seedleaf also coordinates market access and other resources for growers. The support of Seedleaf helps new Market Gardeners take risks and learn without the fear of financial ruin. Market Gardeners keep all proceeds earned from their efforts.

2022 at a Glance: 10 workshops | 3 farm visits | 24 week market season

In 2022 Seedleaf welcomed 4 new growers and 3 returning growers to the Seedleaf Community Farm following the Market Gardening course, with one additional grower participating in the market outlets only. One of the largest challenges Seedleaf growers face is access to land. While we worked towards long term solutions to support scaling their operations, we invited new and returning growers back to the Seedleaf Community Farm in late winter 2021 to kick off the season. On the farm, growers had access to land, tools, water, cold vegetable storage, pack and wash shed and more for their use during the growing season. Staff worked hard to ensure an earlier start and a later finish to the season, extending growing and market opportunities to participants by over 2 months. Thanks to our partners at the Whole Cities Foundation, we installed a new Pack and Wash shed to prepare goods for market, and over 300 harvests made their way through the new shed this season. 

In addition to on farm resources, Seedleaf offered an educational workshop series for Market Gardeners in January, February and October including:

• Fruit Production with Dr. John Strang

• Selling at the Farmer's Market with Ryan Burnette

• Selling produce to restaurants and kitchens with Leandra Forman

• How to upcycle food waste into compost with Christine Smith

• Business Planning and Marketing with Olivia Vogel and Spencer Guinn of KCARD

• No-till farming with Jesse Frost and Hannah Crabtree

• Diversifying production with Chickens with Travis Robinson

• Seedkeeping with Chris Keeve

• Caring for the Grower with Monet Proctor and Megan Pillsbury

• Selling to restaurants, season extension, and more with Zach Selby

Seedleaf coordinated visits for growers to FoodChain, Rough Draft Farmstead and Dreamtime Market Gardens as well! Thank you to each and every facilitator for sharing their experience and knowledge in strengthening our local food systems. 

Growers received on farm support and connection to local market outlets for selling their produce. Thanks to support from everyone who contributed to the GoodGivingChallenge and our partners at the Lexington Farmers Market (LFM), we were able to offer a fully supported market booth for growers to sell their produce from and build their networks of buyers for a 24 week season. Our market booth at LFM supported 8 small businesses and one Seedleaf staff member and included all the tables, chairs, tents, veggie transport, point of sales systems and more to make sales possible. 

MEET THE GROWERS FROM THE 2022 MARKET SEASON

MEET THE GROWERS FROM THE 2020 COURSE AND 2021 MARKET SEASON

2020 Market Garden program graduates