Seed and Cycle helps urban farms, community gardens and school gardens grow food effectively. At the moment, about 80% of their business is building hoop houses. Vinnie suspects that this is because hoop houses are a concrete, tangible project that is easily conceptualized by people just beginning to farm. The remainder of their work lies in strategic planning for non-profits, business plans for start-up farms, crop planning and landscape design, and compost systems.
(The Door Garden's DIY hoop house)
So far most of his clients have been non-profit organizations that range from entirely funded by grants to income-generating organizations. The two for-profit farms that have hired them did so in a very limited way and were merely asking for assistance on projects they were seeing through themselves. Because budgets are so tight for for-profit farms, their goal is always to have a much done by their own staff. Non-profit organizations just starting their farm or garden are also less likely to have the tools or building know-how to undertake project like constructing hoop houses. As the business of urban farming changes, I'm curious how Seed and Cycle's customers and projects will change with it.
For a hoop house project, usually Vinnie will visit a site to give a preliminary estimate based on rough measurements and the needs of the client. He must talk to the city about any underground utility lines are on the property and order the appropriate materials - this process takes about two weeks. Actually building the hoop house takes about five or six days depending on the size and intricacies of the design. There is a basic design that Vinnie has developed through trial and error that is adjusted for the client's specific needs and scale. His last hoop house had a side door installed when typically there are only doors at either end to make deliveries more accessible.
The biggest technical concern with these projects is soil contamination, a very real threat in old industrial cities like Baltimore where most of his work has taken place. The EPA provides instructions and guidelines for testing soils, but they are too vague for Vinnie's comfort and present a liability. In situations where the soil is suspected to be contaminated, either an impermeable layer is put down as a barrier and clean soil is place on top or they build raised beds. Although these methods are effective, it is a lot of hassle to go through if the soil is not contaminated. The need for more definitive testing and a procedure for remediating contaminated soil is clear.
Big things are in the works for Seed and Cycle. Vinnie is taking on a partner, has recently been awarded 3.5 acres by the city of Baltimore and is looking to expand into Philidelphia. I can't wait to see what comes next.
I'm really excited to see, or at least talk to, someone who is making a living at being a technical consultant for urban agriculture. This is along the lines of what I hope to be doing someday - being a technical farm service provider. This is also an excellent example for the Farm Hack community to consider. Vinnie has a background in urban agriculture and is sharing the skills he has is a very direct way as a consultant. How does this relate to skill share event or hackathons? I think I'll need to do some further investigation.
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