15Thousand Farmers in the Courier-Journal!

Posted March 04, 2010

Check out the article below about 15Thousand Farmers.  It appeared in the Neighborhood section of the Courier Journal  on March 3, 2010.

 

Gary Heine said he would have considered a turnout of 40 to 50 people a “huge success.”

But dozens more came and packed the basement at Clifton Unitarian Church, 2231 Payne St., on a recent Saturday for an informational meeting about a new “grand experiment” he's helping lead called 15Thousand Farmers.

The idea is to have 15,000 people in Louisville growing food at home within the next five years. It obviously “struck a nerve,” said Heine, who lives in the Bonnycastle neighborhood and co-owns Heine Brothers coffee.

People are “desperate for ways to get involved,” Heine said.

“We're doing this together,” said Steve Vice, a co-leader with Heine.

Heine said the concept grew out of author Michael Pollan's call for 30 million to 50 million more Americans to grow food.

Heine, Vice and the other 15Thousand co-leader, Valerie Kausen, calculated that Louisville's share would be close to 15,000. Heine and Kausen grow basil and lemons indoors at their home and have an outdoor garden.

Vice is vice president of Dismas Charities, a correctional facility that has a garden at its center on Algonquin Parkway.

The 15Thousand Farmers organization is alerting prospective farmers to a concept called “square-foot gardening” that's meant to be more efficient.

At the Clifton meeting, Robert Denning and his dad, former Louisville Alderman Tom Denning, of Crescent Hill, showed off a 4-by-4-foot cedar box that can be used in yards and on decks.

The Dennings grow vegetables in a backyard box at their McCready Avenue home.

“We're still eating Brussels sprouts” from last year, Robert Denning said.

Reporter Martha Elson can be reached at (502) 582-7061.
 

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