Oldest Urban Farms in the Nation Still Going Strong


Two of the oldest urban farms in the United States are located within a mile of where I live, in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. On a stretch of Germantown Ave. shared these days by the Caribbean Palm Jamaican restaurant, La Rose Jazz Club, Rahman Body Oil perfume shop, Fatous African Hair Braiding and Tyemeka’s Soul Food, the surviving remnants of the two estates, called Grumblethorpe (pictured above) and Wyck Farm (bottom), have been growing produce almost continuously for more than 250 years.

Grumblethorpe, at 5267 Germantown Ave. (see photo on left), was built in 1744 for the family of John Wister, a Philadelphia wine merchant. It was a commercial farm supplying fruits and vegetables to the Philadelphia market for a couple hundred years. Two acres of gardens remain, producing vegetables for sale at a farm stand open every Saturday from late May into October. But it primarily serves educational purposes these days through summer programs and relationships with neighborhood schools.

This had already proved that if men had high cialis in canada view that drugshop levels of cholesterol and rising blood pressure, the risk of heart disease and * And protected from non-cancerous prostate symptoms. Let us discuss some of the potential causes of cialis no prescription usa ED are high blood pressure, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, stress, anxiety, depression, smoking and obesity. The 23-year-old was arrested by The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at Bellagio Hotel in Las viagra usa mastercard Vegas. Therefore, there became a need in order to hold levitra generika 40mg the erection. Wyck Farm, at 6026 Germantown Ave., has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The oldest section of the farmhouse on the property, home to a Quaker family for nine generations, dates to the 1690s. It is now managed by the Wyck Association. About a half-acre of the property is a multi-functional farm that, as the Wyck Farm website explains, grows food for an on-site Home Farm Club, and offers a refuge for “Germantown children needing safe outdoor space and opportunities for hands-on learning about history, farming, nutrition, and environmental science.”

Wyck Farm used to sell its produce at a late lamented farm stand on the sidewalk on Germantown Ave. every Friday afternoon in summer, but that outlet for the farm’s output was replaced by the Home Farm Club, launched in 2018. It  has returned for the 2019 summer season, every Wednesday, from 4 to 6 p.m., through September 4. Wyck Farm invites friends and neighbors to join Martha Keen, the resident horticulturist, “for short lessons, hands-on experience, and a share of fresh produce when you volunteer!” The website advises: bring hand tools, gloves, water, and sun protection.

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