What is Urban Farming and is it for Elizabethton?

Urban farming – a term probably not heard by many around here, but it is something that many in this community have been doing for decades. Urban farming is, well, farming, but in an urban environment under an acre. This typically includes growing fruits and vegetables, and can include raising chickens or even a pig or two, processing the grown food, and distributing it for consumption. The concept of the Victory Garden, with its large growth area and sometimes fruit trees, is the basis for modern urban farming.

Urban farming can have a variety of pros the impact the entire community. One being urban farming creates a more self-dependent community. Communities with active urban farmers are much less dependent on getting their produce, chicken, and pork from the supermarket because they grow or raise it themselves!

While they still have supermarkets, urban farming creates a community that could survive should a natural disaster occur or resources from other communities cease to be possible.

Urban farming also provides a community with easy access to healthy food. Some communities (and Carter County is one of them) have what we term food deserts where a grocery store or a place to access healthy, fresh food is too far away from where people live. Because urban farming is on such a small scale, this method of producing food spreads the access to food throughout a community instead of centralizing them in one location.

There are some downfalls to urban farming. Urban farming may cause problems with neighbors, especially if the urban farm includes animals. While many urban farming friendly communities restrict the number of animals permitted per acre, there still can be some problems with smells or noise from time-to-time. Moreover, of course, not everyone wants to live right next to someone who is raising a pig or chickens.

Another major concern to urban farming communities is the soil. Not all soils are ideal for growing various types of produce. In order to grow certain types of produce, soil amendments may be necessary. Another concern with the soil is the potential for contaminants to exist. Many types of produce will absorb contaminants that exist in the soil such as hard metals. These contaminants become a serious concern when urban farmers go and sell their produce to others who may not know where it was grown.

Please don’t mistake me for encouraging you to go out and start an urban farm today. Elizabethton currently prohibits raising unapproved chickens and raising pigs inside the City Limits, but this is something for us to consider. Is this something our community should pursue? Let’s talk about it!