Farming in the city

Recently there was an article about industrial and residential properties in Detroit being used for farms. This is an excellent idea and one that will help us all. As manufacturing shrinks the factory land used for constructing cars can be used to feed people.

Southern Ontario and Michigan are renowned as car country. Detroit, aka Motown, home of GM and Ford, automotive capital of North America and its little brother, Windsor home to Oldsmobile and Chrysler are also found in some of the most productive soil in Canada. The temperate weather in this area makes it suitable for fruit trees, vegetables and grains.

Detroit Farming

Early spring, late summer and the warming affects of the Great Lakes makes this area excellent for farming.

As a child growing up in Windsor, Ontario I watched as the orchard at the end of our street was bought, ploughed over and turned into a Ford factory. Down the road the corn, wheat and a tomato farms became parking lots and industrial sites. The land was converted to manufacturing. Now its returning to is orginal purpose.

I remember being taught that this land could sustain four cash crops in one year. Winter wheat could be planted in the fall, in spring the seeds would germinate early allowing for a quick harvest in April or May. Beans and corn could be planted along side tomatoes and harvested by August, before the end of summer crops of cabbage and root vegetables could grow right into October. Factories had replaced all this, now we can regain this farm land for what it was created for.

Farming in Detroit