Urban Patchwork Neighborhood Farms

A little about what we’re up to.

What is Urban Patchwork?

Urban Patchwork (UP) is a city-wide network of neighborhood farms and chicken coops.  Residents of communities invite us to farm small pieces of land (usually parts of people’s unused yard space) within neighborhood boundaries in Austin.Together we raise chickens for eggs, grow vegetables for food, and care for ponds that provide a reservoir for rainwater catchment, fertilizer for our gardens and fish to eat.  If you are interested in sharing a patch of your land with us, please let us know. We offer shares of our bounty for land-owner members, and we LOVE to give food away.

Who is Urban Patchwork?

Urban Patchwork is an urban farming non-profit (sponsored by CMPBS.org) founded by Paige Hill in Austin, TX.  A handful of neighbors and volunteers helped break ground on Independence Day 2009. We are currently supported by the collaborations of staff, volunteers, members, land hosts, donors and friends.

Residents of neighborhoods invite UP to start a new farm in their area. Seasoned UP staff then train residents who live and work within the neighborhood who are interested in working as a farm manager and community coordinator. Farmers and coordinators then lead neighbors through sharing in the work and joys of growing food close to home, and coordinate the weekly tasks, farm stands and events associated with having their very own neighborhood farm.

Where is Urban Patchwork?

UP started as one garden in the Crestview Neighborhood in central Austin and has grown to ten gardens serving neighbors in five surrounding neighborhoods in Austin. 

Why is Urban Patchwork?

UP is driven by many motivations. It is our vision and dream to see an urban patchwork quilt of farms blanket the city of Austin.

• First, we are farming in the urban landscape because we believe that our farmland has not been lost to the city, only that it is buried under concrete and lawn.  We are here to reclaim Austin’s lawns and reinvent the concept of “Community Supported Agriculture”.
• Second, we are farming in the urban area because all too often cities are totally void of food production. Those of us who inhabit the urban space MUST eat, and so UP are establishing food producing spaces within our neighborhoods, by our neighborhoods, for our neighborhoods.
• Third, we believe that healthy and wholesome food is not accessible to everyone within the urban framework, and we’re here to make it accessible.  As a non-profit, we exist to demonstrate that affordable and healthy food can be produced and delivered to all who need it (and we all need it).  We are farming so that we might demonstrate that farming in an urban space DOES work, we are farming so that we might discover the BEST ways to farm in limited urban spaces, and we are farming for the betterment of our communities and each other.
• Fourth, we believe that the soil that has been left to us is precious, that most of the soil in urban spaces is broken and damaged and needs to be restored|revitalized, and that since few others are actually doing this work, that we would.  So we farm with the most organic and sustainable practices that we know of with an eye for constant improvement.
• Fifth, we believe that the industrial farm system is built on a model that will not last forever, and probably not much longer.  It is also a system that marginalizes and demeans (and often destroys) all things human and all things living.  Thus we farm in such a way that brings dignity to those we work with and that provides jobs and a wholesome living for humans more than machines.

How is Urban Patchwork?

Urban Patchwork is a non-profit farm network (sponsored by CMPBS.org) that operates based on revenue from vegetable and egg sales as well as from volunteer labor and donors of various kinds.  If you are interested in volunteering or in donating useful things or in making a cash donation, please visit our Get Involved and Donate pages.

When is Urban Patchwork?

We work to ensure that food is available every week of the year (during months with difficult weather we may include dried goods saved from bountiful harvests to ensure balanced nutrition). We farm throughout the week and work on special projects all the time. Please contact us if you would like to schedule a farm tour or check out our calendar and blog for any upcoming events.  We very much love to work with volunteers, so check out our volunteer page.

Our farm stand hours vary by neighborhood and location. Currently we break the year up into two seasons based on typical Texas growing patterns. (During months with difficult weather we may include dried goods saved from bountiful harvests to ensure balanced nutrition.) We may slightly adjust this schedule each year depending on weather and demand.

Spring/Summer: March – July
Summer Break: August
Fall/Winter: September – January
Winter Break: February

What’s Growing Each Season?

Each season has it’s own unique group of vegetables, fruits and nuts that naturally grow well during that time. Some vegetables will not be available all year long, or may be available in a “storable” form such as dried, canned or frozen. We will have a seasonal calendar and suggested recipes chart available soon to show you what you may expect each season and what you may anticipate choosing to supplement from other sources.

Here are just a few things we grew at different times this past spring and summer: