Locations
PIF manages four (4) urban farm sites in Houston, TX.
- PIF Fondren – 10595 Fondren Road, Houston TX 77096 – Owned by Braeswood Assembly of God, this was our first urban farm. Today 3 businesses operate here: The Grace Farm, Hope Farm, and Chef Constant Sustainable Farm
- PIF Westbury – 12581 Dunlap Street, Houston TX 77035 – Located alongside the Westbury Community Garden, this 2-acre plot hosts 3 urban farms: MARS Farm, Louamba Sustainable Farm, and Natural Plants Healthy Food
- PIF Montrose – 1318 Sul Ross Street, Houston TX 77006 – Jasmine Family Farm is located at this half-acre site, owned by the University of St. Thomas.
- PIF Blossom Heights – 8720 Lipan Road, Houston TX 77063– Blossom Heights Child Development Center hosts Afri Harvest Farm at this half-acre site.
Other partnering farms are located at the following locations:
- Chef Constant Sustainable Farm – Farmer Constant Ngouala leases an 8-acre farm at 2345 Avenue South, Santa Fe, TX 77510
- Shamba Ya Amani – This 4-acre community farm is found at 8401 Dairy View Ln, Houston, TX 77072
- Burmese Community Farm – Over 10 families grow on a 5-acre site in Rosharon, TX
- Indiangrass Prairie Preserve – 31975 Hebert Rd, Waller, TX 77484
Farming Ethic
A Core Set of Values
While each farmer in the Plant It Forward network makes their own growing and land management decisions, farmers across our network share a core set of values that guide their farm management decisions.
At PIF, we believe in an agroecological approach to growing. For many PIF-network farmers, this means practicing a traditional approach to farming that mixes a wide variety of crops in the same field, and focuses on building a healthy soil ecology through practices like applying organic matter heavily and frequently to the fields.
Sustainability
At Plant It Forward, we take pride in what we are growing and feeding to our community. Every crop is grown thoughtfully and intentionally. While each partnering farm has their own individual growing style, all the farmers in our network make decisions based on a core set of principles.
Currently partnering farms range in size from half an acre to ~8 acres. According to the USDA, each of these are “micro” farms. While small in acreage, each of these sites contribute significantly to local agriculture. By using bio-intensive planting techniques, combined with an agroecological approach, our incredible network of partner farms feed over over 100 Houston families per acre.
Moreover, we seek to create an endurable local food system. In other words, we are in this for long haul. That’s why sustainability is the core of our farming and business philosophies at Plant It Forward. We approach sustainability from a triple-bottom-line perspective, meaning we focus equally on people, economics, and environment.
People Sustainability
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Anyone in the industry will tell you that farming is lifestyle, not a job. Because growing is so all-consuming, working smarter is critical to avoid burn-out. We train farmers to use efficient practices that enable them to enjoy a lifelong career in agriculture.Economic Sustainability
Farming as a livelihood
At PIF, we believe that stewarding our land and feeding our communities is work. And the growers who serve us by performing this work deserve to earn a fair living. To this end, all of our growing and sales decisions serve the financial well-being of the producer.
Environmental Sustainability
Responsible Stewardship
We strive to honor our land and future generations by implementing regenerative growing practices. Because we prioritize health – for farmers, the agri-ecosystem, neighbors, and customers – we never use harmful pesticides or herbicides.
Prospective Farmers
In 2024, we have two exciting opportunities for new Americans that want to learn to farm. We are launching a year-long Apprenticeship Program that will include hands-on farm work, farmer mentorship, training sessions, and classes. We are also launching our Agriculture Short Course Series, which consists of 8 distinct courses on topics ranging from Sustainable Farm Design to Intro to Business Planning. Ready to apply?
Frequently Asked Questions
We love hearing about the great community gardening projects springing up across the city! Creating a healthier, greener Houston will take hard work and dedication from many community members. We applaud anyone willing to roll up their sleeves and pitch in.
While we love community gardening, at this time we do not have the capacity to assist with these projects. We put all our energy into advocating for, training, and supporting PIF farmers.
If you’re looking to get started with a school or community garden, we recommend that you reach out to our friends at Urban Harvest. If you need general advice about gardening in Houston, check out the Horticulture resources available through AgriLife Extension. You can also get a copy of Bob Randall’s book on year-round gardening for metro Houston – a great resource for any grower!
Yes, PIF produce is safe. Notably, many E.coli outbreaks occur because of field contamination originating from an animal source, such as a slaughterhouse. Our urban farms exist in an entirely different agricultural paradigm which makes this type of contamination impossible.
PIF produce travels from the farm to our wash/pack facility to you. Because of this short supply chain, our produce is not impacted by national-scale outbreaks of E.coli or other foodborne illnesses. Moreover, to ensure the health and safety of our customers we follow standards developed through FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) and GAP (Good Agricultural Practices). Both FSMA and GAP establish a set of industry-wide standards which certify that food coming out of the field is safe for consumption.
Some of our key food safety practices include:
· Daily washing and sanitizing of all surfaces that come into contact with produce.
· Use of clean water directly from the City of Houston in all on-farm irrigation and in our wash/pack facility.
· Frequent and thorough hand-washing, especially before handling produce.
If you still have questions about our practices, we encourage you to come see for yourself how we’re growing your food. Please reach out to info@plant-it-forward.org if you would like to schedule a visit.
No. We follow organic best-practices, which prohibits use of GMOs. Most of our seeds are hybrid varieties and some are heirloom varieties.
Yes! We are actively searching for a 20+ acre site where we can establish a permanent farm site. If you are interested in donating land that meets these requirements, please reach out to us at liz@plant-it-forward.org.
Why will you only accept land donations of 20+ acres for long-term (i.e. 20+ year) use?
It’s true that our current sites are much smaller than 20-acres, and we do not have agreements for permanent site usage. However, going forward we are searching only for land that meets these requirements. We made the decision shift our land acquisition strategy for several reasons:
1. The business of farming doesn’t work without stable land tenure. Farming is a long-term endeavor. For example, it takes at least 3-5 years to develop healthy soil on a new site. Creating a viable farm – let alone a space that can also serve the surrounding community as a greenspace – takes time, sweat, and money to develop. Economically, farm businesses don’t work when there isn’t stable and long-term land tenure.
2. Current PIF-network farmers seek to expand their current operations. Some farmers want to grow fruit, others want to establish a small chicken operation. While each individual has unique goals, most PIF-network farmers would like to manage 1-2 acres.
3. PIF-network farmers want to stay together as a farming community. PIF farmers enjoy the benefits that network cooperation provides, including the opportunity to learn from each other and access to shared resources.
4. There are many more new Americans who aspire to start their own farming business, and a larger site can provide these future farmers with the space they need to get started.
In 2019 we became a partner in Urban Harvest’s DoubleUp Bucks initiative, which provides a 1:1 match for local food purchased using food stamps at designated locations. Effectively, this cuts the price of local food in half for families with SNAP benefits while continuing to provide the producer a fair price for their labor. The DoubleUp model has been successful in many cities across the country, and we hope to see more of this type of funding available in Houston in the future!
Sure! You’re welcome to bring them to any of our farm sites. Please make sure you connect with the farmer the first time you bring them so you know exactly where on the site to leave them. We cannot pick up from your house.
At this time we are unable to accept compostable waste from the community. If you have a relationship with a PIF Farmer and they have given you permission to bring compostable waste directly to their farm, then of course you are welcome to do so!
If you’re looking for a sustainable alternative to throwing away your compostable waste, you can subscribe to a compost pick up service like Happy Earth Compost. You could also see if there is a community garden in your neighborhood that would accept your compostable waste. Urban Harvest has a list of gardens in the area.
Our farmers grow employing traditional and sustainable methods with a bio-intensive approach that provides for high productivity per square foot.
- Labor: Our growing practices rely largely on hand labor and low-impact machinery. As needed, our farmers choose to contract labor with other growers, often drawing upon the local refugee community due to their agricultural experience.
- Soil inputs: We do not use any synthetic fertilizers. We apply compost several times a year. Our methods involve strong reliance on natural mulches to maintain biomass and protect an active soil microbiome.
- Water: We use city-supplied water at every step of our process, from growing to packing.
- Pest management: Our primary pest management strategies are preventative, to include building healthy soil, installing healthy plants, and managing bio-diverse farms – growing a wide variety of plant species every season. Our pesticide use is extremely sparse. When we make the determination that pesticide use is warranted, the products we use are organic-certified.
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