Demonstrating the Feasibility of Producing Culturally Preferred Vegetable Crops in Underrepresented Urban Areas

In this demonstration and education project, City Sprouts will lean heavily on its large network of volunteers, staff, interns, community partners and associated urban farmers to identify and select three preferred crops from each selected culture (Burmese, Afghan, Iraqi, Somali, Sudanese / South Sudanese and Ukrainian) to grow on its seven acre farm. Crops will be identified through in depth interviews with current and former interns who represent these cultures as well as surveys distributed to community partners actively engaged with refugee populations. Once selected, a one-sheet production guide for each crop will be created by City Sprouts for distribution to other urban and peri-urban farmers in its extensive network as an educational resource.

City Sprouts has designed and delivered a survey to former interns, staff and community partners to gauge which culturally preferred crops would be most beneficial to study and create a growing guide for. Additionally, City Sprouts staff have conducted in-person interviews with growers and members of the identified communities to assess where market shortfalls exist in terms of produce availability. After assessing capacity and based on initial survey results, City Sprouts staff have decided to reduce both the number of crops and cultures to focus on, in order to provide higher quality growing guides. City Sprouts will engage with members of the Burmese, Burundian, Sudanese/South Sudanese and Afghan communities and have identified two crops per culture. The crops are as follows:

• Burmese (Karen, Karenni, Chin): 
  
  • Sour Leaf / Sorrel: A type of hibiscus cultivated in Burma, Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia, primarily for it's young, tender and bitter leaves. Used heavily to make stews and soups. 
  • Thai Eggplant: Called Thai eggplant but popular through parts of Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia these small, spherical green eggplant vary wildly from Italian and French eggplants most commonly cultivated in the United States. 
• Burundian:
  • Burundian Eggplant: A small white eggplant that ripens to a deep orange grown by Burundian refugees in Omaha. Seed gifted to City Sprouts by a grower in our network and sold at the Maranatha Market, a Burundian owned and operated grocer in Omaha. 
  • Pumpkin Leaves: Harvested when young and tender, the leaves are stewed and served as a relish (of sorts) with many dishes, known as muboora. Also commonly cultivated by Burmese growers in Omaha. 
• Sudanese / South Sudanese:
  • Molokhia: Referred to here using the name of a dish commonly made with this plant in the mallow family. Also referred to as jute, the tender leaves are harvested and stewed with seasonings to create a mucilaginous stew common in both Sudan and South Sudan. 
  • Black Eyed Pea Leaves: While black eyed peas are commonly cultivated, particularly in the American south, growerS in Nebraska rarely harvest the leaves from these leguminous crops. Stewed in a similar way to molokhia, these are known in South Sudan as nyete. 
•  Afghani:
  • Persian Cucumber: Small, smooth and seedless cucumbers are common in Afghan cuisine and valued as a snack or to prepare doogh, a yogurt and cucumber drink. 
  • Tinda / Apple Gourd: A small, round curcubit. This green gourd is harvested at a slightly immature stage and generally stuffed and steamed. 

2023 Update:

Not all the above listed crops were able to be grown during the 2023 season, so additional trials and production data will be gathered during the 2024 growing season. Crops that were grown during the 2023 season italicized above. 

The production guides will include information on seed sourcing (from organic / sustainable and BIPOC-owned sources, where possible), propagation and transplant management using minimal plastic, minimal and/or no-till field preparation, transplant / direct seeding guidance, irrigation requirements (with a focus on water conservation), integrated weed management, the use of both organic (leaf litter, straw, etc) and biodegradable, MATER-BI based mulch. Proper harvest and post-harvest handling instructions will also be included, as well as any understood pest issues.

In addition to the production guides, which will be available online on City Sprouts' website and social media and at public outreach events, City Sprouts promoted the production guides and our SARE-funded work at multiple field days, farm tours, and educational events. A specific field day had been planned with two partner organizations, but in the intervening years, both organizations went through periods of transition and were no longer able to participate. However, over 175 individuals participated in tours and field days and learned about our production trials. Of those 175, nearly 100 were active producers / growers and may adopt the production of these important, cultural crops. 

Through publicly demonstrating the sustainable production of these culturally preferred crops, creating and distributing production guides and hosting a field day with refugee-led community partners, City Sprouts will provide an example to other growers in the area that the production of culturally preferred crops is not just possible, but also potentially economically beneficial to their farm operation. Through its partnership with the Food Bank for the Heartland, City Sprouts is actively creating marketing opportunities for small-scale farmers to be compensated for growing and distributing culturally preferred produce through the Food Bank’s network of partner pantries. The demonstration and education portions of this program will lead directly to an increase in both the availability and accessibility of that produce while also increasing the economic viability of producing it for local growers.

OBJECTIVES (2024 updates in bold):

• Demonstrate the use of five sustainable production techniques in growing culturally preferred vegetables (Ex: integrative pest and weed management, cover cropping, compost applications and sustainable tillage implements (Spring-Fall 2023)
  • City Sprouts demonstrated these techniques for culturally preferred vegetable crops in 2023 and will continue to demonstrate, record, and promote these techniques in 2024, particularly within the growing guides. 
  • City Sprouts demonstrated and recorded sustainable production techniques and practices for each of the 8 crops selected as part of this project. These production techniques included:
    
    • Use of soil-blocks for seed starting, eliminating conventional polystyrene greenhouse materials.
    • Use of 15 mil drip irrigation for water conservation and disease/fungus management. Drip irrigation was collected at the end of the season and saved for reuse the following year. 
    • Use of Bio360 Mater-Bi mulch for weed suppression and soil temperature regulation on early planted crops. Mulch was collected at the end of the season and commercially composted. 
    • Crops were planted in 36" beds with 33" walkways which were seeded with annual cover crops for weed control in walkways / harvest paths and to encourage beneficial, predatory and pollinator insect populations. Buckwheat was seeded at the time of bed forming (mid-May) and terminated with a flail mower in late June. At that point, oats were seeded and winterkilled after the crops had been removed. Both cover crops were seeded with an Earthway seeder with Beans / Small Pea plate at 3.6" spacing. Five rows were seeded of both species. 
    • While not noted in the production guides due to its cost and particular niche, a reticulating spader was used for bed prep in all production beds, limiting soil compaction and providing a hospitable seed bed for both direct seeded and transplanted crops. 
• Produce 5,000 - 7,000 pounds, annually, of selected culturally preferred vegetables at the City Sprouts Urban Farm for distribution to local food pantries (Fall, 2023)
  • In 2023, City Sprouts produced over 15,000 lbs of produce for distribution to the Bountiful Harvest Food Pantry through its partnership with the Food Bank for the Heartland. Of those 15,000 lbs, 7,307 were categorized as culturally preferred. 
  • In 2024, City Sprouts produced nearly 16,000 lbs of produce for distribution to our community partners, including the Bountiful Harvest Food Pantry in partnership with the Food Bank for the Heartland. Of those 16,000 lbs, 8,404 were categorized as culturally preferred. 
• Complete 10 interviews and receive 20 survey responses to identify culturally preferred produce from select populations (Spring, 2023)
  • City Sprouts received 8 survey responses regarding culturally preferred produce from select populations in 2023, a lower number than expected. However, City Sprouts staff engaged with 14 community members and growers to gather information regarding culturally preferred produce items. Survey responses will continue to be collected as City Sprouts still seeks to continue to learn and educate growers on the production of culturally preferred crops beyond the grant period. 
• Create and distribute ten culturally preferred vegetable production guides to the large network of growers in the Omaha area (Spring, 2024)
  • City Sprouts has collected data, photos and practices and will continue to identify best practices to include in the production guides. The guides will most likely be ready for production and distribution by Fall, 2024.
  • City Sprouts, due to the limited capacity of staff and space on the farm, chose to only grow eight culturally preferred vegetable crops and thus produced eight production guides. These guides are uploaded on the City Sprouts website and will continue to be distributed to the urban and small-scale agriculture community. City Sprouts annually interacts with ~150 producers through its outreach events, farm tours, field days and community / grower workshops.
• Engage 15 Omaha area farmers through a hands-on, production-focused field day (Fall, 2023)
  • City Sprouts hosted two large tours and field days in 2023. The first of which was in conjunction with the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society and brought 27 farmers and food system professionals to the farm to learn about City Sprouts and the farms production methods, particularly as they relate to specialty, culturally preferred crops. City Sprouts also hosted 45 growers and food systems professionals at our first annual Soil Health Field Day. While the focus was not explicitly on this project, all attendees were extremely interested in our production methods and crops, and the field day spent ~1.5 hours discussing and touring the related fields. It was also an extreme pleasure to host members of the NCR-SARE Administrative Council and staff to our farm to learn about our work. 
  • City Sprouts continued to host field days in 2024, although none of them were specifically focused on the production of specialty crops. City Sprouts hosted 65 growers and food systems professionals attending the National Farm to School grant awardee conference in Omaha in September. Additionally, City Sprouts hosted staff from the USDA's Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production in May. Staff, including the director of the office Brian Guse, were extremely intrigued and impressed with the production of culturally preferred crops. The farm was lucky enough to host the director of the NRCS, Terry Crosby, on the farm in October. While many of the crops involved in this project were out of production we were able to share small tastes of roselle and molokhia (unfortunately not very good raw). Lastly, City Sprouts hosted its second annual Soil Health Field Day, which brought 40 producers to the farm. In addition to excellent soil health information, they were able to explore and learn about the production methods for these specialty crops, with a particular focus on the conservation practices employed.