Plant Your Own Farm

Agrihood’s urban farm is a revolutionary homage to Santa Clara’s agricultural past. Located on the former UC Davis agricultural research and development site known as the Bay Area Research and Extension Center (BAREC), the acre-and-a-half of farmland and open space will provide healthy sustenance and new outdoor recreational resources to residents and neighbors alike.

The agricultural spaces are expected to be productive soon after residents arrive. Preparation and cultivation of the land will begin shortly after the project’s approval, with delivery of hyper-local fruits, veggies, herbs, and nuts soon to follow!

Three rotations of food crops are expected per year. The farm will utilize organic and regenerative methods to obtain maximum yields while maintaining sustainable practices. Pesticides will be avoided by planting native hedgerows to enhance pollination and manage damaging insects. Composting and vermicomposting programs will provide nutrients and pathogen protection to the soils and plants.

Five categories of potential crops include:

Comfort foods: tomatoes, zucchini, romaine lettuce, eggplant, onions, and sweet potatoes

Superfoods: kale, parsley, collard greens, and chard

Native foods: quailbush, strawberries, yerba buena, watercress, prickly pear, huckleberries, elderberries, and chia

Perennials: citrus trees, dwarf apple, pear, plum, apricot, almond and nectarine. Additionally, avocados, walnut and persimmons are being considered. Berry vines and grapes for wine will cover fences, arbors and trellises. Other perennials that may include sorrel, New Zealand spinach, golden berries, chives, chayote, malabar spinach, and sunchokes
Drought tolerant plantings: olives, millet, sorghum, arugula, African basil, okra, cowpeas, and mesquite

Food plants (as opposed to larger crops) will be grown throughout the property, not only in the farm plot. All available land will be cultivated as food forests, productive meadows and vertical farms to increase biodiversity, overall yield, and available habitat for native birds and insects.

Farmscape

Core has partnered with Farmscape, the largest urban farming company in California to design, build and program Agrihood’s urban farm space.

Since 2008, Farmscape has cultivated its vision to create gardens where food could travel a matter of feet from the backyard to the dinner plate. Founders Dan Allen and Lara Hermanson, along with a team of experienced farmers, builders and designers, have built hundreds of organic, urban farms across California. The company has grown fresh produce for the best restaurants in California, tackled rooftop farms in downtown LA and the Bay Area, and grown food on Silicon Valley campuses like PayPal, Samsung, Oracle, Adobe.

While Farmscape’s fundamental goal is to connect people to a fresh, local food source right in their own backyard, the company’s vision has also expanded beyond food to include low-water, sustainable landscaping in order to mitigate the impact of climate change and a limited water supply on farmers in California.

Farmscape will manage the design, installation, maintenance and programming services for Agrihood’s farm.