In the Field: Organic farm in the city

In the Field

Farmer D catches up with friends in a downtown Atlanta neighborhood and helps them transform their late summer garden into veggie-growing powerhouse for fall. (Nick Scott/MNN)

Read the transcript

Farmer D: Alright, I'm Farmer D and I'm here with my friend Billy G. We're in downtown Atlanta. It's middle of October. We're going to pull out his late summer tomoatoes and plant a fall garden here in his front yard.

Farmer D: What we're going to do is go ahead and harvest out what's in the garden now, pick everything. We'll put some of it up and dry out the basil, we'll pick the tomatoes and eat them for the next couple weeks. And then we are going to yank it all out.

Farmer D: Billy, tell me how you got into this. What made you want to put a garden in your front yard?

Billy Gorman: Well, you know growing up, my family, we always planted gardens and my wife, Greer and I worked with you and really got into it.
And when we moved over here, we had to have an organic farm. And it's been great. People walk in, they love checking out the vegetables. Because when they come in for dinner, they know what they're eating.

Farmer D: So what did you have growing this summer?

Billy Gorman: This summer, I think we had six or seven different species of tomatoes, we had some bell peppers, we had some eggplants, we had thyme, oregano, pineapple mint, regular mint. The tomatoes just kept coming and coming. I have never seen anything like it before. We eventualy had a tomoato hedge. It was just, they were six feet tall at one point. It was unbelievable. Still going.

Farmer D: Today we are going to plant some kale, we're going to plant some cauliflower, we're going to plant some cabbages. We got some seeds for lettuce and mustard greens, kohlrabi. So we'll be putting some of those fall veggies in now and we'll be picking stuff for the next four months out of there.

Billy Gorman: Fantastic.

Farmer D: So tell me what really... what do you love most about growing your own food?

Billy Gorman: You know, the great thing about it is it's a heck of a lot of fun. I mean, my wife and I are sitting here, this is an activity we can do together. Our friends come by, they like to participate in it. And I am from New Orleans and I love to cook. So, the real beauty of it is you get to eat what you grow. And the quality is just... You know, you will never eat a better tomato than the one you grow yourself. And it is just a fact.

We even have strangers that walk up the street that we know and they're like, "How's your vegetable garden?" And we send them home with a sack of cherry tomatoes...

Farmer D: Nice.

Billy Gorman: And they love it. It's just a lot of fun.

Farmer D: Have you had any complaints? Anybody tell you you've got a big mess in your front yard?

Billy Gorman: No. Not that I really care.

Farmer D: They're more excited about just getting the tomatoes.

Billy Gorman: No they are, they love it. They love it. I mean, people walk by, they drive by. We'll have friends that drive by the road and they're like, "Oh the farm looks great!"

Greer Gorman: Oh, I think it looks fantastic.

Cameraman: What are you most excited about?

Greer Gorman: Oh, that's a tough question.

Billy off camera: Eating it!

Greer Gorman: Yeah! Eating it!