Even now, the land-leasing farmers could be asked to move on with just two months' notice. Their protection has been the people in the area, who in most cases chose to risk siding with the farmers. Standing where steamy compost has melted away the snow, Winstanley says the site may have been an urban farm as long ago as the 186Os. He connects his hopes for the farm's future to its history. There's been a continuity of food gathering here that we'd like to see go to perpetuity.
Food is a key ingredient.
The vision goes something like this. That is, tomatoes, kale or kohlrabi might grow in planters, hops vines could crawl over the buildings, bay leaf trees might line a walkway. On the south side, where two old houses now stand, there would be a private farm for the condos - a greenhouse and a garden. This would also create a pedestrian connection to Franklin Green, where there is now a small, underused city park. The existing farm, chickens, compost and all, could replace the park while retaining a public walkway.