By Anna Yoder | Columnist 

*Editor’s note: This article was edited from its print edition to correct the spelling of Carol Gonzalez’s name.

As an avid gardener, I arrived at the Northside with many gardening tools: multiple sized shovels and spades, hoes and rakes, a mattock, sledge hammers, a pitchfork, etc.

No longer living on acreage but rather having a tiny courtyard (that I readily admit I have over planted), I yearned to donate these tools to a place that really could use them.

Never in my wildest imagination did I expect to be able to connect with a farm on the Northside (It still blows my mind to this day). When I was contacted by Carol Gonzalez — a Northside resident and crop manager at Ballfield Farm — about the gardening tools, I was absolutely intrigued. I arranged to meet Carol and find out where in the world this farm was located on the Northside. As it turns out, Ballfield Farm was located not that far from my home and is in the Perry South neighborhood.

Experiencing Ballfield Farm was almost magical. As I waited for Carol to arrive at the farm, two hummingbirds nestled into a honeysuckle vine, one of the resident groundhogs made an appearance from his burrow to say “hi,” and I spied a dawn redwood conifer, pawpaw, and dogwood trees. And I had not yet entered the farm’s rows and rows of fenced vegetable and fruit growing areas!

This pastoral setting all began in 2008 when visionaries from The Pittsburgh Project sought an agreement from the City of Pittsburgh to transform a 6-7 acre neglected and vacant ballfield — once a “valued part of the community” — into an urban farm. With the assistance of The Pittsburgh Project’s two paid staff — Courtney and Mark Williams — new life was given to the abandoned, weedy, and seriously overgrown ballfield, which was drastically transformed into a place where neighbors come together and grow organic food.

Ballfield Farm is currently manned by all volunteer members who grow organic produce such as tomatoes, potatoes, kale, peas, green beans, herbs, blueberries, strawberries, peppers and much more! Certain perennial crops such as figs, rosemary and fava beans are also grown in a protected “hoop building,” while other “baseline” perennial crops such as asparagus, rhubarb, and garlic are grown in manicured rows. To see the variety of crops was mind boggling and a welcome sight in an urban environment!

As crop manager, Carol compiles the list of vegetables and fruits the farm grows. Carol explained the decision on what to grow is “built on tradition and what works well” and the members’ preferences.

Ballfield Farms uses a “no-till approach” whereby the crops are grown without disturbing the soil. This approach uses cover crops, leaves, and mulch to control weeds without tilling. This farming method also leaves the soil intact and allows for better soil health, moisture retention, and encourages beneficial organisms to enhance the soil naturally.

Each individual volunteer member pays $15 a year and dedicates at least six hours a month working the farm (family membership is $30 with at least 12 hours of a time commitment). This is a very reasonable membership fee considering the members reap what they sow — literally. When it’s harvest time, volunteer members are entitled to “take what their household needs with a commitment to use what they take and avoid waste.” Carol is quick to add that the volunteers also “share their abundance” with the local food pantry and there is no requirement to live on the Northside to be a member.

Carol emphasized that in addition to growing vegetables and fruits, “beauty is also taken into account in everything they do” — which I can surely attest to. An assortment of beautiful flowers such as lavender and zinnias, including edible nasturtiums and all kinds of trees such as hazelnut, pawpaw, and pear, dogwood and elderberry further enhance the beauty of the farm. In addition to collectively growing crops, the farm conducts workshops for their members, holds monthly potlucks, and enjoys lively social gatherings with member musicians adding to the charm.

Carol works outside the farm’s ‘hoop building,’ in which perennial crops like figs, rosemary and fava beans are grown. Photo by Anna Yoder

With only about 30 members and a very modest membership fee, Carol explains the farm is further sustained through grants and donations from various individuals and organizations. Ballfield Farms receives a yearly grant from Grow Pittsburgh to purchase seedlings from Garden Dreams and Tree Pittsburgh has donated trees. The Sisters of St. Joseph (whose convent is located close to the farm) has also generously given Ballfield Farm a grant to purchase a desperately needed metal roofed outbuilding which houses tools and other gardening equipment.

Carol, along with other members of the leadership team (all dedicated volunteers with a full commitment to Ballfield Farm), work tirelessly to ensure the continued success of the farm. The team monitors the finances, applies for grants, holds membership drives and manages social media, etc. The Allegheny Land Trust — committed to “green spacing in urban areas” — is seeking to secure the property from the city where Ballfield Farm is situated. This acquisition would guarantee that the land could be continually farmed and remain a presence in the Perry South Neighborhood.

Carol stresses that the farm is not only a place to grow the freshest produce, it is also a place where “people have a real sense of peace” and where they find “healing.” And it can be the simplest things that bring great delight and peace. Carol says it can be something as simple as the “magic of finding a mushroom” on a log.

When I entered the farm and witnessed a pileated woodpecker gnawing at a large tree hoping to snag some ants— a sight I have not seen since I left my rural home years ago — it was pure delight. The woodpecker’s drumming in the silence at the farm was also very serene. It seems Carol’s description was right on point.

If it’s fresh veggies, an opportunity to get your hands in the dirt, gardening camaraderie, or a little peace and quiet from the daily hustle and bustle are what you are looking for, take a short drive to Ballfield Farm and become a volunteer member. Who knows? That beautiful pileated woodpecker may still be drumming in the woods to delight and greet you.

Ballfield Farm is located near the corner of Danbury and Crispen Streets in Perry South.