Historic Barns Park was once part of the extensive campus of the State Hospital Asylum and served to grow much of the produce needed to feed the Hospital staff and patients. The SEEDS Farm at Historic Barns Park is proud to continue this tradition of feeding the neighborhood. In addition to growing fresh food, SEEDS is engaged in the practice of using agricultural lands to sequester carbon from the atmosphere back into the soil. We think of it as Carbon Farming and building soil is one of many practical solutions to reversing global warming that can be adapted to work almost anywhere in the world.
Resident Farmer Program
The average age of the US Farmer has been rising rapidly for the last 30 years. For over a decade, the SEEDS Farm has expanded opportunities for early-career farmers to practice through the farmer residency program. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a resident farmer at the SEEDS Farm, we post a Request for Proposals for resident farmers each year around December and January.
Current Resident Farmers:
- Carter’s Compost
- The Father Fred Foundation & Giving Garden
- Salix Collective
Award-Winning Garlic
SEEDS Ecology & Education Centers continues the tradition of agriculture at Historic Barns Park with our annual garlic crop. Music Garlic is a hard-neck variety that is hardy and likes cold weather, stores well and has large cloves that are easy to peel. SEEDS’ Garlic won ‘Best Garlic’ at the 2015 Garlic Auction hosted by Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology. It has been planted at Interlochen Community School! Culinary garlic and seed garlic are available for sale each fall. Email hello@ecoseeds.org to be added to our newsletter and receive the announcement when the crop is ready for purchase.
