Yields a Harvest of Broccoli,
Basil, Tomatoes and More
By Phoebe Neidl
Brooklyn Eagle
RED HOOK — When Ian Cheney inherited his grandfather’s ’86 Dodge pickup truck seven years ago, little did he know that the weather-worn vehicle would be at the center of one of his documentary film projects.
But after the New England native moved to Brooklyn, the truck became much more than a truck. Against all odds, it became a miniature urban farm.
“I soon realized the truck was the only land I would come to own in New York City,” says Cheney, 29. And so he and his production partner Curt Ellis set about proving just how much can be accomplished with an unconventional, 40-square-foot farm plot.
They drilled holes in his truck bed for water drainage and layered it with six inches of lightweight soil, specially developed for green-roof technology by biologist Paul Mankiewicz of the Bronx-based Gaia Institute. (Roofs aren’t built to withstand the constant heavy weight of saturated soil; nor for that matter are 23-year-old trucks.)
Cheney’s “truck farm” soon yielded a harvest of arugula, broccoli, basil, cherry tomatoes, heirloom lettuces, peppers and various herbs.
“It was shocking to me how much food we were able to grow in 40 square feet,” he says. “We haven’t had any crops fail at all.”
What to do with the bounty became the next challenge. They were able to off-load the basil on a neighborhood restaurant in exchange for the use of its hose, but they also decided the crop was plentiful enough to start a CSA (community supported agriculture) — “probably New York City’s smallest.”
In such arrangements, people pay a fee to a regional farm to receive periodical delivery of fresh produce. The truck farm’s CSA has 20 subscribers who benefited from four harvests — the last is a hot sauce made from the truck’s jalapenos. “We stretched and ordered the smallest bottles available,” Cheney says.
As documentary filmmakers, Cheney and Ellis have a clear bent toward environmental topics (previous works include King Corn and The Greening of Southie), so it didn’t take long to realize the narrative potential of the truck farm — now the subject of their hour-long documentary due out this spring.
Atop the truck’s cabin is a time-lapse camera, powered by a small solar panel, that automatically takes a picture of the changing “farm” every five minutes. “At first we wanted to do a series of short, viral videos, but we realized we could do more with it,” says Ellis.
“We’ve been using the truck as a vehicle for exploring more legitimate urban farm projects,” says Cheney. Truck Farm the documentary is an account of the innovative urban farming techniques underway in New York City, such as “window farming” — growing food in plastic bottles suspended in front of windows using hydroponics technology; green roofs, such as the 6,000-square-foot farm atop a warehouse in Greenpoint; and a vegetable garden barge off Staten Island.
Growing Food Locally
“Food travels an average of 500 miles to a plate, and in a world that needs to use less fossil fuel, it makes sense to grow more food locally,” says Cheney.
To the farm’s critics, who say the weighted-down truck makes the vehicle burn more fuel, Cheney says, “This is not the future of agriculture and I’m glad if people are able to point that out, but it is an example of how we need more out-of-the-box thinking.”
Also, Cheney notes, he only drives the truck about 10 to 15 miles a month. “If I drive any faster than 40 m.p.h, I get covered in dirt,” Cheney says. For the most part it remains in Red Hook, where it consistently receives attention from curious passersby, some of whom help themselves to the crop.
“The presence of a farm in the city is a reminder that food comes from some place,” says Cheney. “If nothing else, it makes people chuckle,” he says of the truck.
As for the aging truck’s fate, Cheney says he’s considering Truck Farm 2.0 with a greenhouse. “Although I have to get the truck inspected soon, so I’m really curious how all that’s gonna pan out.”
Cheney and Ellis’s production company Wicked Delicate will hold a fundraiser at Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO on Dec. 2, 6-9 p.m. Music, food, mingling and a sneak peak at upcoming projects will be available. Admission is free, but contributions are encouraged. Find out more at www.wickedelicate.com. Space is limited, so RSVP at showcase@ wickedelicate.com.
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