Harvest Green Introduces Resident Farm Club

With all the program features in place, the time is almost ripe for the launch of the Harvest Green Farm Club, one of the back-to-earth tenets of Houston’s first farm-centric community.

The resident-only Farm Club gives homeowners a chance to farm a plot of land at the Village Farm, receive discounts to educational classes open to the public and attend monthly agricultural events and weekly Saturday breakfasts. Interest in the club — expected to take root later this year — has been high, says Scott Snodgrass with Agmenity, which manages Harvest Green farms.

“Seventy percent of the residents who responded to the survey sent out earlier this year said they wanted to be involved, either as club members or volunteers,” he said.

Club members will be able to grow their own produce on an approximate 18-foot by 18-foot raised, ready-to-plant bed prepared by Agmenity. Members can choose what to plant and will be responsible for maintaining the beds. Participants also will have access to provided hand tools, and sustainable amendments and fertilizers will be included in club membership. In keeping with rules of the National Organic Program, pesticides will be prohibited.

“While club members will be farming their own plots, they will have access to our farmers during designated hours to ask advice,” Snodgrass said. “They can also connect with us during the Saturday breakfasts.”

Snodgrass said he expects the breakfasts to serve up fresh eggs from the 40 laying hens he anticipates keeping at the Village Farm.

The Village Farm encompasses 12 acres within Harvest Green and will include classroom space, an event area and room for a farmers market. Currently, four acres are being farmed, which includes half-acres for wine grapes, a citrus orchard and vineyard grapes. Snodgrass said he expects the Village Farm to accommodate 75 members; another 75 could be accommodated in other areas of Harvest Green.

Vicki Kelley, community sales manager with Darling Homes in Harvest Green, said her buyers are excited about the farming components of the community.

“I had one couple who saw a CBS Sunday Morning show on agrihoods and googled to see if there were any in the Houston area and guess what — they found us,” she said. “Buyers are coming from all over because they like the concept.”

Kelley said her office is one of her company’s busiest.

“I’ll have 50 to 60 people a week come in and inquire about Harvest Green.”

The Village Farm and a smaller parcel of land near the Harvest Green model home park is already yielding produce, part of which is being sold to local farm-to-table restaurants. Also planned is a farm cooperative program where residents will be able to purchase weekly supplies of produce harvested from a 300-acre farm adjacent to Harvest Green.