Urban Farms cultivate sustainability in South Bend and Elkhart

Photo by Peter Ringenberg
South Bend Homestead’s quarter-acre urban farm includes a chicken coop (left), which is a source of not only fresh eggs but also manure for the farm. Michael Totten says he would like to see the city allow goats, too, for producing milk, cheese and butter.
Photo by Peter Ringenberg
Michael and Samaree Totten of South Bend Homestead describe their methods as “beyond organic,” rejecting the use even of chemicals officially allowed in organic farming. “If a crop fails, it fails,” says Michael.
Photo by Peter Ringenberg
After college, Nicole Bauman helped found the Elkhart Local Food Alliance and Rise Up Farms before starting Red Oak Farm in 2016. She cultivates this vacant lot that the city of Elkhart had been mowing for eight years before she took it over.
Photo by Peter Ringenberg
More than 40 types of vegetables are grown on Red Oaks Farm's eighth-acre city lot, including these spiny Japanese cucumbers.
Photo by Peter Ringenberg
Nick Licina started a quarter-acre organic farm in the early ’90s but wasn't able to get it off the ground as he had hoped. He revived the business idea five years ago when he started Jelena Farms as a collaboration with farmers, cultivating empty lots throughout South Bend.
In the summer, Jelena Farms grow herbs and staple vegetables, including tomatoes, greens, carrots, beans and potatoes. In the winter, they sell mint and lemon balm teas and blends like herbes de Provence and meat and poultry rubs.