Speedwell Farm & Garden
Young farmers that began micro-farming in back yards now building a collective focused on regeneration.
A Creative Beginning
Cody Jurbala and Melissa Ogilvie didn’t come by their two acre farm easily. Unable to afford the extremely high upfront costs of buying and starting a farm, they got creative. In 2017, they began their farming journey by leasing backyards in Boulder, CO and converting them into micro-farms. Today they are the proud owners and operators of Speedwell Farm & Garden, focusing on ethical land stewardship and growing high quality produce.
A Leg Up
Speedwell was in need of funds to help build soil fertility at their new farm in Boulder, Colorado. The Restore Colorado grant went directly towards organic compost for their field crop production. This funding opportunity helped young farmers develop long-term soil fertility and propel Cody and Mel into their new farm future.
About Speedwell Farm & Garden
“We are Cody Jurbala and Melissa Ogilvie, the owners and operators of Speedwell Farm & Gardens. We started Speedwell in 2017 by converting leased back yards in Boulder, Colorado into micro-farm plots. Due to the difficulties of land access for young farmers, leasing back yard space was the only to way begin farming without immense monetary input in their initial years. Since then, we have grown our business to a 2 acre farm located at the Treehouse Farm Collective just north of Boulder. Together we manage every aspect of the farm. From planting and harvesting, to marketing and sales, we do it all. We are passionate about providing food to their community in ways that are less damaging to the environment than large-scale mainstream agriculture, and creating community resilience through connecting people to where their food comes from.”
-
Zero Foodprint awards grants for projects that take carbon out of the atmosphere and put it back where it belongs: in the earth, creating healthy soil and better food. To do this, we focus on regenerative farming practices like composting, cover cropping, and managed grazing that can restore life to our soil while removing carbon from the atmosphere. Together, we have the power to grow more nutritious food, heal natural water cycles, and create habitat for biodiversity to thrive. Explore previously funded projects to see what this might look like on your farm.
For more information, read through other Restore Grant FAQs.oes here
Zero Foodprint (ZFP) is a nonprofit organization restoring the climate, one acre at a time. We believe that by regenerating soil, local food economies can play a critical role in reversing the global climate crisis. We work with food and beverage businesses, philanthropy, and government to bring the next dollar to implement the next regenerative practice on the next acre. This regenerative economy benefits every person who grows food, every person who sells food, and every person on this planet who eats food.
