How does Natasha Nicholes's #WeSowWeGrow initiative transform urban farming techniques?

Natasha Nicholes’s We Sow We Grow initiative transforms urban farming by centering community first, techniques second. I use gardening as a tool to build relationships, skills, and long‑term land stewardship, not just to grow crops.

On Chicago’s Far South Side, I started with a vacant lot and turned it into a community garden that teaches people how to grow food in small, often challenging urban spaces. I share what I’m learning in real time—container gardening, raised beds, crop selection, and trial-and-error lessons—through workshops, live videos, and our Facebook gardening group so others can adapt these methods to their own blocks.

We also focus on protecting land from speculative development so food production stays in the neighborhood’s hands. That mix of education, community organizing, and land advocacy is where our approach to urban farming really shifts the model.

What part of urban farming are you most interested in—techniques, community building, or land access?