Grow Pittsburgh Farms

10/08/2026

As the growing season begins to wind down, you are probably wondering "what am I going to eat all winter??". With a bit of preparation you can enjoy local produce all winter long. The simplest way to do this is by making use of storage crops. These are mostly biennial crops which have evolved to survive a period of dormancy so they can flower and reproduce in their second year. In order to get there, they have developed a way of storing nutrients over the winter time. These also happen to be very delicious.

Examples of storage crops include:
*onions
*garlic
*cabbage
*beets
*carrots
*potatoes
*sweet potatoes

Some other crops also have a durable exterior that allows them to store for long times:
*winter squash
*pumpkins

Each crop has specific storage requirements for it to last the longest. Some of the easiest to store are ones that require warm storage, like pumpkins, winter squash and sweet potatoes. They like storage temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees. So this means they can be held over the winter at room temperatures. Store in a dry dark place. Before storing, wipe them down with bleach or vinegar to disinfect the exteriors so that any potential rot organism will be less of an issue.

Want to learn more about eating fresh all winter long? Join us for an Urban Root Cellaring workshop on October 15th at 5:30pm. Link in bio.

09/30/2026

09/29/2026

Happy Fall! As we transition seasons it is time to think about the end of the season and preparing the garden for winter.

Besides clean up, here are a few key things to remember as the end of the season approaches:
*Drain and disconnect all irrigation parts. Disconnect hoses from hydrants and turn off outdoor faucets.
*Remove diseased plants from your garden! Often this means tomatoes... Do not put these in you backyard compost. Put them out with the fall leaves for municipal compost pick up.
*Have a plan for protecting the garden soil over the winter. Covering will keep nutrients from washing away and keep your soil healthy. A few options: plant cover crops (such as annual rye), cover with straw, cover with landscape fabric or a tarp (keeps rains out).

Also remember: while its too late to plant many things. There is still a chance to plant a few crops! Examples include:
*radishes
*spinach
*baby mustard greens

Want to learn more? Come to our workshop on October 14th. "Preparing your garden for winter" at the Muslim Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in Monroeville.

09/28/2026

Join us for the 9th annual Braddock Farm Fall Festival on Saturday October 3rd from 10am to 2pm.

One of our most fun parts of the festival is the Farm Olympics. Teams of two compete in farm tasks to win farmer trophies. Events include a wheel hoe relay and the green tomato home run derby! Choose your team now!

09/21/2026

Our dessert contest at Fall Fest is coming up on Saturday, October 3rd!
Submit entries to the info table by noon. Please include dessert title, your name and contact info, and a list of ingredients with your contest submission. Contest winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at 1pm.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three winners! This year, our dessert contest prizes include a Swissvale Dari Delite giftcard, local honey from our farm beekeeper, or a Sol Patch bouquet.

09/15/2026

Join us for the 9th annual Braddock Farms Fall Festival on October 3rd from 10am-2pm.

Our annual Fall Festival is a free, fun and family friendly community event. We will have crafting activities for all ages, free food, face painting, and farm activity demonstrations (including paper making, bicycle powered ice-cream making and more!). You can also get your soil screened for lead for free by Allegheny County
Conservation District!

We’ll also have a Farm Olympic competition, Dessert Contest, and Gourd Decorating competition with prizes for the top three winners in each contest.

09/14/2026

Cosmos are one of the easiest seeds to collect and save. The seeds are ready to harvest when the petals have fallen off, the seed head has turned brown, expanded, and the seeds easily dislodge. If you are only saving a few seeds, you can simply pluck the long seeds from the seed head. However, if you'd like to save a larger amount of these seeds, you will begin to notice that the same mechanism that makes these seeds so easy to pluck from the seed head is also what makes the plant readily reseed itself. The seedheads become fragile and will easily shatter from being brushed up against or from wind, additionally many birds love to eat cosmos seeds as a tasty treat. One way to protect your seed heads from shattering or bird predation is to use an organza or mesh bag over the blooms once the petals have fallen but before it starts to dry out. In a few days when the seedheads have dried out and expanded, you can cut the seed head off the plant with the seeds in the bag.

If you would like to learn more about seed saving, join Madison Mclean of Library Seed Farm on September 29th at the garden resource center for a seed processing workshop where you can learn when and how to harvest seed heads, as well as how to process them!

08/26/2026

Gather your grasses, iris leaves, corn husks, or bast fibers (the inner bark of trees) that are perfect for papermaking. It’s almost time to make paper!

You don’t need to bring anything with you. Just show up. In this workshop you will learn about which plants are the most fibrous and useful for making paper, how to chop them down, how to boil the fibers, and ultimately how to make paper.

September 19th Katy "the paper lady" DeMent will be teaching a 3 hour class so come with your notebook and all of your questions!

08/20/2026

We are working on a fun project at Shiloh Farm. In partnership with artist Anne Melnyk, we are making a new mosaic sign for the farm. Community members & our Urban Farmers in Training have been working hard to complete it. We had a workday planned for today, but due to the weather, we are rescheduling to September 3rd.

Come by Shiloh Farm on September 3rd from noon-5pm to work on the mosaic sign! It is beginner friendly and easy to step in at any stage of the sign.

First photo is the first workday in June, 2nd photo is in late July, and the chicken butt photos are from August. The mosaic sign will replace our very faded Shiloh Farm sign. Check out this awesome retreat that Anne is teaching at Leatherwood Art Studio in New Bethlehem!

08/15/2026

Dr. Phipps is back at the GRC. This is a great opportunity to connect, ask questions, and gain valuable insights to support your gardening journey. Be sure to stop by and take advantage of the knowledge & experience of Phipps Master Gardeners!