May 23, 2017 Fowler Clark Epstein Farm Construction Continues; Astoria Garden Set to Grow
Structural improvements in the Fowler Clark Epstein Farm?s barn are nearing completion; the steel has all been installed, improving vertical and horizontal stability.? Very soon we will have a new roof and clapboard repairs will begin, followed by the interior fit out for the Urban Farming Institute?s (UFI) classroom and instructional kitchen.
Meanwhile, 20th century finishes in the additions at the rear of the farm house have been removed, exposing the structure beneath.? Because this will be a substantially commercial building, used for offices and meeting spaces, there will be a small 
amount of steel installed in the house.
While our contractor MJ Mawn and his team ready the Fowler Clark Epstein Farm for the UFI?s occupancy later this year, UFI?s team began a new quarter-acre farm site just a couple of blocks away on the corner of Astoria and Flint Streets in Mattapan.? Astoria Farm will eventually be developed as a permanent farm with water systems and permanent planting beds, but while planning and permitting 
for that is happening, the City of Boston Department of Neighborhood Development provided funding for a pop-up farm of sorts, with temporary raised beds that will be planted immediately.? UFI rounded up some neighbors, trainee farmers, friends, and a host of young people to help build the interim farm on May 13th. ?Accompanied by music from Edwin the DJ, the crew built boxes, filled them with buckets and wheelbarrow of soil, and planted seedlings. ?Sandwiches and snacks kept them going until the work was done!