Just beyond Interstate 275 and 22nd Avenue N in St. Petersburg, not far from the hum of nonstop traffic, sits Greens N Things Urban Farm. It’s just one of several farms that local farmer Eric Law developed on unused plots of land.
A little over five years ago, Law saw an opportunity to turn his front lawn into a farm. He’d had success with raised beds gardening and had done some volunteer work at local farms. His idea worked, so kept looking for pieces of land he could grow on, even if a few miles apart. Today, he’s got roughly 9,000 square feet of farms spaced out across the city. That number is likely to grow. It’s an innovative approach for a county that seems to value green spaces less and less these days. Law’s farm is a thing of beauty in a time thick with “agritourism.” For him, it’s really about getting good food to his community. He’s about empowering folks too, and offers advice along with affordable seedlings for herb and vegetable gardens. Plus, one of the best selections of local fruit trees around. All of it paired with a knowledge of this place that is a rare entity. He’s building sustainable food systems in a city that values paved land over planted.
Welcome to Creative Loafing’s Best of The Bay 2025
At a time when being online can be insufferable, and taking care of business in the real world gets overwhelming, these winners give us a chance to log off, take a breath, and check out that cool thing our neighbors are up to.
Think mustard greens grown under a massive live oak on a plot of land hugging the railroad tracks. Bananas and fruit trees produce dozens of mangos, guavas, fruits you’ve never tried. Avocados you can eat whole. After the sticker shock of the grocery store, Law’s farm is like an eden. He grows produce in the dirt, cultivating the land against all the odds, feeding families through sales of CSA memberships and folks coming to the farm or markets to purchase produce directly…