Since the farmers’ market and winter farmers’ markets have ended for the year, we’re looking forward to some cozy Saturday morning indoors, but the end of the official season does not mean the end of getting farm fresh ingredients! Des Moines has a growing urban garden/farm scene that supports the local neighborhoods year round. We’re here to clue you in on these gems until the farmers’ markets return in 2022 by interviewing some of the faces behind the farmers’ market stalls AND tell you how to support them in the of season. Today, we’re getting to know Jenny of Dogpatch Urban Gardens and Monika of Sweet Tooth Farms. 

Dogpatch Urban Gardens

Dogpatch Urban Gardens is one of those gems that you need in your life all year round. Opening six years ago close to the Merle Hay Auto Mile, Dogpatch has become a mainstay of the neighborhood, and has expanded into Hy-Vee with its salad dressing line and just in mid-November to a new plot of land.

Describing itself as Des Moines’ destination for local food, Dogpatch a “Farmstand” to purchase fresh produce and other locally made/sourced goods.  The FarmStand sells produce harvested just feet away from the DUG plot, but also sells meat products, cheeses, eggs, fruits, grains, honey, fresh-cut flowers, salsa, jams, and much more items produced on local, small scale farms. Dogpatch Urban Gardens is located at 5085 Meredith Drive, Des Moines, Iowa 50310. 

We asked Jenny, the founder of Dogpatch Urban Gardens, some questions about the importance of the small-scale farming movement, how you can best support her this season, and what she loves to do in Des Moines. 

Your website mentions that Dogpatch is about “cultivating community.” What has that meant to you in the context of Des Moines, but also the larger small-scale farming movement?

Most importantly it’s to grow and develop our local community.  Before we started the farm, the Dogpatch neighborhood was known as a place where you test drove cars (it’s close to the Merle Hay Auto Mile).  Our farm helped to put the neighborhood on the map in a positive way.  It’s great to see our community rally around our small business and it really helps to unite our community.

Cultivating is also a farming term, so the slogan fits us well!

What was the process like to get Dogpatch Urban Gardens off the ground?

It was a lot of work! The property had many trees and grass on it, so we started by clearing trees and ripping sod.  We actually rolled the sod and gave it away for free (as long as people hauled it away) to people in the Dogpatch neighborhood.  It was a great way to build excitement around what we were creating and help our neighbors! Once we had a blank slate to work with, we started to put up fencing, constructed the DUG FarmStand, ran water lines, added a driveway, and even renovated the home on the property, which is now an Air BnB called the Urban FarmStay.) Once infrastructure was set up, we began planting in the spring of 2016. Starting a farm, from scratch, takes a lot of time, labor, and planning!

How have your food offerings evolved since 2015?

At the inception of the farm – creating food items was not in our business plan.  Initially the thought was to just grow crops for our community. In 2018, we were hit with some regulatory hurdles from Polk County that caused us to have to add restrooms (and other items) at the DUG FarmStand.  During that process we decided it made sense to also add a commercial kitchen to our operation.  That was a great decision as it allowed our business to evolve and start creating products.  Salad dressings, salad enhancer, and elderberry syrup have all been great additions to the operation. 

It’s important to note that as a farmer I can sell you a whole tomato, but if I want to slice it (or process it in any way) that has to be done in a certified commercial kitchen. Having the kitchen just gives us more freedom to work with the food we grow.  Adding the kitchen also allows us to host our Farm to Table dinners which is so much fun!

What are you most looking forward to for Dogpatch Urban Garden in the next few months?

I’m really excited to see our Salad Dressings hit the shelves of Hy-Vees throughout the Des Moines Metro AND the Midwest!  I get a great sense of pride seeing our healthy products being available to more and more customers.

It’s been a big year, because also in mid-November, DUG is now the proud owner of the parking lot adjacent to the farm property 4600 NW 51st Street. The lot was purchased from Meredith Drive Reformed Church as they unified with their Bridge Campus in Johnston.

This is a really exciting expansion for Dogpatch Urban Gardens as it will allow DUG to continue to grow, open up opportunities for collaboration with other local businesses/organizations, facilitate a spring plant sale, improve parking options for customers, and continue to serve/beautify the community.

What else do you love doing in the Des Moines area? 

I have three boys (Oliver is 10, Walter is 8, and Lewis is 6) so much of our fun in Des Moines revolves around them.  Here are some things we really enjoy as a family:

What has been your most rewarding moment as a small business owner? 

My husband (Eric) and I love hosting our FarmStand to Fork dinners at the farm.  These evenings feature some of Des Moines’ finest chefs and we love being able to host.  Farming is hard work, and it’s easy to get lost in the daily grind of the job.  The dinners allow us to be able to bring people to the farm and enjoy what we have created.

What can the Des Moines community do most to support you?

Shop the DUG FarmStand, tell your friends, follow us on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly newsletter, think about our products for holiday gifts, purchase our products at Hy Vee stores & other local stores in the Metro, reach out to local grocers and let them know you would love to see our products on their shelves.

Sweet Tooth Farm

Sweet Tooth Farm is a hyper local urban farm dedicated to bringing fresh, nutrient dense, and chemical free food to the community. Describing herself as an “accidental farmer”, Monika, the owner, founder, and farmer of Sweet Tooth, believes that fresh, chemical-free food should not be a luxury item. Can we get an amen? 

It hasn’t been easy. Monika has overcome many hurdles in securing the land, cultivating it, and finding new spaces all in 2021 alone. Read more about Monika’s experience in the past year with Melody Mercado’s piece in the Des Moines Register. Nevertheless, she showed up all over town this year with her farm fresh goods at the Heart of Des Moines Farmers’ Market and various pop-ups around the city. 

We asked Monika some questions about the importance of the small-scale farming movement, how you can best support her this off season, and what she loves to do in Des Moines. 

What was the process like to get Sweet Tooth Farm started and where are you heading?

It was quite a journey. We got our start on an abandoned park next to our house. We spent years talking to neighbors and community stakeholders about what they wanted the space to be. And finally made it in front of the Parks and Rec Board of Directors and then finally to the City Council. And they allowed us to lease the space. We started on about 6000 sq ft in 2016 and in 2021 we were growing on almost 2 acres! Unfortunately, the City of Des Moines has decided to terminate our leases for the large plots we were farming in case someone wanted to some day develop it. We are actively fundraising and looking for additional plots of land in Des Moines to build up scale and capacity.

How have your food offerings evolved since you began and what foods are currently available?

Definitely! We started with a smaller variety and have really listened and tried to be responsive to what the community and our customers wanted. We do a ton of the classics: tomato, peppers, cucumbers, melons, salad, greens, and flowers! Right now, the only thing that we have are romaine, spinach, and kale – as well as fresh eggs.

What are you most looking forward to in the next few months?

I’m really looking forward to planning and figuring out spring 2022 so I can hit the ground running!! I love this time of year – a time to reflect about what went wrong in the heat of the summer, and to think about what went right and how to improve and build on that in the coming months and years. I love a good list, and this is the time of year when most of the planning and lists get written.

What else do you love doing in the Des Moines area?

I love visiting and supporting all my friends and other local makers! Holiday season means I get to find lots of really special and interesting things that I use year round – and gift them to all the people that I love. Some of my favorite spots right now: THE COLLECTIVE, The Des Moines Mercantile (and from there I love Locust Grove Farms, Red Dragon Herbs and Teas, Flag of DSM, Moglea, I could go on!), The Slow Down, Preservation, Kitchen Collage – and probably a million more that I’m spacing on.

What is the most rewarding part of your work that you do?

Providing opportunity and access. Of experiences, of flavors, of taste, of things that many times folks don’t always get so easily.

Where’s your happy place in Des Moines?

The dirt in my garden. 😊

What can the Des Moines community do most to support you?

Support your local business community this holiday season and beyond. You can also support our Community Fridge, which runs on donations as the first community fridge in the State of Iowa. There is a fridge and pantry, its stocked as best we can 24/7, and if you’re hungry you use it. That’s it. There are no sign ups, there are no prerequisites, no tracking. We have a Venmo – @ community-fridge-dsm and a wonderful Patreon group that can be found here. Thanks for your support!

Want to help support the small-scale farm movement in Des Moines? 

In the last year, Des Moines City Council has changed city policy that have affected these farms and other, such as LSI Global Greens. Let’s get educated by following Sweet Tooth Farm, RadiateDSM, Rooted Farm Collective, and Dogpatch Urban Gardens on social! 

Know another farmers’ market vendor that should be featured next? 

Let’s chat.