The growing season is upon us, and every day is go, go, go at the Ecolibrium3 Urban Farm. From seeding to building, it is all happening here. Since our last update, over 90 trays of plants have been seeded at the farm, in addition to the 15-plus crops that have been directly seeded into our farm beds. Most excitingly, as the weather warms, we have been able to transplant over 800 individual plants into our farm beds, including tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, and peppers. And, in recent weeks, we have begun to harvest crops! Our most abundant harvest has been head lettuce with over 70 lb harvested on site. Just like our crops, community involvement continues to grow at the farm.
In May, we had several groups of volunteers at the farm help us accomplish big projects. The first weekend of May, we hit the ground running with the help of master gardeners, who assisted in up-potting 500 tomato starts for the Tomato Man Project run by the Farm2School program. The Tomato Man Project provides in-classroom agricultural education opportunities for kindergartners across Duluth. Students grow tomato plants from seed in the classroom before they are moved to the Eco3 Urban Farm to germinate and grow in the high tunnel. Facilitated by master gardeners, the plants are then transplanted and later returned to the classroom for one final up-potting by the kindergartners. The students then take the plants home to enjoy all summer long.
That same weekend, 13 community volunteers helped us install 10 new steel raised beds in front of our high tunnels in under 3 hours. Later in May, we were visited by the Harbor City International School group, who helped us define our walking paths with woodchips. We are so thankful for all our volunteers at the farm! If you would like to be a part of projects at the farm please fill out our volunteer interest form to be notified of upcoming volunteer projects.
In June, we began to harvest the fruits of our labor. After months of preparation, tending, and waiting, we harvested our first crops—over 280 heads of lettuce and 10 lb. of spinach! Our fresh produce goes directly into the community. You may have seen some of our produce at the pop-up sidewalk sample events at LNPK Grocery. All of the produce you see at these events is harvested, washed, packed, and delivered to LNPK Grocery from the farm that same day. Any produce that isn’t distributed at the events is donated to local nonprofit organizations that provide it to community members in need. In these last couple of harvests, we have donated produce to the Lake Superior College IceHawks Pantry and CHUM.
If you would like to see where the produce in LNPK Grocery is coming from, we have several workshops and events coming up this summer. To stay up to date on our upcoming events, check out our Farm Events webpage to learn more and register. Our next workshop at the farm is “Container and Small Space Gardening,” and will take place on Saturday, July 11, 2026. We will cover selecting the right pots, choosing the best potting mixes, and picking high-yield plants for small spaces. Whether you want fresh herbs for your kitchen or colorful flowers to brighten your space, you’ll leave with the confidence and knowledge to start planting immediately. Registration is required.