Mission
- To produce and share as much food as possible
- To build and share knowledge about growing vegetables in the New Orleans climate
- To create a space for people to learn about and eat food together
- To build healthy soil
What’s Growing
All excess produce (everything my neighbors and I aren’t eating) is taken to St. Roch Metalworks food distro which happens every Sunday at 4pm.
Spring 2024: In mid-March I planted three varieties of beans, arugula, turnips and squash from seed, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and bok choi starts from my friend Anwyn, and started trays of cherry tomatoes, collard greens, basil, cucumbers, peas and chard. Many of these plants will go in the front half of 1835 Montegut, which I mowed and then tarped for 3 weeks of March.
Winter 2023: Thanks to folks who came out for the work day on December 9th, 1841 Montegut is on its way to better soil health - we removed 20+ wheelbarrows of debris from a 70’ by 20’ plot. I planted a mixture of clovers here as a cover crop. On 1835 Montegut, I planted carrots, cilantro, mustard greens and arugula from seed and continued harvesting the pac choi and chard through the freeze in January. In February I planted romenesco cauliflower, cauliflower, cabbage, cutting celery, kale and kailan from Hot Plants.
Fall 2023: I planted a few cabbage and collard plants that I started in trays at the end of the summer, lots of pac choi, chard, kale, kholrabi and mustard green starts from my friend Anwyn, and carrots, radishes, arugula, mustard, and cilantro seeded November 9. The front half of 1835 Montegut has been cover cropped with clover and rye since October 1.
Summer 2023: I planted okra (multiple varities), eggplant (multiple varieties), habeneros, jalepenos, and basil, sourced primarily from free seedlings and seeds found at Anna Timmerman’s Mini Seed Library at 1811 Louisa St. I also grew, cured and processed about 7 ounces of perique tabacco.
Spring 2023: I planted cherry tomatoes, creole tomatoes, green bell peppers, purple bell peppers, habenero peppers and shishito peppers from Hot Plants; roma tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, summer squash, and herbs (cilantro, parsley, basil) from Harold’s Plants, kale, chard, collards, arugula, cucumbers, squash, bush beans and basil started from seeds found at Anna Timmerman’s.
My Fall 2022 garden died during the freeze at Christmas. In mid-January, I planted cover crop seed (rye and mustard) I got for free (thanks!) from Sprout NOLA’s Cover Crop session. I tilled these into the soil in early March, along with compost from Schmelly’s Dirt Farm.
Get Involved
Eat vegetables. A free vegetable fridge is coming soon! Stay tuned.
Volunteer on Saturdays. Check out a list of upcoming projects here.
Bring your compost. The compost bin is visible at the back of 1833 Montegut St.
About
My name’s Tomas Roy. I’ve been living on Montegut Street since August 2021 when I took a job with Habitat for Humanity building affordable houses in the Ninth Ward. I’ve been dreaming about the idea of caring for a small piece of land since I was a kid, and I’m overjoyed to be able to do it in my favorite city on earth. I’m excited about staying in one place, watching the seasons change and the trees grow.
I’d love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at tomasroy7@gmail.com