Cerulean & Growing Places Indy | Cerulean Restaurant

If you’ve looked at any of our social media platforms this week, I’m sure you’re aware of Thursday’s Kate Franzman/Growing Places Indy Instagram Takeover (aka the insta-event of the century). However, if you missed it here’s a summary of the day’s events beginning with an introduction by the Honeybee Whisperer herself. One final note before I let her take it away, I just want to extend Cerulean’s thanks to Growing Places. They’re an incredible organizaiton doing great work for the Indianapolis community and we’re proud to work with them, whether that be online or through the produce we buy. If you or anyone you know if looking for meaningful and educational volunteer opportunities, I suggest you check out www.growingplacesindy.org. To consume some of their products prepared by our chefs, make a reservation at (317) 870-1320 or visit us at www.ceruleanrestaurant.com/indianapolis

Cheers!

-Ryu

______________

I can’t think of a better way to ring in summer than the way we did on Thursday. For me, the day began alone in the flower beds cutting and arranging bouquets, and ended surrounded by friends and neighbors exchanging hugs, laughs, and recipes.

Let me back up a little to give you some context. A little over two years ago, I quit my job in advertising to take up farming and beekeeping, in the city, with hardly any knowledge of how to do either. Now I manage a third of an acre urban U-Pick farm, Farm Stand, and local restaurant sales for Growing Places Indy. I started out as a summer farm apprentice, and by the fall, was hired on to build out an unused, grassy field into a productive, beautiful, and educational urban farm.

My farm site, located next to the Chase Near Eastside Legacy Center on the Arsenal Tech High School campus, is an urban veggie U-Pick farm, which is pretty unique. Anybody can come and pick their own produce (don’t worry, I’m always around to act as a guide and answer questions) or buy what we’ve already picked from our five micro farms. Hint: it’s cheaper to pick your own and you’ll learn a lot in the process! We don’t use any pesticides or nasty chemicals on our produce and sales go to fund programming like our after school “Eat Well Club” (a session started today) and our family nutrition classes. As if that wasn’t enough, our newest batch of Summer Apprentices and Arsenal Tech High School Interns also just started their first week learning about sustainability, the food system, how to run an urban farm, and yoga.

Here’s a peek into what the busiest day of the year looks like for your friendly neighborhood urban farmer. The Farm Stand and U-Pick is now open every Thursday evenings 4-7pm through September. We also have by-donation yoga classes from 4-5pm in the Chase Legacy Center. We accept SNAP (aka food stamps) and there’s plenty of free parking.

“I love connecting people, both kids and adults with new fruits or vegetables. Maybe it’s something they’ve never tried before, or have never tried fresh from the garden.”

Good morning! Beautiful and edible!

Hey girl! Bees are already out hunting for nectar. As they bounce from bloom to bloom, pollen is distributed- that’s pollination. We rely on bees (and other pollinators) for one in every three bites of food we eat!

Making flower arrangements for the Farm Stand tonight!

Growing Places Indy Summer Apprentices staking and trellising tomatoes and tomatillos

Flower bouquets with chemical-free flowers and a few veggie bits thrown in

Arsenal Tech High Schoolers Scott and Matt are helping us out this summer, too! Here they are harvesting sunflower shoots for restaurant orders

We’re prepping for the Farm Stand tonight as well as harvesting veggies for local restaurant orders, our CSA “Veggies Share” members, and some goodies for our Summer Apprentices. A whole lotta pickin’ goin’ on!