Urban Farmers Try to Adapt to the Heat, and Pick Crops That Can Do the Same

By Rebeca Pereira

For youth volunteers at Glenway Farm in Dorchester, the protocol for weeding and harvesting garlic in extreme weather conditions is clear cut: get in and get out. There are few buildings or shaded areas on the farm that growers can retreat into, and the absence of trees on surrounding streets provides no respite from the scorching sun.

Tristram Keefe, a farm manager at the Urban Farming Institute of Boston who supervised the youth visit to Glenway, said the farm is regarded among growers as the “hottest place on Earth.”

“Whatever the ups and downs, whether it’s extreme heat or whether it’s like last year where we had an overabundance of rain and the late frost that killed the peach blossoms,” Keefe said, “whatever the issue or the pattern around climate change, it’s going to strike hardest around communities of color, low-income communities.”

Extreme heat is felt more acutely in urban heat islands, where fewer green spaces and more buildings can intensify how hot a day feels. Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury, among other low-income communities and communities of color, have all been designated “ heat vulnerable focus areas” in Boston.

Heat emergencies and other extreme weather events threaten urban agriculture in the Boston area, where there are roughly 175 community gardens helping to push local communities towards climate resilience and food self-sufficiency. As temperatures rise — topping the high 90s this week — gardens and farms are pivoting to adapt their growing and labor practices to the heat.

UFI is an urban agriculture organization that trains farmers, introduces youth to sustainable farming practices, engages seniors in physical fitness programs and tills the soil at a network of six farms in Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan.

At Fowler Farm in Mattapan, the local jazz group Baba Rumas and the Urban Upbeat Band set up under one tent as UFI’s regular Friday afternoon farmstand kicked into gear under the shade of another tent. A line of customers buzzed over a cornucopia of fresh produce — strawberries, blackberries, kale and callaloo, a green leafy vegetable that is common in Caribbean cuisine.

Mattapan’s large Caribbean population motivated growers to begin cultivating culturally relevant crops, like okra, scallions, hot peppers and callaloo, which is sturdier and also better able to withstand extreme heat than more tender plants, like mustard greens and lettuce.

Weather volatility in New England has necessitated changes at an even more granular level, affecting the seed types UFI chooses. Plate de Haiti, a heat-resistant tomato variety that Keefe said used to be considered a “marginal crop” in Boston’s urban farms, has become a primary seed over the course of the past five years.

The organization’s volunteer coordinator, Melanie Floyd, said she instructs local gardeners to prioritize watering their crops in the morning, so they have enough hydration to last throughout the day, and to water often.

Floyd underscored that many of the precautions growers take with their crops are the same measures they should consider to protect themselves during heat emergencies.

“We’re outside for hours perspiring. Much like plants and like soil, if your body doesn’t have adequate nutrients and water already in it, then it’s the classic, ‘By the time you’re thirsty, it’s too late,’” Floyd warned.

Annabel Rabiyah is the regional engagement officer for the Trustees of Reservations, a nonprofit that manages dozens of community gardens in Boston. Rabiyah said that, in previous years, hot and dry spring seasons have caused some community gardens to experience early crop failures.

This year, the humidity has been a saving grace for plants. But, as the climate crisis continues to intensify, Rabiyah said even tough, young, able-bodied gardeners will need to learn to adapt to rising temperatures.