Talking urban farming with Jack Goldenberg

At 27, two years into his urban farming experiment, Jack Goldenberg is already supplying seasonal fruits and vegetables to some fine Philadelphia restaurants - the Farm & Fisherman, Fork, Little Fish, Russet, Pub & Kitchen, a.kitchen, Fitler Dining Room.

And if he isn't growing that produce himself, Goldenberg - Gladwyne native, graduate of the Haverford School and Kenyon College - acts as broker for farmers who are. (He also cooks 10 hours a week at Farm & Fisherman with his friend, mentor, and best customer, chef Josh Lawler, and prepares multicourse dinners for invited friends at his Northern Liberties home.)

Every Monday, Goldenberg loads his super-fresh cargo into his Nissan pickup, and, from noon to 4 p.m., makes deliveries. But the journey starts months earlier, in his bedroom.

There, under grow lights, Goldenberg germinates thousands of seeds for spring planting at his four "farms" around the city. We caught up with him recently at the largest, about one-sixth acre at Awbury Arboretum in Germantown.

Q: When did you start cooking?

A: While I was in college. I started as a chef by washing dishes, mopping floors, and working for free in exchange for some teaching. Then I got an unpaid internship at Blackfish . . .. After college, I worked full time as a chef at Majolica, Le Bec-Fin, M Restaurant, and Talula's Table . . . I'm beholden to so many people . . . I also crushed as many cookbooks and food-science writing as possible.

How did you get into growing?

I was 23. I was cooking every day and wanted to grow my own produce. So, I walked into Home Depot and said, "I want to make a garden." I planted it in my side yard, in the city. . . . I had huge tomatoes, huge squash. I thought, "Yes! This is so easy!"

What's with the philosophy major at Kenyon?

You really don't know what you want to do at 18. With a philosophy degree, you end up teaching or going to grad school. By decision time, I didn't want to do either one. I figured I would cook.

How hard is it to juggle all this?

It's tough. Timing is everything. I have to take care of logistics and efficiencies. . . . I have neither a lot of hands nor land, but I have the ability to manage the high-end value of crops.

Do you compare yourself to more traditional farmers?

This work is really hard, but other people do it better than I do, have more knowledge than I do, and have to work much harder for an income.

What can you grow in fall?

Broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, baby heirloom squash, radicchio, spinach, lettuces, snow peas, beets, white and orange carrots . . .

Are you making a living?

Barely. To farm, you have to be really smart, a creative thinker, hardworking. At the same time, we do a lot of caveman activities here.

What's the hardest part?

The goal is to grow consistently. You tell customers you've got golf ball-size turnips and then, oops! They're like baseballs . . . Obviously, we have to keep looking at money. This stops when the money runs out.

What's your future?

I'm looking for more land. I could add a farmers market. If I grow more and get more customers, I'll have to get another truck, do a second delivery, hire another person. I'm just grateful . . . I have a chance to turn this into something I do the rest of my life. If not, someone else's vegetables will be on my plate.

Do you eat what you grow?

No time. I eat PB&Js.