Farm Photo Tour: Part III

Paul Whitsitt, owner of  Kitchen House Coffee, has kept himself very busy since moving to Saint Louis from Chicago 4 years ago, buying and fixing up properties in the Tower Grove East neighborhood, building one of the loveliest urban farms in St. Louis, and starting his own neighborhood coffee-shop and restaurant.

    

Some of the food for the restaurant, including eggs, mint, basil and cucumbers, is grown in his garden, where he also grows plenty of food for his home as well. He also grows herbs for his specialty drinks, including lavender for their seasonal lavender-blueberry soup.

    

Whitsitt renovated a double lot that previously housed two dilapidated structures; he could see them from his back porch, and wanted a prettier view. One was not salvageable, so it was demolished and turned into the garden. The other, a literal Kitchen House, was turned into a workspace for his produce, with an attached coop for his chickens.

   

The garden is spectacular, full of food, herbs, native plants, and strange, old-world flowers. It is a true gem in Tower Grove South, and a favorite stop on the Sustainable Backyard Tour.

Rainbarrels are used to help with irrigation. Plants that encourage pollinators flank his veggies – love lies bleeding, sunflowers, and milkweed – there are plenty of flowers for the butterflies and bees to gorge themselves on. Marigolds help keep some of the bugs away. Whitsitt says even though he doesn’t use pesticides, he doesn’t really have a problem with bugs, besides those that kill his squash every year. Looking around the garden, it was easy to see that the plants are meticulously cared for and loved. It is obvious that his attention to the farm is what keeps the plants healthy and strong.

Whitsitt’s husband takes care of the lawn in their home, so the garden and the restaurant are his babies. The aesthetic of the garden matches the neighborhood. The raised beds are made from cinderblocks, because, as he says “I’m no carpenter. I can just throw weeds into the holes, sit on the blocks and rest, and eat my lunch.”

    

Sweet potatoes, tomatoes, okra, beets, and beans are grown for him and his husband and their chickens – the beet greens are a favorite for the feathered pets.  They have 9 total chickens, 4 at the restaurant (be sure to visit!) and 5 at the garden. Their eggs go to Grove East Provisions, where they are turned into casseroles to be sold in Kitchen House Coffee.

Other animals are cared for on the farm – Whitsitt is an avid beekeeper, and even has regular meetings at Kitchen House Coffee for other beekeepers and bee enthusiasts in the city.

  

As a volunteer at Gateway Greening, Paul uses their tips from their newsletter in his farm, like using the Florida Weave technique for keeping his tomatoes from touching the ground. Molly Rockamann of EarthDance Farms taught Paul to snip the flowers on basil to keep the plants producing longer.

Whitsitt composts in his garden and in the kitchen. Bins are taken from the restaurant and turned into gorgeous, black soil.

Whitsitt, his coffee-shop, and his garden are some of the best kept secrets in Saint Louis. Be sure to visit the shop, and sign up for the next Sustainable Backyard Tour to see his beautiful garden for yourself!