Detroit Gothic: UM Grads Stake Their Claim On The Farnsworth Frontier

In 2011 Carolyn Leadley and her husband, Jack Van Dyke, bought a farm.

In Detroit.

They purchased a house and vacant lot on Farnsworth and, according to Amy Whitesall, adopted a couple of adjoining city-owned lots. With a base of wholesale customers and a commitment to maintaining a sustainable operation, they use bikes and six-foot cargo trailers to move crops to market.

"I feel like the best thing we're doing is keeping it small and manageable so we can do it by bike," Van Dyke says. "I grew up in a cycling family, so it seemed like a natural fit. And if you know how the rest of the world works, getting goods to market by bike is pretty common."

Leadley, a University Michigan graduate with a degree in environmental science, wasn't sure she believed the hype.

"With so many people it's all very theoretical and philosophical," she says. "I wanted to find out, 'Can we really do this as a business?'"