As interest in small farming and local food is growing, so are the small-scale growing operations in northern Westchester, where three women (and their partners) are turning hobbyists' greenhouses and weekend home lawns into fertile plots for perfect vegetables.

The demand for fresh taste, green politics and a beautiful landscape have inspired these women to "act locally," creating businesses and saving suburban acreage by making it pay its way. At Lisa Schwartz's Rainbeau Ridge Farm, the fervent motto—"Changing lives one table at a time"—echoes with these other growers as well. Fifteen thousand acres are currently farmed in Westchester, which was the last county in the state to establish a so-called agricultural district. The agricultural district status, finally achieved in 2000–2001, gives small farmers "the right to farm."

Eileen Zidi has long had one foot behind the bar and another in the garden. She's been an indispensable staff member at Peter Pratt's Inn for 12 years, where she tends bar with great good humor, and for six years she grew micro-greens and mesclun mix at Cabbage Hill Farm in Mt. Kisco. So when this wiry, energetic wife of a chef saw the abandoned greenhouse at Orchard Hill farm in Amawalk, a light went on. She approached the DeVito family with an offer to renovate it and start a microgreen growing business for area chefs. "Now I notice these empty greenhouses everywhere," says Zidi.

First she had to wrestle the invasive vines, the sumac, and the giant snarl of a brown Turkey fig tree that filled the whole space. The fig is under control now but still lurks under her racks of tiny kale, amaranth, beet, basil, and arugula sprouts. She visits the greenhouse daily from her home in Yorktown to open up and then shut it down, but at least this year she has added an automatic mister and better lighting. She hopes to reduce the greenhouse's fuel heating in the future.

Her routine involves a day for seeding, a day for harvesting, and a day for delivery. Zidi harvests the greens, whose growing cycle is 7 to 14 days, with scissors and sells them by the ounce; she averages 150 ounces a week at roughly $2.75 per ounce. Local chefs love the greens for their texture, eye appeal, and the bit of fresh flavor they add to a dish. Zidi's tiny, festive sprouts can be seen and tasted at Crabtree's Kittle House, Peter Pratt's Inn, and Emily Shaw's, all in northern Westchester.

"I still have to rent out space to nurserymen and sell geraniums and tomatoes to help the greenhouse support itself," Zidi says. She is also in the process of restoring a pear and apple orchard on the Orchard Hill property. Eileen Zidi's greens. (914) 329-5149. eileenzidi@gmail.com

At Amawalk Farm, Alex Long tackles the weeds.

Marian and Larry Cross were married this past May, just as their second season of growing began. They take to market roughly 60 bags of salad greens a week, and by this fall their 600 to 700 pounds of garlic and u-pick raspberry crops should be ready as well. These three products will be the primary focus of their new operation, Amawalk Farm. The 550 pepper plants and 22 varieties of heirloom tomatoes will help too. Amawalk Farm's produce, which will help feed children and the elderly at the Mt. Kisco Daycare Center, can be purchased at Mrs. Green's Natural markets in Katonah and Mt. Kisco and Scaglio's in Katonah. Says Marian, "We both want to grow really delicious vegetables, include people, and become experts at small-scale farming, at growing certain things really well. We're always thinking, How can we do this better?"

Tall and rangy, Marian serves on the board of the Nature Conservancy and considers herself a life-long environmentalist and educator. In 2005 she retired from her position as Executive Director of the Adult Literacy Media Alliance (ALMA) and the National Adult Literacy Television Project in Manhattan. Longing to do something in farming, she began working a portion of the 34 acres surrounding her 1825 farmhouse, formerly a weekend house. She does so with the friendly and bustling expertise and help of Larry, who is Executive Director at the Norwalk Community Health Center in Connecticut and a dedicated outdoorsman who grew up on a 55-acre, part-time farm in Central Maine and was influenced by the Back to the Land movements of the '70s. Surrounding their lovely property, with its view of the hills to the northwest and stone wall borders, are Muscoot Farm, reservoir land, and Lasdon Park.

Little by little, the couple will add heritage breed turkeys and honey to their u-pick flowers, pumpkins, and raspberries, eventually transforming a quietly beautiful weekend house into a working farm. Amawalk Farm, 42 Wood Street, Katonah. (914) 245-4888. info@amawalkfarm.org

There are always new developments at Rainbeau Ridge, the most established of these three small farms. After her first-ever press conference at the farm this March, indefatigable farmer Lisa Schwartz garnered more attention for her multi-faceted and ambitious farm and programs, tucked into a prestigious residential neighborhood. She has doubled the shares in her Community Agricultural Partnership (CAP) and added 40 à la carte shareholders as well. She has also added more animals—sheep, twice as many goats, a calf and llamas—and is restoring the farm's small apple orchard, where her sheep can often be seen trimming the grass.

Since we first wrote about Rainbeau Ridge ("Suburban Farm," September 2005), Schwartz's cheese house has met all approvals and her delicious fresh and aged goat cheeses (try the ash-covered chèvre with some cherries or plums) are available both in area restaurants and in fine food stores. (Locations are listed on her website, along with a full event schedule.). The series of cooking classes that fills the beautiful farmhouse kitchen year-round now often sells out, and the expanded summer and after-school programs for children two years to fifth grade (Roots, Buds and Sprouts) have waiting lists.

A microtray of arugula inside Eileen Zidi's greenhouse at Orchard Hill.

Honey and eggs from the farm are also for sale, and several public "Accessible Agriculture" events, such as a sheep-shearing day and a poultry workshop, are also planned to further raise local awareness and participation.

"We're better positioned now as resident experts. Our next step goal is even more frequent interchange with the community as a resource on sustainability and small farming," says Schwartz, who continues to be an articulate and hands-on advocate for small-scale farming. Rainbeau Ridge, 49 David's Way, Bedford Hills. (914) 234-2197. www.rainbeauridge.com