Welcome to Mezzacello, a Twenty-First Century Urban Homestead modeled after Thomas Jefferson’s famous Monticello. Mezzacello is just a little Monticello.
The goal of Mezzacello is to function as both a sustainable, private formal and food garden as well as a public educational agricultural training center to introduce kids and school groups to the concepts that Thomas Jefferson pioneered as well as the best in ag-science that has been developed over the past 240 years.
There are four components to Mezzacello: Grow, Maintain, Sustain, and Explain
GROW
All of the available ag-science around maintaining healthy ecosystems and the particular and global needs each ecosystem has. In addition, the ecosystem as a whole is explored and propagated so that all parts both contribute and support the land and life. An important component of Grow is the process of converting the hard urban built environment into healthy soil capable of supporting a variety of ecosystems and animals.
MAINTAIN
The tricks and trades of keeping up a healthy urban ecosystem that includes private formal gardens, a large potager garden, an herb garden, chickens, ducks, rabbits, fish crickets, worms, several greenhouses, and all the tools, chemicals, and systems needed to maintain a healthy, balanced homestead.
SUSTAIN
The renovation of the house and grounds as well as an introduction to the concepts of keeping livestock, plants, structures, soil, waste streams, and human occupants in balance and healthy.
EXPLAIN
The grounds contain facilities for groups or individuals to visit and participate in the life of Mezzacello. There are covered spaces for meeting, and plenty of diverse gardens and ecosystems for kids and adults to explore.
Take a tour of Mezzacello
Mezzacello in plan view
