Badass Women: Candi Fentress

of Corn Wine and Oil Farm.

Up next in the Badass Women Of Hospitality series is Candi Fentress! I wish I could fully capture the beauty of our entire conversation. We met at In Harmony Cafe, where the steady hum of grinding beans, the hiss of steaming milk, and, at one point, a gentleman playing the most beautiful melody on the piano, became the unintentional soundtrack to our talk. Throughout the interview, a few community members stopped by to ask Candi if she had any more of her plant doctor magic, that worked better than anything else they tried before. She’s a badass urban farmer and certified master gardener who runs Corn Wine and Oil Farm in Detroit, supplies produce to several bars and restaurants, and teaches the younger generations the importance of growing and having access to good food.

GB In Detroit

I believe we were friends on social media before we bumped into each other at Eastern Market, while I was swooning over the stunning dahlias you grew. But tell me, how did you get started as a farmer? Have you always found yourself in the garden? What’s your origin story?

Born and raised in Detroit, right outside of Hamtramck. I say that because my grandmother was always faithful about her Hamtramck trips—especially for that challah bread, of course. She was a woman who always had a garden, always. And I was right there with her, pulling weeds, doing whatever she was doing. As I got older, I started to realize how amazing that was. Looking back on my childhood, I remember so many people pushing me to get involved in a community garden. At the time, I didn’t understand why, but now it feels like one of those duh moments. Mrs. Potts tried to get me to start a garden, the neighbor across the street took me to hers, and of course, I was always in my grandmother’s. She understood the importance of having access to good food, and so did the people around her. And let me tell you, they were onto something, because here I am today—a Detroit urban farmer.

What types of things did your grandmother grow in her garden?

Everything. My grandmother also canned everything she grew. We never bought ketchup, jam, or jelly—we just grabbed them from her basement. That’s a lot less common now. And there were always fruits because, believe it or not, everyone in our family had a fruit tree in their backyard. So, my uncles would shake the trees, the kids would pick up the fruit, the other parents would wash it, and then we’d can it. But back then, I wasn’t paying much attention to the canning part. I was too busy eating the fruit!

Growing up with all that homegrown food and canning, did you ever imagine it would lead to you turning farming into a career?

In 2017, I met my now-husband, and he told me he was a farmer. I didn’t believe him, but when I finally went on a date with him, he had hot peppers growing in his apartment—damn near wintertime, too! We kept talking, and I was working in customer service, totally burnt out from people telling me to share my ideas, then ignoring me or acting like I never said anything. He told me we could make a living off growing food. He told me all about Keep Growing Detroit and the work they were doing, and that we could take their workshops and classes and sell what we grow. So, when I got fired from my customer service job—which, honestly, was awesome—we started growing.

After you and your husband decided to dive into farming, how did you start figuring out what to grow and how to make it work?

Initially, things were slow because we weren’t thinking about volume—we were focused on actually growing something. I realized pretty quickly we didn’t have enough to sell, so I had to stay on my toes, constantly brainstorming what else we could offer while we waited for things to grow. That’s when I started doing mulberries and foraging. I picked branches I knew people would want to buy at the market—ones with different fruit varieties that flowered and made gorgeous decorations. Then I met Rosey, who runs Rosey's Fresh Cut Flowers at Eastern Market. She had a sign up saying she was hiring and if anyone wanted extra work, to text her. The pay was decent, and the best part was, Rosey had flowers, and I love flowers. I wanted to grow them too, but I needed to learn how. So, I worked with Rosey, and she started giving me bulbs and sharing all the knowledge she had picked up along the way.

What was the first flower or bulb you received from her that you added to your garden, do you remember?

Actually, I think it was Dahlia! Working with Rosey gave me a whole new perspective on farming. She showed me that at the market, we had to have produce, but we also had to offer pretty things, too. And that sometimes, it could be as simple as walking outside and cutting some branches. I watched her do it year after year and took notes.

Eventually, we reached a point where we could handle the volume and in addition, we now had the understanding of how and when to plant to sustain that. We got to a place where we weren’t robbing Peter to pay Paul. I’m honestly amazed at what we’ve been able to accomplish. And I’m so glad my husband is still here doing it with me after his health scare. I’m just so grateful for this life we’ve built.

After everything you've accomplished, what was the next step for you and your business once you felt like you had a strong foundation?

Western International High School in Southwest was hiring for a greenhouse manager, and they called me saying they wanted to start a nursery. They offered me four to eight student interns to teach how to run the nursery, so it could fund itself and provide a way for the students to make money. That gave me a place to go in the winter, and it allowed me to grow things that weren’t normally accessible at the market during that time. Only a few vendors at the market have deep-seed basil, and not everyone carries stevia. My plan was to grow things that were a little more exotic but still in demand, to help guarantee our sales.

There’s a small ag club at Western right now, and we’re working on improving it. Their garden area is actually quite beautiful. It was a little neglected, but you can tell whoever planted it did so with intention, and that they planted in excellent soil. It just hasn’t been weeded in years. The opportunity is there, and we’re trying to show the students that you don’t have to go to a four-year university to find your career path.

Everyone is connected to agriculture in some way, first and foremost through what they eat, and that makes you a part of it. But what you do in life also affects agriculture. Our electricians, carpenters, and plumbers are all just as important. We can’t do this without them. So, we’re just trying to raise awareness and encourage people to consider how they want to move forward with that knowledge.

We’re also working with UofM’s LEAPS program which teaches students that there are other paths to achieving their goals. The students get to shadow farmers, electricians, and tradespeople to see what they do in a day, who they help, and how they might be able to do something similar in the future.

And that’s not all you’re doing right? You’re everywhere getting your hands dirty! Tell me more about the blighted hoop houses you’re working on fixing up.

We also started fixing up blighted old hoop houses because it needed to be done. This is an agricultural state, and there’s no reason for perfectly good hoop houses to be sitting empty when there are restaurants nearby that could use fresh, local produce. Say three restaurants that are around these hoop houses, were interested in us growing produce for them, it could be a win for everyone. We’d remove the blight, repurpose these gorgeous and expensive structures, and provide for each other.

On top of that, the Detroit Lions Academy has a hoop house on their property, and they recently accepted my bid to get it back up to par. Now I’m working on seeing if we can have Western grow transplants for them and connect that branch of the operation.

We’re still figuring out how to tie it all together. If anyone has advice or ideas, I’d love to have a conversation about what that could look like. Or if there are restaurant partners out there who want to build a closed-loop system, please reach out. I’d love to see this all funded by the community, for the community.

Where do you sell everything you grow to? And for those that don’t know, could you explain what an urban farm is, in comparison to a rural farm?

We sell to Eastern Market, Folk, Pink Flamingo, and anyone else who calls us. One of the things we do is provide the Fresh RX prescription bags for Eastern Market. These bags are for people with conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, ensuring they have access to fresh produce. We gather that produce from various farmers, pack it all together, and drop it off weekly. It's just one of the many things we’re working on.

I also sit on the board of directors for the Wayne County Farm Bureau, and our goal is to bridge the gap between rural and urban farms—something that should have never existed in the first place. My brilliant husband has even written policy on urban farming, which was accepted into their policy book. What started as just a paragraph has grown into an ongoing effort to educate people on what urban farming really is. There was a gentleman at one meeting who kept asking what urban farming meant, and I told him, “It’s just farming under different circumstances. It’s not rural farming. We’re in the city, so we adapt and do what we can.” The truth is, rural farms can grow and store more than urban farms, but when we hit those "thin months," the hunger gap months, we lean on rural farms to help fill the grocery bags for local people who want access to fresh, locally grown food.

It can be done. It’s just a matter of people taking the time out to make it happen, instead of focusing on the “self”. This is an “us” situation because at the end of the day we’re doing the same thing, just in a different format.

That’s beyond incredible. And that’s not even all you and your husband are doing, because I know I’ve seen you over at Marygrove. What’s going on over there?

Marygrove is our stewardship, our give back. The garden was started in 2015 by Sister Ann Nett. She reached out and asked if I could take over the garden because it was beginning to be a bit much. The initial garden was 1500 square feet and then there was another section that was the herb garden. So, about three years ago they decided they wanted to do construction on the building and my garden used to sit up against the building. They couldn’t explain to me what the dust was coming off the building so we decided to move the garden, which increased our growing capacity to 6,000 square feet.

We try to get the students, once again, to understand where food comes from. There’s like seven gardens in Marygrove and one is the rain garden, the other is at the pre-school and I believe they’re trying to grow food there. The daycare across the street used to come over and plant little things, I’d teach them how to water, and unfortunately, that closed. We’re still there and the goal is likely going to be to pass it off to someone else to steward. I’d love for it to be an allotment because everybody needs to grow some food. And I keep stressing, you don’t need to grow everything! You grow tomatoes, your aunt grows peppers, your cousin grows lettuce, and then you exchange and trade with each other. Build that community. So the goal is to take what we’ve learned at Marygrove over these past 5 - 6 years and implement that work over at Western. I’m just showing up every day, and working on making it all happen.

What advice would you give to women who are interested in getting involved in growing food, pursuing a career in farming, interested in building a farm or garden, or simply want to better understand the importance of food and where it comes from?

Let’s start with growing, and don’t worry about labeling it just yet. Do your research first, and if you think you’re interested, volunteer at a few farms to get a feel for it. Try to figure out what you’d like to grow. Would you prefer a low-maintenance approach, or do you want to be on your farm every day? If you’re working full-time, a daily commitment may not be feasible, so starting with something low-maintenance like onions or garlic could be a good idea—things that don’t require constant attention.

Also, take a close look at your budget. But remember, starting can be done with little to no money. You can get free seeds from organizations like KGD, and other farmers, or even forage for them. There are many paths to get started. You just need to figure out what works best for you.

And above all, be patient. Don’t give up. Even if you’re just growing food for yourself, that’s still a great start. Stay diligent and never take "no" for an answer. There’s always someone out there who shares your vision or is willing to help you make it happen.

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Thanks so much to Candi for taking the time to share her story with me, and for adding her incredible story to the Badass Women in Hospitality series. Special thanks to GB in Detroit for capturing headshots of all the incredible badasses.

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