THE PITTSBURGH COUNTY FAIR RETURNS SEPT. 15 | PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Justin Lubecki leads a double life.

The city dweller cultivates a parcel of land in Plum, then sells the fruits (and vegetables) of his labor at a farm stand on the corner of Friendship Avenue and Gross Street in Bloomfield.

Every Tuesday afternoon from mid-July to the first frost in October the neighborhood resident is out there selling tomatoes, okra, peppers, corn, carrots, green beans and flower bouquets. The tiny operation — which accepts cash and Venmo — funds the Pittsburgh County Fair, a free event that celebrates local, homegrown and handmade goods.

JUSTIN LUBECKI’S FARM STAND IS ON THE CORNER OF FRIENDSHIP AVENUE AND GROSS STREETS IN BLOOMFIELD | PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Now in its second year, the fair will be held on Sept. 15 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Allegheny Commons Park West on the North Side. There will be food, drink, demonstrations, vendors, games, activities, entertainment and barnyard animals. You’ll probably get your hands dirty (and your feet, too, if you try grape stomping!), but Lubecki says that’s the whole point.

Dye your shoelaces with locally grown indigo. Participate in the Vegetable Variety Show. Learn how to use a sorghum press. Tiptoe through the Garden of Decay. Test your soil for lead. Get a crash course in composting. Feed your head as well as your belly with offerings from The Pickled Chef, JL Kennedy Meats and chef Bethany Zozula, most recently at the now-closed 40 North restaurant.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Lubecki even has aspirations to paddle a large, hollowed-out pumpkin down the river. You never know what kind of agricultural craziness will happen!

A veteran of the local restaurant industry, Lubecki and his brother became part-time farmers 15 years ago to see if they could feed themselves through four seasons. The urbanites quickly learned that although sustenance living involves hard work for slim margins, it gave them something to believe in.

“A lot of distractions pull us away from why we do this,” Lubecki says. “We grow food to live. This food is our culture. This food is our history. This food is who we are.”

The farm is an engine for inspiration that led him to create Ferment Pittsburgh to demystify the practice of using good bacteria — microorganisms essential to health and digestion – to process and preserve food.

From 2015 to 2020, Lubecki held an annual Fermentation Festival where visitors could make their own sauerkraut and peruse a Mold Table filled with cheeses and other edibles that were sprouting life. Fermentation will be front-and-center at Pittsburgh County Fair.

If you can get beyond the “eww” factor, you’ll discover a whole new world filled with passionate people who want to share their knowledge. It’s fitting that Lubecki’s farm stand is at the intersection of Friendship and Gross.

“There are two things people are starving for in life,” he says. “Doing things with their hands and getting the story behind it.”