Become a City Farmer---Grow Your Own

Nasturtium are Yummy in Salads

As I mentioned yesterday, community gardens and gardening are a big component of urban agriculture. Think about it; what could be more local than growing your own fresh fruits and vegetables?

As you will see by some of the links I have under LA Farms, most of them are urban gardens, which are basically just small urban farms.

Some of them have the traditional components of "real" farms, i.e. CSA's or Community Supported Agriculture, or farm subscriptions, meaning you can receive a box of produce weekly or biweekly by signing up and paying a fee. Your box is usually delivered to a convenient location or in the case of our own city farms, such as CSU, Earth Works, and the Vet's Garden, you can get your produce at their location or at a farm stand on their site.

If you want to try and grow some of your own produce, consider this. Being a city farmer is good for you because you will be eating the freshest produce possible, and if you grow it organically, you know exactly what's been done to it, namely, that there's no pesticides or non-organic fertilizers added to it. And, if you practice good, basic gardening techniques, you won't need them anyway.

But growing your own is also good for our environment. You are helping to absorb greenhouse gases, greening up the local environment, you are providing a natural habitat for beneficial insects and other critters, and you are cutting down on your need to travel to get your food and for transportation of your food to you, cutting down on gas use.

You might be thinking you don't have the time, the space, or the knowledge to grow your own food. That's why I have included plenty of upcoming workshops and classes under the Farm & Garden events. And, I will be updating these continuously. You don't have to start with your whole yard or patio, start with one pot, grow something you love to eat, have fun and experiment.

I will also be including other links to some great places to get seeds and plants and some hand-outs and information from the UC Master Garden/Common Ground Garden Program as well, starting with this one on Ten Beginning Steps for Every Home Gardener, http://celosangeles.ucdavis.edu/garden/articles/10steps.html.