Why Urban Farming?
Health
Know the ins and outs of your veggies.
When was the last time you purchased produce with complete transparency? Did you know that your produce loses nutritional value during the time between it is harvested and eaten? In today’s plastic wrapped supermarket society, there is little transparency in how your food was grown, where it came from, how long ago it was harvested, and everything in between. All of those question marks are eliminated when you grow your own food.
Cost
Instead of spending an hour at the grocery store, spend 20 minutes in your own backyard.
Your urban farm will pay for itself for years to come. Seeds or sprouts that cost just a few dollars can yield immense amounts of food with just some TLC. Instead of having cucumbers rotting in your refrigerator, harvest only what you need as to not waste food that can continue living in the soil.
Environmental Benefit
Urban growth eliminates waste from commercial farms.
Sixty million tons of produce are thrown away every year in the United States. Through avoiding mishaps in packing and paying more attention to individual plants, we can save food. Locally grown produce saves gas and water by removing the transportation required to bring food from a farm all the way to your dinner table. Without the use of harmful pesticides in backyard farms, no toxic runoff enters our oceans or rivers, saving marine life.
Well-Being
Connecting the community to the land, one plant at a time.
Urban farming is a productive and relaxing activity, connecting people to their natural environment all while growing fresh, healthy food. There is nothing quite like harvesting lettuce from your own garden to prepare a simple dinner salad or picking blueberries for a homemade fruit cobbler.
Frequently Asked Questions
About edible gardens…
All of the herbs and vegetables I requested- do you start those in my garden from seed, or do you bring in small plants?
Both! Plants that grow pretty quickly like beans or lettuce we can start from seed. We also start most root vegetables like carrots or radishes from seed because they tend to grow better and prefer not to be transplanted. Other plants that take a long time to fruit, like tomatoes or eggplant, are purchased as “starts”- meaning they were started in a greenhouse several weeks ago and are now mature enough to be transplanted.
Where do you get your plants from?
Our plants are sourced from a few nurseries around Los Angeles that we trust and have worked with for several years. We also sometimes propagate our own seeds, especially if someone is looking for a very specific plant variety.
How long do the garden boxes last?
All garden boxes are different. Good quality Cedar or Redwood tend to last 10 years untreated, and even longer if treated.
What are “treated” boxes?
Treated boxes are those that have been oiled with a non-toxic food grade wood oil like raw Linseed or Tung. This helps the boxes withstand the elements.
This all seems really scary and unfamiliar, will you help us keep up our garden?
Yes! We offer maintenance plans to help you maintain your garden or teach you how to take care of it yourself. Maintenance plans are generally a set price per visit, and that price depends on your location and size of garden.
Do you install the irrigation or do we need someone else to do that?
This really depends on your home and the complexity of your current irrigation system. During your consultation, we will check out your current system and any extra valves or nearby spigots that we could possibly use.
More questions? Contact us!
About California native gardens…
What are California native plants and gardens?
Every single plant you see came from somewhere. Meaning, every species of plant originated somewhere on earth in one specific region or continent. Sometimes, we associate certain plants with their places of origin. For example, people often associate Bamboo with Asia, or Coast Redwoods with California.
Gardens in California, whether they are in a residential backyard or in front of a mall, usually consist of a variety of plants from places all over the world with similar climates. Bougainvillea, Lavender, Ficus, and most Palm trees are plants commonly used in Southern California that are actually from other parts of the world.
TL; DR: California native plants are plants that originated right here in this state. California native gardens are gardens that use a majority of native plants.
Why does it matter if you use California native plants or other plants? As long as it looks good, who cares?
Although people design gardens for their own uses and tastes, gardens play an important role in our ecosystem. This means that gardens are not just for humans. Our houses, cities and streets used to be wild space where animals lived and thrived. When we pave over natural places and replace the region’s plants with those from other parts of the world, we destroy very crucial animal habitat.
The unavailability or extinction of a plant species creates a domino effect, harming wildlife and their food webs. Luckily, we have an opportunity to restore some of that missing ecosystem by just adding certain plants to our homes and gardens.
I have a lot of birds and other critters in my backyard and I don’t have any native plants.
That’s great! Many common animal species that we see today in our gardens have been able to thrive off of non-native plants. You might tend to notice you only see the same 4 or 5 types of bird or insect over and over again. There are many more species we can’t see because they are missing in our cities due to habitat loss.
Fun fact: California native plants can actually be more nutritious in feeding birds, insects and other wildlife because they evolved in conjunction with one another.
Are there other benefits to native plants? I’m not a big animal person.
Yes of course. Native plants, when used correctly, require up to 75% less water than traditional lawns or other super thirsty plants. This helps us reduce water usage and avoid things like drought and freshwater salinization.
California native plants are also beautiful and unique species that can only be found here. Instead of importing plants from around the world, we can embrace our own unique flora.
You can learn more about California native plants here.