RealtorPeg: Community Gardens Sprout In San Diego

Community Gardens Sprout In San Diego

Who Needs the Supermarket? Grow It Yourself
By Tony Cooper • Fri, Feb 4th, 2011

Read More: Michelle Obama , White House Garden , Bobby Flay , Iron Chief America , VGSD , San Diego , Community Gardens

The community garden craze has hit San Diego
Courtesy Photo

Teacher Carla Kriss has a major discipline problem on her hands. Her third-graders at Allen School in Bonita are so enamored with the vegetables grown on campus, she sometimes has to rein in their enthusiasm.

From the sound of things, these youngsters would take a piece of romaine lettuce over a lollipop or a cupcake any day of the week.

"I can't get too many kids (in the garden) at one time," Kriss said. "They get crazy, real excited. Last week, the kids were screaming (when the crops were ready to eat). They knew they grew it, they knew they watered it, they know how fresh and delicious it is. They eat them right out of the garden."

The Allen School garden, which Kriss started eight years ago, is one of many community gardens that have been cropping up across the county over the last couple of years.

Some gardens have become so popular with locals that they have a waiting list of folks trying to get in on the action. One garden spotted said it wouldn't be taking on any more farmers-to-be until next year.

"It's a safe place for kids," said Kriss of the Allen School garden. "Maybe they don't want to play during recess. They go into the garden -- it's a sanctuary for them."

Victory Gardens of San Diego, partnered with such organizations as the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative and Slow Urban Food San Diego, is dedicated to helping county residents develop sustainable, healthy, environmentally friendly vegetable gardens for private homes, neighborhoods and schools.

VGSD offers kits for those who want to take up gardening, and has also helped several organizations set up gardens, such as Community Housing Works and Lincoln High School Interact.

"Community gardens are a source of community pride and a sense of community," said VGSD co-director Bob Greenamyer. "We focus our energy on people who have never had a garden and want to do one.

"Gardens bond families on a lot of different levels, from food to family. It helps schools and bonds different groups."

What caused the community gardening rage, which is pretty much a nationwide phenomenon? Michael Bliss, who oversees the Carlsbad Community Garden, believes the last presidential election was the catalyst. After Barack Obama took office, First Lady Michelle Obama started the White House Garden, which involved local schoolchildren and was a platform for promoting healthier eating for kids.

The concept, no doubt aided by the First Lady's immense popularity, caught attention from everywhere. It even spawned an episode on the Food Network hit show, "Iron Chef America," where the First Lady was briefly featured and White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford joined forces with Bobby Flay to battle the Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse in the kitchen.

Couple the FLOTUS with Flay, Batali and Lagasse, a mega-star trio of cooks/restaurateurs/TV personalities, and the gardening thing got some major legs.

"It caught on and really hit the fan," said Bliss.

Bliss has seen it first-hand. He said the city-owned Carlsbad Community Garden has a waiting list of at least 100 to grab one of the 52 spots at the garden. Like most community gardens, Carlsbad leases each plot. Fruits, vegetables, peas, citrus trees and other crops can be found growing here.

"It's a worthwhile endeavor," Bliss said. "It keeps people busy."

Said Kriss: "It's awesome, especially in suburbia, where people open the garage, close the garage and never meet their neighbors. People come from out of the woodwork and connect."

A major connection goes on at the New Roots Community Farm, a 2.3-acre, 89-plot lot on 54th Street and Chollas Parkway that opened last September. In City Heights, home to immigrants from all over the world, Somalis can be found working side-by-side with Vietnamese, Cambodians, Mexicans and those of other backgrounds to grow their specialties, all the while learning a few things about an otherwise foreign culture and how to coexist.

"It gets people to know each other," said Greenamyer.

Bliss added, "Some people don't have the land or opportunity (to do gardening at home). This gives them a chance to commune with nature. They grow something, take it home and eat it."

There are financial benefits as well.

"People don't know how cheap it is to grow their own food,'' said Kriss. "You can grow 12 heads of lettuce for pennies."

Then there's taste. Anyone who has enjoyed the fresh, local produce found at a farmer's market knows these products are so superior to the options found at the typical supermarket, it's not even worthy of a conversation. With the community gardens, almost anyone can feel like a farmer and produce similar goods, even if they live in a studio apartment.

"You get something out of the ground, and you say, 'Wow, this is what a real tomato tastes like'," Bliss said. "You get a lot of personal enjoyment."

Greenamyer says that he hears that sentiment from people all the time regarding food quality.

"You don't know until you compare," Greenamyer said. "Go to the (supermarket) and the strawberries look good, but they were built for size and don't taste good. You get a funky looking strawberry from a local garden ... it tastes good."

Meanwhile, back at Allen School, Kriss recalled another knotty problem. She also encourages her kids to hone their gardening skills at home; when the students returned from a break, they couldn't stop talking about the zucchini plants they'd spawned.

"I love it," Kriss said. "Yes, it's awesome."