25 May 2010
Where: Hayes Valley Farm, 450 Laguna
Cost: Free
Join us on Tuesday evening for the second in a series of Hayes Valley Farm Kitchen Garden Workshops. The theme will be starting a plant nursery at home. These workshops are forum to learn, share, and ask questions about home gardening in San Francisco. All levels of gardening experience (and inexperience) are warmly welcomed!
A kitchen garden is any small garden that produces edibles for the kitchen. It can be in a backyard, deck, patio, fire escape, windowsill—wherever there’s a spot of sun for a few plants to enjoy. Urban kitchen gardening in San Francisco raises its own host of concerns and questions.
On May 11, about twenty of us gathered for the first workshop. Folks came with a spectrum of home-gardening experience; many were new to gardening or simply garden-curious. But as we each said a few words about our interests, there were plenty of common threads. Most of us expressed a desire to eat better food, to learn how to grow herbs and veggies for home cooking, and to connect with our community and the earth.
Farm educator Jay Rosenberg provided a brief overview of Hayes Valley Farm and answered some burning questions about home gardening in the city, such as:
What if I only have a windowsill? What herbs and plants are best to start with? A sunny windowsill is a great place to start gardening. Grow herbs that you (or Simon and Garfunkel) like to cook with: parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme. Baby lettuces are also work well. They beautify the kitchen and provide easy access for a quick microgreen salad.
What’s the deal with rooftop gardening? Is it safe? Unlike buildings in parts of the country where it snows, many San Francisco homes aren’t built to support heavy loads such as garden containers. Be sure to check with your landlord and have your roof inspected before installing planters and lugging soil up to your roof.
Why won’t my tomato plant produce more than couple teensy tomatoes? Tomatoes love heat, which means they can have a hard time in San Francisco’s foggy, coastal climate. Plant them in a hot, dry place, where they’re safe from the wind. Better yet, you might want to focus on growing veggies that have been proven to thrive in cool weather, such as lettuce, kale, chard, and beets.
What’s the best place to get seeds? What about seed saving? Try to support seed sellers that preserve genetic diversity, such as Seed Savers. The bulk bin at your local organic market is also a convenient place to find beans, sunflowers, and other edible seeds. If you’re interested in seed saving, check out Bay Area Seed Interchange Library.
I don’t have a backyard or any soil? Make your own, using mature compost or mulch and manure, as we’re doing at Hayes Valley Farm. Stop by the farm and we’ll show you how.
By coming together to share our gardening questions and experiences, we can learn a lot and support each other. It’s definitely more fun than trying to reinvent the wheel—or container garden, as the case may be—in our individual homes and backyards all alone. Join us on Tuesday to share your own garden questions, challenges, and triumphs, and help build a growing network of urban kitchen gardeners.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Over a thousand volunteers, neighbors, and community members have helped coordinate the farm efforts.