what's new

How We Can Eat Our Landscapes?
What should a community do with its unused land? Plant food, of course.
Pam Warhurst, cofounder Incredible Edible, tells at the TEDSalon the story of how she and a growing team of volunteers came together to turn plots of unused land into communal vegetable gardens, and to change the narrative of food in their community.  
Watch this Ted Talk video-click here.

In Sacramento, buying locally-sourced fruits and vegetables can be as simple as walking over to a neighbor's farm stand or a neighbor’s garden, thanks to the URBAN FARM ORDINANCE passed in 3-24-2015 by the Sacramento City Council. In a 6-1 vote, the city effectively opened the door to minifarms on private properties and in vacant lots that would be able to sell produce out of urban farm stands. This is a Win-Win for Sacramento! Read the Sacramento Bee article ...

This new era of self-reliance and sustainability needs your help to keep it growing by sharing with friends, family, neighbors and associates! 

Locally Grown Organic Food
Making affordable, locally and regionally-grown organic food available to all, rich, middle-income and poor, must become a top priority for city and county governments across the nation.

Making the transition to organic food and farming stimulates the local economy, improves public health, sequesters enormous amount of climate destabilizing greenhouse gases, and protects the environment. As global warming intensifies, scientists warn that a continuation of current "business as usual" practices will lead to a catastrophic 8.6 degree Fahrenheit temperature rise by 2100. Our only hope is to make energy-efficient and climate-stabilizing organic food and farming the norm rather than just the green alternative.

Economic benefit of buying local food confirmed
P.K. Read | Food Tank
A new report from a team of economists proves that buying local food directly from farmers – whether at a farmers market or through a CSA program – does have lasting, measurable and positive impact on communities.  

Implement the Precautionary Principle
Organic standards are a great example at the federal level of the precautionary principle in action. If this country valued human health and environmental protection, all US food would be organic, and industrial food production, with its pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, cloning and factory farms, would never be allowed because it has never been proven safe - and it never could be proven safe. While the precautionary principle has begun to be applied in Europe through the REACH legislation, it has never been put to use in the US at the federal level. (The epidemic of diet-related diseases in this country is proof that the precautionary principle hasn't been applied.)
 
At the local level, the precautionary principle could be used in decisions on zoning and land-use to make sure that risks to human health and the environment are fully explored.
Sustainable farming can feed the world?
 

Read the story about ...
Sacramento's 2007 front yard landscape ordinance!

key articles - more articles   purple butterfly
Why organic produce ... worth the money   
Commercial organic farms ... better fruit & soil

Disappearing Honeybee & Native Bee articles

READ MORE ARTICLES!
SUSTAINABLE URBAN GARDENS - THE BLOG!
http://sacgardens.blogspot.com

book list 
- more books - garden books
 
The Art of Simple Food  Eating on the Wild Side  In Defense of Food  Placer County Real Food Cookbook
 
The Art of Simple Food - Alice Waters
Eating on the Wild Side - Jo Robinson
In Defense of Food:An Eater's Manifesto - M Pollan
Placer County Real Food Cookbook - Neft & Kenny

 Check out our kids books, links & teaching resources

fall gardening

garden news

 

           Welcome Winter
               Gardening 2020

The rewards of planting, caring for, and enjoying the bounty of a home garden are many. Join us in growing healthy food and creating a sustainable ecosystem.

 
Our plants welcome a 3-4" layer of mulch to protect their roots from temperature swings (many of the roots are near the surface) and mulching (mostly with woodchips) keeps them moist, reducing evaporation and the amount of water needed, and at the same time provides an ongoing source of nutrients.

Our ground water supplies will take years of wet seasons to replenish. We need to continue to be aware of the limited supply of water. Water plants well in the evening utilizing low-water irrigation methods. Plants that are watered daily or many days a week don't develop a deep root system and are susceptible to stress, insects and/or disease.

Remember that even your mature trees need water during dry spells when there is no rain. Water slowly, deeply and less frequently around the drip line, remove competing weeds, do not add fertilizer (fertilizer will cause them to need more water), just mulch, mulch, mulch.   Read more about mulch

 

It is time to plant fall-winter veggies. It has become almost common to experience temperature swings at this time of the year which affect our gardens and our typical garden chores. Some summer crops are still producing; such as peppers (which we expect), but also tomatoes, eggplants and zucchini until we get freezes.
Any new starts for the fall/winter growing season may need some protection from hot day temperatures after planting. Fall/winter seeds and starts may need protection from cooler night temperatures and windy conditions that can dry out new plantings. Remember small plants have their roots near the surface and need mulch to keep moist and cool as well as watering.
 

See our chart for starting seeds.  Seed Starting Plan

Anytime new plants are added to the garden, it is time to check for slug and snail trails, as slugs and snails love tender new growth especially when the garden is wet. Read more about slugs and snails in the far right column.
 
It is easy to grow herbs in your garden too. Rosemary, oregano, parsley, basil, marjoram, garlic and the thymes are some great companions for growing vegetables, as well as perennials in your gardens. See our page - Sustainable gardening with intercropping & companion planting

 

Garden catalogs show many interesting heritage plant varieties. It is fun to grow a new veggie every year. These catalogs do a pretty good job describing many exciting choices. The hardest part is making a decision about what plants to start, as there are so many wonderful choices.
  
Grow your own food or at least some of it. Growing one's own food is becoming more important today with worldwide food safety and food security issues, as well as making good economic and environmental sense. Growing your own fruit and vegetables and buying locally grown organic food can provide fresh, nutritious food for you and your family, while supporting the local ecosystem. In the Sacramento area we are lucky to be able to grow fruits and veggies all year-round.

  

Stretch your food budget - Grow your own food - it is easy!

to plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow Growing your own fruit and vegetables and buying locally grown organic food can provide fresh, nutritious food for you and your family, while supporting the local ecosystem.

 

Most locally grown and seasonally available food is more nutritious, tastes better and is more environmentally friendly, since shipping food over long distances requires fuel for transportation.

 
Growing food can be a joyful experience for many reasons. Working the soil has many mental health benefits on several levels. Is Dirt the New Prozac?
Being self-sufficient and providing quality food is very rewarding. Why Grow Your Own Food?
 

** Do you know where your food comes from? **
 
    * Do you know how your food is grown?
 
    * What can you do?
  
   * Fruit & Vegetable Pesticide Data-2019 Update
  
   * Reap the benefits of fresh produce