“Victory Garden” is suddenly the rallying cry for people everywhere. Pictures are being posted online and growing a garden in an apartment has never been easier. We tried to find a community garden near us where we could get a plot to grow more vegetables than we would need this summer but every place we tried has a two year long waiting list. In the end we ended up deciding that we could use the dirt border of our balcony. Matt and I were suddenly caught up in all the planting excitement this last weekend as we purchased several organically raised plants from a vendor at the farmer’s market. We have a 6 foot by 1 foot little dirt border that surrounds our patio and despite my lack of care, various things have grown there over the last year! We have two jasmine bushes that refuse to grow, a pair of vines walking up our walls and some very pretty rosemary. In an effort to start growing we planted basil, chives, 3 tomato plants, strawberries and mint. (I know mint goes crazy but I just love tea!) I cannot tell you the excitement I experienced when I noticed that there was a little flower on one of our tomato plants.
All this gardening started me on thinking about where my food was really coming from. I chatted with people at the farmer’s market at various stalls and realized people drove hours to get there with their produce. One woman told me she gets up at 4:00am on Saturdays just to bring her stuff from the other side of the Valley. Not living in a farming area, I’m not sure how far away local consists of… 50 miles? 100 miles? In the end Matt and I decided that Southern California as a whole would be fair game. If we could find people to supply all our supplies within that area we would be limiting our impact on our environment. I’m not sure I’ll find someone who sells peanuts from Southern California, but I would rather be eco-conscious than eat Pad Thai any day!