There are greener pastures in Los Angeles these days thanks to Los Feliz’s Farmscape. The landscaping company’s six farmers design, plant and maintain edible gardens—300 so far—across town from Pasadena to Calabasas. Founded in 2009, Farmscape’s goals overlap with the interest in food safety, locally sourced foodstuffs and “the old concepts of homesteading, WWII Victory gardens and kitchen gardens,” according to co-founder Rachel Bailin.
Clients are diverse and range from chefs to families to urban apartment dwellers (the Farmscape garden on Finley Avenue between Hillhurst and Vermont is a neighborhood conversation spot).
Farmers build raised beds—necessary because of L.A.’s depleted soils— establish drip irrigation systems and plant them with season-appropriate produce. At the Finley site, beets, kale, gem lettuce and cauliflower were thriving in December—gardens are maintained organically with no pesticide spray.
Sometimes gardens are poached; in summer heirloom tomatoes are popular pickings. Skunks and raccoons are the threat, more so than passing pedestrians.
Bailin contends that the gardens can help build community while providing seasonal bounty. The team also volunteers at the Thomas Starr King Middle School garden where children learn firsthand the connection between field and plate.
Farmscape’s services include installation of raised beds and an irrigation systems; weekly maintenance of planted plots is available too.
For information: Farmscapegardens.com
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on Thursday, December 27th, 2012 at 7:00 am and is filed under Community News, Lead Cover Story.
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