Health

Garden to Bloom in ‘Food Desert’

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The weather is cool. The sun’s rays are not. Sweat quickly begins to drop from their foreheads, and their shirts are soon sticking to their backs.

But nothing’s dampening the determination of the 13 men and women who have gathered to dig a trench in an empty lot that will become the first community garden in southeastern San Diego.

Armed with picks, shovels, rakes and hoes, the residents and volunteers dig through gravel, dirt and weeds in this piece of Mother Earth. The trench, or “swale,” they’re digging will harvest rain water and elevate and even the soil’s moisture levels.

“With this garden, we are helping San Diegans get their own little patch of earth that they can turn into gardens to grow healthy food,” said Supervisor Greg Cox, who months prior gathered on the same corner of Market and Denby streets to announce the creation of the garden. “We need to get our loved ones and neighbors to eat healthier food and live healthier lifestyles.”

The long-awaited Mount Hope Community Garden is the result of years of discussion between residents, community groups, and local government. It will allow residents to plant and harvest their own plots.

The project is funded in part by a $70,000 grant from the County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) Healthy Works, an anti-obesity campaign that paves the way for the creation of school and community gardens that will teach residents how to grow and raise their own food. The Southeast Economic Development Corporation provided the land.

“Giving people access to healthy and nutritious foods will help them lead healthier lives,” said Nick Macchione, HHSA Director. “A healthier San Diego County is within reach. The County has implemented Live Well, San Diego! a 10-year initiative to improve health in our region, and community gardens are an integral plot in this strategy.”

San Diego County has 6,687 farms, more than any other county in the United States. The region also has largest community of organic growers in the nation, with 374 farms growing more than 175 crops.

Yet locally grown food is commonly shipped to Los Angeles, aggregated, then sold – often back to San Diego buyers. As a result, residents have difficulty obtaining the freshest produce, local farmers suffer reduced income, and greenhouse gases are increased as a result of transportation.

For $4 a month, Mt. Hope residents will be able to rent a raised bed where they can grow fruits and vegetables. The garden will also have a kid play area and host classes and field trips to teach children about urban agriculture.

Eve Broussard, who has lived in the neighborhood 10 years, and 19 other residents are already on a list to receive one of 40 to 45 plots.

After digging and shoveling for nearly two hours, Broussard stops to take a short break.

“I love hard work and there is nothing better than working with Mother Earth,” she says.
She explains what she plans to grow in her plot.

“Squash, corn, cucumbers, watermelons,” she says. A vegetarian, Broussard often has to drive to Hillcrest to get groceries.

“I love fresh fruit and vegetables,” she says.

After the 86-foot swale is completed, the group plants four different types of cover crops, used primarily to manage soil quality, retain water, and prevent weeds and pests.

The first plots won’t be ready until about April, when the first trees are likely to arrive, including an orange tree donated by a local motorcycle club and a lemon tree from a Metropolitan Transit System bus driver whose route stops right in front of the garden.

Project New Village is leading the effort to eliminate the “food desert” in the area, where healthy, affordable food is difficult to find.

Its director, Diane Moss, hopes the fruits and vegetables from the garden will be sold at the local farmers market or newly-created farm stands.

“Community gardens increase access to fruits and vegetables, and the process really builds community,” said Moss. “People share seeds, borrow tools. They make new friends. It’s going to be a very beautiful place.”