Did you know that the food you eat can account for up to 30% of your household’s carbon footprint? One of the simplest ways to decrease your food’s environmental impact (in addition to composting) is to grow your own!

Growing food at home has countless advantages. First, growing at home eliminates the fossil fuel emissions required to transport your produce. Second, having fresh, locally grown food that is harvested just when you are ready to eat it means there is no need for refrigeration. Third, you are less likely to let food go to waste when you’ve nurtured it along yourself! When these things are eliminated by more and more people, significant levels of carbon emissions are eliminated. Growing your own food means you always have fresh produce on hand, and you can experience the great joy of gardening!

Getting Started

Growing food at home can feel daunting, but we have a few simple suggestions to get started. First, consider growing an herb garden–something hardy that you will use when prepping food. Or consider starting with container gardening. SC staff recommends creating a simple salsa garden–jalapenos, tomatoes, and cilantro–so you will always have fresh salsa at hand during the hot summer months!

Next Steps 

If you are ready to up your gardening game, or are ready to jump into the deep end, you might consider adding a raised garden to your home. Raised beds will offer you greater space to grow, and can dramatically increase the amount of food you can grow.

Last month, as part of our new Home Gardening program, we started building raised bed gardens and planting fruit trees for community members. If you are interested in getting a raised bed garden or fruit trees, getting help with an existing garden, or getting some one-on-one garden coaching–we’ve got you covered! Contact Us for more information

Summary:  Do you have a raised bed garden but don’t know what to plant? Maybe you’ve got an aphid problem and aren’t sure what to do? Join Sustainable Claremont’s resident market-farmer and community composting manager, Romeo Lodia. After a brief presentation about how he followed his passion and became a market-farmer, he will do his best to answer your questions about anything from compost to crops over Zoom!