Explore Little Italy’s Farmers Market, Organic Farming, and Sustainable Restaurants. It’s a delicious and nutritious way to enjoy San Diego.
How Can I Help? Season 1, Episode 1: Farm Fresh Guide to a Green Thumb (Organic Farming)
Originally aired on ITV – Channel 16 Friday June 3rd at 6pm in San Diego.
Get ready for a green adventure in San Diego as we explore Organic Farming.
It’s the San Diego usual (bright and sunny) Saturday morning (9-1pm) and walking around the Little Italy Farmer’s Market is a titillating treat for every sense. Colorful sights guide your excited eyes to new visual experiences, mellow music gives you a soothing sound to enjoy a relaxing day, tasty dishes tantalize your taste-buds as you catch a waft of the wonderful smells, delicious tastes begin marinating in your mouth, and with a touch of unique produce, some of which is only available in San Diego, you let your body take a well-deserved vacation.
The local independent farms that constitute Little Italy Mercado gives a glimpse into the accessibility and variety available through Organic Produce and Sustainable Farming. With so many competing local farms you are sure to catch a deal, and every purchase helps the local economy thrive.
After you’ve gotten your fill of Fresh Farm Air Atmosphere, head down the 5 to Suzie’s Farm to discover a whole new San Diego and a great independent family-owned organic farm. You can almost taste the freshness in this segment.
San Diego has an ideal climate, capable of growing food year-round which makes sustainable organic farm fresh produce available near you. In fact many people easily grow gardens in San Diego, it is a great way to get fresh air, bond with your family, and eat healthy locally grown produce. Meet with just those people at the San Diego Sustainable Roots Harvest Festival with music, dancing, and tantalizing tastes for your tongue its a delicious, nutritious way to see San Diego.
Don’t get too full because here’s the main course. The Linkery in North Park offers delicious dishes and can’t lose brews. Its all right at your plate, on Friday June 3rd at 6pm on ITV — Channel 16.
WARNING: Do not attempt to eat your computer.
What’s Cooking
With fresh produce from the Farmers Market try this delicious dish
1. Find well-draining soil in a sunny area to begin your backyard garden. A well-draining soil will ensure that water does not collect to nourish fungus among your plants and a sunny area will ensure proper light and heat that will be needed for growth. Be sure to check if your plants prefer full sun or partial sun before beginning. You’ll want to choose a spot that will be convenient for your work and attractive for viewing.
What Grows in San Diego?
| All Year | Plants, flowers, mushrooms, eggs, fruit, nuts, lettuce, greens, honey |
| January | Navel oranges, lemons, avocados, kumquats, strawberries, cauliflower, asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb, tangerines, tangelos, carrots, celery, cabbage, peas, beets, cherimoyas, guavas |
| February | Navel oranges, lemons, avocados, kumquats, strawberries, cauliflower, asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb, tangerines, tangelos, carrots, celery, cabbage, peas, beets, cherimoyas, guavas |
| March | Navel oranges, lemons, strawberries, squash, rhubarb, asparagus, carrots, peas, artichokes, tangelos, grapefruit, avocados, cherimoyas, guavas |
| April | Navel and Valencia oranges, grapefruit, lemons, avocados, strawberries, squash, snap peas, beans, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, cherimoyas |
| May | Valencia oranges, grapefruit, lemons, strawberries, avocados, sweet corn, peas, beans, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, sweet onions, cucumbers, cherimoyas |
| June | Valencia oranges, grapefruit, lemons, peaches, plums apricots, avocados, eggplant, corn, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries, sweet onions, cherimoyas |
| July | Sweet corn, melons, Valencia oranges, grapefruit, avocados, tomatoes, beans, raspberries, potatoes, onions, peppers, figs |
| August | Sweet corn, melons, Valencia oranges, grapefruit, peaches, plums, apricots, avocados, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, carrots, squash raspberries, potatoes, boysenberries, blackberries, apples, figs |
| September | Sweet corn, melons, Valencia oranges, grapefruit, peaches, plums, avocados, tomatoes, grapes, squash, cucumbers, beans, carrots, raspberries, potatoes, apples, onions, peppers, figs |
| October | Sweet corn, melons, Valencia oranges, grapefruit peaches, avocados, tomatoes, grapes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, beans, carrots, potatoes, apples, onions, peppers, figs, Asian pears, pears |
| November | Melons, Valencia oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, beans, carrots, raspberries, potatoes, apples, onions, peppers, Asian pears, pears, pumpkins, persimmons, macadamia nuts, kiwis, cherimoyas, guavas |
| December | Tangerines, grapefruit, macadamia nuts, avocados, cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, apples, kiwis, carrots, beets, lemons, cherimoyas, guavas |
2. Good crops require good soil and good soil needs nourishment. Get 2 large trash bags and head to Miramar Greenery to pick up some compost for FREE. City of San Diego residents can self-load up to 2 cubic yards of compost or mulch with proof of residency, enough to fill a 20×10 foot garden with 3 inches of compost. Use a tiller, spade, or shovel to amend garden soil by adding compost 4-6 inches deep into the soil. Irrigate area twice thoroughly before planting.
Indoor Composting
Want to reduce your waste without trashing your place. Here’s an easy step by step guide for Indoor Composting.First, here’s a little information about composting…
What is compost?
Compost is organic material that can be used as a soil amendment or as a medium to grow plants. Mature compost is a stable material with a content called humus that is dark brown or black and has a soil-like, earthy smell.
What are the benefits of composting?
Compost has the ability to help regenerate poor soils. The composting process encourages the production of beneficial micro-organisms (mainly bacteria and fungi) which in turn break down organic matter to create humus. Humus–a rich nutrient-filled material–increases the nutrient content in soils and helps soils retain moisture. Compost has also been shown to suppress plant diseases and pests, reduce or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers, and promote higher yields of agricultural crops.
Did you know?
-Suppress plant diseases and pests.
-Reduce or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers.
-Promote higher yields of agricultural crops.
-Facilitate reforestation, wetlands restoration, and habitat revitalization efforts by amending contaminated, compacted, and marginal soils.
-Cost-effectively remediate soils contaminated by hazardous waste.
-Remove solids, oil, grease, and heavy metals from stormwater runoff.
-Capture and destroy 99.6 percent of industrial volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in contaminated air.
-Provide cost savings of at least 50 percent over conventional soil, water, and air pollution remediation technologies, where applicable.
Green Yourself: Build an indoor composting container…
Live in an apartment, condo, or townhouse without a yard, here’s a guide to get you going green on gaining the most our of your organic waste.Step 1: Materials
You will need to paint buckets (like the Home Depot Orange Paint Bucket Size), A screwdriver or drill to put holes in the buckets, and a spigot to take advantage of the nutrient rich liquid that is a useful byproduct of the composting process.Step 2: Paint Bucket 1
Place 1/4 inch holes around the base of ONE bucket, do not do this to the other bucket. The holes around the first bucket should be near the base and go no higher than 3 inches from the base, also put holes on the bottom of this same bucket. Not too many though if everything from the top simply and instantly drops to the bottom you might as well have used one bucket.Step 3: Paint Bucket 2
Place one hole in the bottom the bucket slightly smaller than your spigot. Put the spigot in the hole and make sure it is tightly positioned in the hole. Liquid will be in this area and you don’t want it to spill on your floor.
Spigot – Tap, Valve, Faucet, etc. Basically it controls the release of liquids. As you add water to your compost, some will drain through to your bottom bucket and be a useful nutrient boost for house-plants, outdoor trees, etc.Step 4: Place Bucket 1 (many holes at bottom) inside Bucket 2 (one hole, has spigot)
Thats it, you have a great container for compost. Read more on how to make compost correctly and avoid flies and smell…
Compost contains 4 necessary ingredients: Water, Nitrogen (Green Organic Material), Carbon (Brown Organic Material), and Air. If you add banana peels, egg shells, etc. it will add useful nutrients, but Water, Nitrogen, Carbon, and Air are vital to creating compost.
Now to avoid a foul smell seems backwards from your normal idea on smells. Compost will have an earthy smell, but a foul smell is most likely caused by anaerobic digestion (no oxygen) as opposed to aerobic digestion. If air can freely circulate through your compost it will avoid that very wet, nasty smell that gets us to take out our trash cans from the kitchen in the first placed. So oxygen is key in reducing smell, once you have compost in your bucket you should designate a spoon or spinning device to turn the compost as often as possible and when you leave the house leave the top off the compost to give it more air or place it near a window to catch a breeze.
Flies will be attracted to the foul smell caused by anaerobic digestion, but will also be attracted to rotting dairy and meat in compost. It is recommended that you stick to organic waste, definitely not plastics, and refrain from meats, grease, fat, and dairy to avoid smell and fly issues.
As always, the key to understanding is trial and error. Add things to your compost and see what happens: life’s an experiment… don’t get too caught up in the details just the results. Enjoy!
Miramar Greenery
5180 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Inside the City’s Miramar Landfill, North of Highway 52
Monday – Friday: 7a.m. – 4:30p.m. (No hand unloads after 4p.m.)
Saturdays, Sundays and most holidays: 7:30a.m. – 4:30p.m. (No hand unloads after 4p.m.)
Closed New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day
(858) 694-7000 (for general information)
(858) 492-6100 (to confirm product availability and pricing)
Miramar Greenery Prices…
| Material Type | Description | Price/Cubic Yard (incl. tax & loading) |
| City Resident Self-Loading Compost/Mulch | Up to 2 cubic yard | FREE |
| 1/2″ Compost | 10 week processing of yard waste and food waste, screened to 1/2″ | $12 |
| 4″ Mulch | 2 week processing of yard waste only | $5 |
| 2″ Compost Overs | 10 week processing of yard waste and food waste, screen to 1/2″ – 2″ | $10 |
| Natural Wood Chips | Logs ground to 2″-4″ and screened to remove fines | $15 |
| Natural 1/2″ Fines | Logs ground and screened to 1/2″ | $15 |
| Plain Wood Chips | Dimensional lumber ground to 2″ – 4″ | $15 |
| Colored Wood Chips: red, brown, & black | Dimensional lumber ground to 2″ – 4″ and colored with non-toxic dye | $25 |
(Prices Above Effective JULY 1, 2010)
3. This is the fun part: your garden is ready for PLANTS! Keep the seeds from the produce you enjoyed at the farmers market or check out a local nursery for more choices.
4. Once you’ve planted, it is important to maintain a regular watering schedule. Water in early mornings or the evenings, so the sun won’t burn the plants’ delicate leaves. Although sprinklers are cheap, easy to setup, and easy to use, drip irrigation systems are the preferred method. The constant, slow 1 or 2 gph (gallon per hour) drip minimizes runoff water and actually gives the plants’ roots more water.
5. Before long, your plants will be ready to harvest. Every type of plant has a different length of time until harvest, so with a varied garden you will have fresh produce throughout the summer and fall. You will soon find that nothing compares to the vegetables, fruits, and herbs grown in your own garden.
6. Most importantly, have fun. Don’t make gardening into more work than it needs to be. Your garden doesn’t need to be perfect. It’s great if you’re able to achieve a substantial return on your investment, but it’s also okay to pick a favorite fruit or vegetable, plant a few seeds, and have fun watching them grow to maturity. You’ll find its relaxing, rewarding, and fun for the whole family.