Tips from the Queer Kitchen
Notes from Markos Major’s talk
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Urban Farming and Gardening:
There are many locations to get your hands dirty, volunteer and perhaps take some produce home with you: Garden For the Environment, SFBotanical Garden, Alemany Farm, Hayes Valley Farm and the Free Farm are just a few options.
Backyard and Front-yard Gardens – Every Bit Counts!
There are new opportunities for homeowners and renters alike to install gardens where cement and asphalt have dominated. The Grey to Green Program will facilitate an easier permit process for 100 new Sidewalk Gardens over the next year. Residents will receive consultation on garden design, plant selection and permit navigation. For more information come to one of the monthly classes held at SFBG every second Saturday of the month.
Classes and Opportunities for Extended Learning:
San Francisco has many options for extended learning. Classes offered at the Horticulture Department of CCSF are quite good. SFBG Docent Tranings, GFE GetUp Class, Alemany monthly Horticulture Course, HVF – all have ongoing classes. The SFParks Trust hosts many events along with SFPRD, SFDPW and SFE.
Greens and Beans in the 415:
In San Francisco where summer fog dominates summer skies and sand prevails underfoot, many edible plant families perform very well. Start with the Nitrogen! Fava beans and other Legumes, in partnership with soil bacteria fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and make it available to other plant roots. When a fava or pea rots, the nitrogen that was stored in the nodules of these Fabaceae family roots becomes available to surrounding plants. Cover Crops (favas, vetch, oats, clover, etc) are an ancient manner of building soil fertility (think green manure).
Brassicas perform very well throughout San Francisco and thrive on the extra moisture from the sea. Wonderful choices for the coastal garden include (but are not limited to) kale, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, mustard greens and arugula. Leave your kales and collards in the ground and let them perennialize. Kale can produce for years and years if you give it the space.
Lactuca sativa (Lettuce) performs well with the extra moisture from the Pacific, even in shady gardens. There are hundreds of varieties to work with and chose from. Other Asteraceae (that’s the daisy family) plants that perform well are Jerusalem Artichokes, or Sun Chokes. Just make sure you have gopher wire to protect the crisp (if not so flavorful) tuber. Chenopods are another fantastic option for the urban gardener with many colorful choices. Rainbow Chard, Beets and Spinach are common choices.
Spearmint, peppermints, catnip, lemon balm, thyme, marjoram and chia thrive in sandy soils with their running roots. Other woodier Lamiaceae such as sages and rosemary also thrive.
Carrots, dill, celery, parsley and other Apiaceae also do very well. Cilantro can grow as well, but prefers more heat than west of Twin Peaks can usually provide – even the extra sun on the eastern side of the city provides sufficient difference in heat to produce tastier cilantro. Apiaceae is a wonderful family of plants, especially for supporting troubled bee populations. Apiaceae plants flower in clusters making pollen and nectar collection a cinch for our insect pals.
Solanums such as tomatoes and peppers generally prefer more summer heat (they are Amazonian in origin after all)! But if you must dedicate useful kale-space to tomatoes, make sure to grow cherry tomatoes that will need fewer hours of sun to produce edible fruits. Beware of powdery mildew and remove non-fruiting leaves or “suckers.” Other South American perennial solanums such as potatoes and Inca Berries do very well with goodly applications of compost. Save the eggplants for the Bay View – or even better, the East Bay.
Fruit Trees:
Citrus perform moderately well in most parts of San Francisco. – excepting for the Meyer Lemon who is a star producer throughout the 415.
Apples, Pears, Asian Pears and other Pome fruits thrive in SF. Certain varieties perform better on the coastal ranges: Think Gravenstien and Jonagold for a healthy coastal producer (but don’t worry there are plenty of options).
Kiwi, hawthorn, tree tomato, figs, mulberries, raspberries and blackberries and Inca Berries produce a goodly amount with proper nutrition (keep the compost coming)!
Most Stone Fruit (with that rock-hard pit) such as peaches, cherries, apricots and nectarines prefer more days of sun AND freezing cold than SF offers (for now before climate change). Plums are your best choice in SF. Beware of urban predators such as squirrels, rats, mice and (of course) the humans.
Support Local Farmers, Support Organic Farmers:
Put your money where your mouth is – buy local food and organic food whenever possible. Prioritize the top of the food chain because toxins multiply the higher up the chain one is; meat, eggs, dairy for example can contain more toxins due to bioaccumulation. For optimal health, eat seasonally and locally as much as possible. Farmers’ Markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes are abundant and an easy way to support local California Farmers. Cali produces over 30% of the food of the USA! Remember the saying in the Central Valley – “Food grows where water flows.” A local conventional apple is “greener” than a Chilean organic apple due to all the petroleum burned to import said apple. We can reduce our Carbon Footprint
Compost with Worms and Use the Green Cart:
Worm composting is an easy and fun way to utilize leftover food scraps and provide a cheap (virtually free) source of nutrients for indoor and outdoor plants. Remember: composting in the green cart (including dirty paper) helps to conserve much needed biomass for compost production. The final product created by SFRecology is used in hundreds of wineries to grow grapes – organically!
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This and more information is made available thanks to Markos Major, Buffet Flats Resident Expert and SF Urban Farmer
