we put in our body fuels us.”
For more information, visit: community-
healinggardens.org.
What does farming mean to you?
Nicole Landers: Farming means strengthen-
ing community through urban gardening. We
can build connection, community, and jobs, and
shift the consciousness on planetary and human
health by growing food locally, especially in
urban areas in need. Our soil can save us.
What is your favorite thing to grow?
NL: My favorite season is spring into summer
and growing tomatoes, blueberries, strawber-
ries, herbs, kale, and arugula.
LA Urban Farms
If you’ve always wanted a garden, but don’t
have the space, a vertical garden may be for
you. LA Urban Farms has created state-of-the
art, patented, vertical technology that allows
you to farm in an urban setting using 90% less
land and 90% less water.
Wendy Coleman is the founder of LA Urban
Farms with partners Jennifer Crane and Melanie
Dorsey. These three women share a passion
for farming and helping others grow their own
healthy food. Wendy found her work passion
with the help of her daughter who was majoring
in sustainability and environmental awareness.
Wendy came across vertical gardens grow-
ing right in the middle of a parking lot in front
of a café. She inquired about buying one for
her daughter Jess’s birthday. One vertical gar-
den turned into three in the family’s backyard.
“We had never had our own edible garden
before; we even had fake plants in our house.”
Wendy and her family couldn’t believe that in
only 21 days they had the most delicious leafy
greens and herbs for their smoothies, salads,
and grilled vegetables.
Shortly after that harvest, they collaborated
with the developer of the vertical garden tech-
nology, Tim Blank. Tim worked for 12 years as
the chief horticulturist and greenhouse manager
at Walt Disney World’s attraction The Land
at Epcot Center. There, they grew hundreds
of different food crops from all over the world
in many different hydroponic and aeroponic
systems. Wendy felt that her team’s enthusiasm
combined with Tim’s expertise was a recipe for
success. Thus, LA Urban Farms sprouted.
They created their first aeroponic farm on
the rooftop of the old Google building in Santa
Monica. It was the first of its kind on a commer-
cial office building in LA. Now, almost five years
later, their urban gardens are found in backyards,
greenhouses, and with top chefs at restaurants,
resorts, universities, and businesses throughout
LA and beyond. They’ve even installed a garden
at LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s home.
For more information visit: laurbanfarms.com.What does farming mean to you?
Melanie Dorsey: Farming is about making
a personal connection to your food while also
connecting to people who are passionate about
growing their own food. My hope is that more
people connect to how their food is grown and
become inspired to make healthier choices for
themselves and the environment.What is your favorite thing to grow?
MD: My favorite thing to grow is cucumbers. I
have three daughters and my six-year-old Ellie
adores pickles! She loves to grow her own cu-
cumbers and educate everyone she meets about
how to grow your own food. I enjoy teaching
in my girls’ schools and seeing the joy on the
children’s faces when they eat food that they’ve
grown. They feel so proud. Another favorite is
edible flowers. My girls love putting them in ice
cubes for their lemonade stand, and also mak-
ing soap with them.Malibu Farms Restaurant
If you just want to enjoy the bounty from area
farms, try the incredible farm-to-table meals in
a magical setting at Malibu Farms Restaurant
on the Malibu Pier. Chef Helene Henderson
started with cooking classes and farm dinners
out of her home and backyard. Now, her back-
yard is on the Malibu Pier and includes a casual
counter service café at the end of the pier and a
full service restaurant and bar at the beginning
of the pier. She also has locations in Orange
County, Hawaii, and Florida.
Helene loves the simplicity of both garden-
ing and cooking. The heart of her business is to
serve simple, healthy, homestyle cooked meals
without becoming too fussy. Where she grew
up in the northern part of Sweden, Helene was
always gardening. The family had their own
potato community garden plots and strawberry
pots on their city balcony. When she moved to
Hollywood, Helene would manage to find spacefor a small garden, and even raised backyard
chickens. Helene says, “Gardening is easy and
gardening is hard. Some seasons are a breeze
and others are a struggle. There really isn’t any
right or wrong. Hopefully most times, you reap
what you sow, and eat what you grow.”
For more information, visit: malibu-farm.comWhat does farming mean to you?
Chef Helene Henderson: Farming means
everything. Farming, even on the smallest
scale, means the ability to feed yourself and
others. Food does not come from the market.
If we can forage food, and if we can grow
food, we can grow.What’s your favorite thing to grow?
HH: My favorite thing to grow is arugula,
because snails don’t eat it, rabbits don’t eat it,
coyotes don’t eat it; so it is all for me to eat
with a squirt of good olive oil, a sprinkle of
coarse salt and a squeeze of lemon.Growing Your Own
As Chef Helene Henderson says, food does
not come from the market. Food comes from
the soil, even if it’s in a pot on a windowsill
or balcony. Urban gardening can lead the way
for families to eat better. Planting some seeds
wherever you can find a small plot to call your
own or sharing a space with your community
are good places to start. And there are many
ways you can become more involved in urban
gardening. Sponsor a Community Healing
Gardens box. Volunteer or participate in a
harvest. Exchange seeds. Take a gardening
class. Look into building your own raised beds.
Call LA Urban Farms. Or find ways to support
local farmers and gardeners who are innovating
organic and local farming. Join these women
and be part of the next wave planting the seeds
of change in backyards and communities.Tiffany Paige (known as Green With Tiffany) is a
sustainable lifestyle advocate promoting the health and
wellness of people and planet: greenwithtiffany.com