Posted on 05/23/2010 7:12:12 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Los Angeles, which has a growing number of people selling home-grown fruit and vegetables, is halting enforcement of an ordinance against the practice.
The Los Angeles City Council said it is suspending enforcement of a 1946 ordinance and weighing a new measure, the Food and Flowers Freedom Act, which would allow for the growing of "berries, flowers, fruits, greens, herbs, ornamental plants, mushrooms, nuts, seedlings or vegetables for use on-site or sale or distribution off-site," the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
The measure comes as an increasing number of local residents and people across the United States are turning to their home gardens as a source of supplementary income.
Cam Slocum, 50, said he grows beefsteak tomatoes and salad green baby mache in his back yard and sells them to restaurants. He said he has 10 regular clients and he wants to add 20 more to keep his garden profitable.
Ken Takayama, chef de cuisine at French restaurant Melissein Santa Monica, said locals are increasingly coming into the establishment aiming to sell their vegetables. He said the number has been steadily increasing since the economy first started tanking three years ago.
"Every day, every week, it's something new," Takayama said. "You name it, they have it."
Beautiful!
Doesn’t this violate BO’s Food Safety Act?
Got a huge back yard. Ran a fence down the middle. Never got around to buying the tiller I’d need and not sure the dirt is good enough to grow anything. So, I got me two topsey-turveys and they’re doing pretty good. Maybe next year I’ll have a big garden even though I do know it’s not profitable.
I hope they report their sales and pay their State and Federal income tax!
I MISS my garden...dang nosey neighbors...dang drug enforcement task force...
“even though I do know it’s not profitable”
Oh it’s profitable. But you have to grow high margin plants, you have to compost and reuse stuff. Go to pots instead of redoing all the soil. In other words, act like it’s a business and not a hobby.
If that’s what Michelle Obama is growing, it is economically disastrous. It’s all lettuce and spinach, not enough calories to feed someone, it’s a salad show garden.
Pinging the Weekly Gardening Thread list
I know it can be profitable but it takes a long time to see a return on the investment. I bought a riding tractor lawn mower and figured out it’s going to take me more than two years to break even based on what I was paying to have it mowed. I did it for somethimg to do and I enjoy it. Plus I was going to buy a tiller attachment but the darn thing costs way too much money. I’d have to grow a lot of beans to pay for it! Plus, like I said, in Texas they scrape all the good soil off the lot before the build on it. That means I’ll have to haul in top soil for a fairly large garden. But I’ll probably do it anyway next year if I’m still around.
“They can tax you on what you would have otherwise spent,
It’s been pushed during the early years of the Clinton Administration. Taxing the “imputed income” on home ownership, what the owner would have paid in rent for an equivalent home.
Next thing you know the Communists will start suggesting assessing income tax on clipping coupons. Or two for one sales.
People need to overcome the vanity of a beautiful front lawn...landscaping should always include some veggies.
I’m on Vegas, we have “caliche”, a nasty clay devoid of nutrient that packs like rock. Too expensive to resoil the whole thing, so I’m composting bit by bit and going to pots in te meantime. I think I’m just going to rent a tiller. So yeah, you have to act like it’s a business.
It’s gonna take us several growing seasons to realize any monetary profit for our 18x34 ft veggie garden. Sure, it’s low-tech and stuff.
This is our first full growing season & I’ve spent approx $120 on fencing plus $50 on compost for this year. That doesnt include the purchase of tomato & pepper transplants and potato slips, plus the other seeds. Then, there is the added use of water to our monthly water bill which hopefully will be minimal.
Mostly, this is gonna keep our taste buds happy with fresh, garden tomatoes, green beans, squash, bell peppers & potatoes.
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