Vegetable Patch Gives City Folk a Taste of the Farm

Standing under the Lindbergh Field flight path, the San Diego Bay shining behind him, Robert Radell, 84, of Front Street, was boasting about his beets, tomatoes, onions and four kinds of lettuce.

“I’m a city boy just enjoying this,” said Radell, retired after 40 years with the Chicago Fire Department. “I have good crops of corn and beets, and the beans are coming in big now. I give a lot away. My dear neighbors enjoy the beans and beets.”

Radell is a renter of space at the Cedar Community Garden at Front and Juniper streets, and has been for the seven years he’s lived in San Diego.

One of a handful of such gardens around San Diego County, Cedar combines a little bit of country with a little bit of city.

Gardeners tend to their vegetables, fruits and flowers as jets fly over, drowning out the sounds of the insects and birds nearby.

The garden, which was begun in 1976 on land owned by the San Diego Unified Port District, contains 35 plots.

“The district does it because there is no other real use for the property,” port spokesman Dan Wilkens said. “We leave it vacant because it’s right under the main approach to the runway at Lindbergh Field. . . . Over the years, (the gardeners have) been very good tenants, if you will.”

Wilkens said the Port District bought the property in the early 1970s, after the Federal Aviation Administration deemed the buildings on it a hazard to the planes.

The buildings were torn down and, a few years later, the garden started by several neighbors and the Senior Community Centers of San Diego, formerly called the Cedar Community Center.

The Port District provides the land to the senior center at no cost, although the center pays for liability insurance at the site. The center is also responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the property, said Ann Brown, the center’s director.

Gardeners donate money to the center, last year a total of $1,000.

Although the garden was originally created for seniors, today it is used by people of all ages and from all walks of life. Many of the gardeners are retired.

“The garden has really evolved over the last three years,” said Tom Lambert of Normal Heights, a former social worker who has been gardening at Cedar for six years. “People no longer just grow vegetables. There’s a pretty good mix of people--people from Greece, Italy, the Midwest and the East Coast, and some natives, young and old, men and women, gay and straight.”

Lambert tends his garden five days a week, and has been working on rejuvenating the “canyon” there, a downhill slope near the back of the garden that contains small fruit trees, blackberries and cherimoya, an exotic, pricey fruit native to the mountains of Peru and Ecuador.

The garden is 20,000 square feet of therapy, the growers say.

“I like to garden,” said Melvyn Dylak of Union Street, who has rented a plot for five years. “It’s a little space away from the reality that’s out there. It’s an escape, a way to get away for a while.”

Barbara Laird couldn’t agree more.

“I live a couple of blocks away and eat out of the garden every day,” Laird said. “It’s part of my mental health. Right now I’m unemployed, so it’s actually quite functional. I eat out of this garden. . . . I’ve always had a garden, but I’ve never had a garden in the city. And when you live in a city, that can really get you down.”

In her garden, Laird grows spinach, parsley, strawberries, dill and other herbs. The previous gardener who rented her plot left behind a 5-year-old peach tree, and in July the fruit will be ready.

“I’m thinking peach tarts,” said Laird, who has rented her plot for a year. She cooks her carrots and beets “99 different ways,” and is growing tomatoes and jalapenos to make her own salsa.

It costs $20 every six months to rent a plot. The fee pays for water, gardening tools and supplies such as hay, used for mulching. Each gardener is responsible for the upkeep of his or her plot.

Members held a meeting recently to discuss water conservation methods. A sign is posted on the chain-link fence surrounding the garden giving tips on how to save water. Surrounding that fence, on the outside of the garden, are dozens of varieties of flowers, including roses, sweet peas and wisteria, a vine Laird recently planted that will wrap itself around the fence.

One of the most exotic plants in the garden is the pepino dulce, a sweet fruit native to Peru, Lambert said.

“It’s from the nightshade family, along with tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco and peppers,” he said. “It’s a fruit you can eat out of your hand, like a tomato. It’s sweet. It tastes like cantaloupe to me.”

The traditional fruits and vegetables are also there--eggplant, artichokes, onions, garlic, and Swiss chard are commonly seen throughout the garden, along with tomatoes, squash and zucchini.

George Georggin, who drives from his home in Chula Vista to tend his plot, cooks many of the vegetables he grows. One of his favorites is Italian endive boiled in lemon juice. He also likes eggplant fried in olive oil. Just like his days back in Greece, he says.

“You boil it in water for about 20 minutes. Don’t overcook it,” Georggin said.

Does he enjoy the food he grows?

“Heavens, yes,” Georggin said. “I eat it or give it to friends. The squash and eggplant are multiplying so fast it’s unbelievable.”

A dozen people are on the waiting list for space at the garden. (Laird waited six months for hers.) To be added to the list, call 544-1878.