Watch CBS News

San Franciscan Gardeners Permitted To Sell Their Crops

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – The vegetable garden police are out of business in San Francisco. With the signature of Mayor Ed Lee, volunteer vegetable plots such as Brooke Budner's Little City Gardens in the Mission Terrace neighborhood became a business.

KCBS' Tim Ryan Reports:

"We have lettuces, we're growing mustard greens, garlic, potatoes, spinach, scallions, carrots, radishes, artichokes – we're growing a lot," said Budner.

The city now allows urban gardens to sell both to subscribers who take vegetables weekly by the box, but also now to restaurants.

The city has nine recognized urban gardens.

One of the first, according to gardener Jay Rosenberg, was in Hayes Valley.

"At the 'Free Farm' (in Hayes Valley) is a former church that burned down on a freeway parcel, so we have almost every different type of property represented with these nine," said Rosenberg. "We can just find 40 more to fill in the rest of the city's districts and the city will be sustainable."

Dozens gathered in the drizzle at the Little City Gardens Wednesday, using a bowl of salad to toast the new legislation.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.