Design, installation, and weekly maintenance of raised vegetable beds, medicinal and culinary herb gardens, and composting systems.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

SCOPE OF SERVICE & FEES

Do you provide free initial consultations? No. Our Initial Consultation fee is $100. If you decide to hire Sacred Earth to develop your foodscape project, the entire $100 will be applied to the cost of the installation. We will visit your place and conduct a needs assessment to evaluate the proposed site’s sun exposure, soil quality and water sources for the irrigation system. We will also discuss your priorities and vision for the site as well as your crop preferences and possible locations for your garden.

How much do you charge? Project costs vary depending on design, size, special features, and materials used. A project can start at $3,000 or more, depending on the scale, scope, and existing infrastructure, including water source, terrain (slopes), and terracing. Our urban farm designs range from simple with low-budget materials to sophisticated motif with high-end products. We take into consideration your budget, lifestyle, and priorities to create a project that reflects your goals and aspirations. Overall, the cost of installing a productive micro-farm is quite affordable compared to conventional landscape. Weekly maintenance prices also vary in direct proportion to the size of the garden.

Can you help me with my overall landscape design, or do you only do vegetable plots?  Absolutely! We collaborate with a number of urban farm and landscape architects who can help crystalize and execute your vision. Working with our design team ensures your micro-farm works synergistically with existing features on your property and fits seamlessly into your overall vision for the space. We can provide hardscape elements such as terracing, green house, outdoor kitchen design, and arbor, water harvesting system, and on-site composting or worm farms as well as sustainable landscape approaches, such as xeriscape to incorporate natives and other drought tolerant plants.

I live in an apartment and have no yard. Can I still grow a food garden?  Yes! We specialize in growing food in small spaces. We will work with you to identify a sunny outdoor location, such as a patio, balcony, or rooftop where water is accessible. We have a number of growing structures to choose from including vertical gardens, large pots, and hanging baskets. Roof top gardens require signed permission and a liability waiver from the property owner.

Do you provide consulting services?  Yes, Sacred Earth Foodscape offers one-on-one Farm Solutions Consultation to advise you on soil fertility, optimal garden location, crop selection, planting schedule, organic pest management, compost trouble shooting, and other challenges you’re facing with your existing garden/micro-farm. Our professional consultant rate is $150 per hour.

Do you offer classes?  Yes. We offer classes periodically at local community gardens and at Occidental College. We can also offer any of our workshops and presentations upon request to small groups or community organizations. We require minimum of 10 participants to schedule a class. Please contact us via email at sacredearthfoodscape@gmail.com, to discuss schedule.

Do you do school gardens? Restaurant gardens? Clinic/hospital gardens? Corporate gardens? Community gardens? Public-park gardens?  Yes. We are committed to increasing access to fresh, affordable and high-quality organic produce throughout the community. For community and public-use gardens we highly recommend use of a community planning process to engage stakeholders in the pre-development and design phase. A comprehensive community engagement process can take 2 to 4 months, to plan depending on the scale and scope of the project. We recommend use of community charrette tools and similar participatory practices to guide an iterative planning & design phase using a variety of techniques to achieve meaningful community participation and engagement.

Once the community engagement plan is fully articulated, implementation of the planning and design process, or charrette, may take 3-6 months for small installations, or 6 – 9 months for large-scale project. Sacred Earth Farms uses cultural practices to complement conventional approaches to community engagement and planning. For example, we may include ceremony & meditation, interactive model building, mural mapping, and food-making talks alongside more conventional activity like individual interviews, small focus groups, house meetings, and surveys.

Alternately, if your stakeholders have already been engaged and consulted, we can work with your team to begin installation immediately using previously obtained community input to inform key farm/garden design and management decisions. Contact us to schedule an Initial Consultation for your business, school, restaurant, clinic or community organization.

Do you offer any discount maintenance packages or a reduced maintenance schedule?  No, we are not able to offer maintenance packages and do not recommend fewer than weekly farming visits. With over 30 years experience cultivating food, we have learned vegetable gardens do best when tended at least once a week. If you would like to request off-season advice you can schedule an Individual Consultation at the regular rate of $150. Alternately, if you need a skilled farm hand to assist and guide your maintenance activities during off-season, you can schedule a Farm Labor visit for $75.00 per hour

 

FARMING PRACTICES

Is Sacred Earth Foodscape organic?  We only use organic methods and materials in our operation. However, it is cost prohibitive to pay the required fees for official USDA certification for each backyard garden we install. Consequently, Sacred Earth Foodscape is not USDA certified organic.

Nevertheless, we only use OMRI approved materials that have been reviewed and certified by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI). We use food safe products that are good for people, pets, and the ecosystem that sustains your backyard and the planet to manage soil fertility and pests and weed infestations. We say “NO” to Monsanto and “No” to harmful chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.

How do you deal with pests in the garden?  We have experience dealing with almost every type of pest problem that might occur. Pest control begins with prevention through careful management of your garden’s environment and creation of balanced ecosystem that takes care of itself. Sacred Earth works with nature’s inherent design to establish a harmonious balance between beneficial and harmful pests to keep plants bountiful, productive. Pest and disease management begins with healthy soil and intelligent crop selection and placement. We will troubleshoot any problems with your garden and keep you up to date with our recommendations.

 

LOGISTICS, PLANNING & PRODUCTION

How will having a micro-farm on my land affect my property value?  Your foodscape will set your home apart from others in the mind of potential renters or buyers. A green environment and local food source on your property adds value to your home or apartment and simultaneously increases quality of life by improving air quality and access to healthy fresh fruits and vegetables.

When is the best time of year to install a garden? Should I wait for Spring  Don't wait! We love LA because you can grow crops year-round! From October - March we grow cool weather crops such as lettuce, kale, broccoli, beets, peas, garlic and carrots. These crops are steady producers and provide you with great ingredients for salads, green juice and smoothies, or soup. It's a good idea to get your garden in as soon as possible so that you can start building the soil for the spring season.

How much produce can I expect?  We offer no guarantee of yield but we can estimate our gardens average at least 3 pounds of produce per square foot per year, or 72 pounds for a small 4 x 6 raised bed. The numbers in weight vary with crop type and whether you choose our “Successive Year-Round” plan, or our “Seasonal Plan.” We practice bio-intensive gardening methods and whenever possible follow the Stella Natura bio-dynamic planting calendar for North America to harness the energetic forces of the moon and star constellations to ensure the biggest yield possible from your space.

Sacred Earth Foodscape brings over 30 years experience and a wealth of traditional farming insights to make manifest the miracle of food and confer natures bountiful blessings to you and your family.