The greenhouse opened May 25th, 2017, on a vacant lot on West San Carlos Street in downtown San Jose.

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Valley Verde transformed the lot into a community growing space after City Council unanimously passed an ordinance in December 2016 granting tax incentives to landowners who allow their property to be used for urban agriculture. We received the 2019 Environmentalist of the Year Award for our work at this site.

 

Today we grow thousands of culturally preferred seedlings at the greenhouse for use by our Home Gardening families and sale through local nurseries and partners, and at our Finca site.

Examples of crops we grow include okra for Indian and gumbo dishes, epazote for Mexican dishes and herbal teas, and bitter melon and Japanese cucumber, staples in the Southeast Asian cuisine.

 

The Finca is also a place for learning. Our “Super Jardineros” (micro-entrepreneurs) - who are building a home nursery micro-businesses with Valley Verde’s support - use the greenhouse to learn growing techniques and improve their yields. 

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We also hold monthly - donation-based - workshops at the space on gardening and composting, helping new and experienced gardeners deal with various challenges and share best practices. In these workshops hands-on training, organic techniques, and a do-it-yourself methodology are incorporated. [UPDATE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are not holding in-person workshops at our site, but you can still learn about organic gardening by checking out our YouTube channel!]

 

Join us in building bridges around healthy food.