FarmersGarden - A New Locavore Resource

There's a brand new resource for locavores on the web: The Farmer's Garden. The site is a resource to facilitate communication for both local food buyers and local food sellers. More veggies in your garden that you can eat? List them on The Farmer's Garden where locals can contact you to purchase. Are you a locavore (like me) looking for a source of local wheat? List that too, so that local producers can find you. Of course, the best part is that it's free!

This week, I had an opportunity to talk with Maureen, creator of The Farmer's Garden, to find out more about her new site:

SGF: What made you decide to start The Farmer's Garden?

Maureen: I started vegetable gardening to save money and become more self-sufficient. I usually harvest more produce than I can eat, freeze and give away. I realized that I enjoyed giving my extra vegetables away to my family, friends, and neighbors. It makes me happy to make someone else happy. My profession is web developer/project manager and I taught myself the PHP programming language to supplement my existing skills. To practice, I created The Farmer’s Garden website.

SGF: How long have you been a locavore? Are you a gardener yourself?

Maureen: I started growing my own produce in raised beds four years ago and since then have made an attempt to eat locally produced food. I became a Master Gardener three years ago. I have built an additional bed every year to accomodate growing a wider variety of produce

SGF: What is your favorite aspect of eating locally?

Maureen: I like the fact the localy grown foods are fresher since they haven't spent days travelling across the country or the world.

Because it's just starting out, some areas, don't have resources registered just yet. For instance, my post looking for local wheat in Texas is the only one in my zip code. But it won't grow if we don't all jump in and take advantage of the wonderful possibilities this website can create. So, hop on over to The Farmer's Garden, list your extras, post the things you're looking for, and then relax. Being a locavore has never been easier!

P.S. I'll keep a link to The Farmer's Garden site under "EatLocal Databases" in the right hand column of this blog. See you there!