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ENLARGE
Garden Fare, a Penn Valley-based business, fuses organically grown food into the landscape.
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ENLARGE
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To Patrick Rodysill, a quince or artichoke plant can be as beautiful in the garden as a rose.
Rodysill and his partner, Mali Dyck, own Garden Fare, an edible landscape and design company based in Penn Valley. The couple is dedicated to transforming traditional landscapes into ones you can eat.
"We are attempting to show people how to put edible plants inside their landscaping," Rodysill said. "If they're going to be watering, they can be growing food, as well. And it can be designed so it doesn't look like Grandma's garden plot."
The idea is nothing new and was first coined in the 1970s and 1980s by pioneers such as Rosalind Creasy.
Rodysill and his partner, Mali Dyck, own Garden Fare, an edible landscape and design company based in Penn Valley. The couple is dedicated to transforming traditional landscapes into ones you can eat.
"We are attempting to show people how to put edible plants inside their landscaping," Rodysill said. "If they're going to be watering, they can be growing food, as well. And it can be designed so it doesn't look like Grandma's garden plot."
The idea is nothing new and was first coined in the 1970s and 1980s by pioneers such as Rosalind Creasy.
Convincing people that rainbow chard and feathery fennel can provide beauty in the landscape can be a challenge.
"Believe me, it's a huge jump for people," Rodysill said. The conversion doesn't have to be an all or nothing leap, said Rodysill, who still enjoys the vibrant color that non-edible flowers bring.
Rodysill, who has 20 years of landscaping and design experience, said his passion is to educate the public about organic food.
"Believe me, it's a huge jump for people," Rodysill said. The conversion doesn't have to be an all or nothing leap, said Rodysill, who still enjoys the vibrant color that non-edible flowers bring.
Rodysill, who has 20 years of landscaping and design experience, said his passion is to educate the public about organic food.
His chemical free gardens take time to establish. Instead of digging a hole and popping in a fertilized shrub, he applies layered compost and cover crops, letting the worms and beetles do the work of aerating the soil as much as a year before planting.
"Soil, next to bees and worms, is the most important thing we have," Rodysill said.
Rodysill and Dyck offer consultation for beginner gardeners or people who want to make a gradual shift to an edible landscape. They first teach their clients how to plant, grow and harvest and later how to cook, freeze and preserve their produce.
"We're showing people how to use what they plant all season long," Rodysill said.
"Soil, next to bees and worms, is the most important thing we have," Rodysill said.
Rodysill and Dyck offer consultation for beginner gardeners or people who want to make a gradual shift to an edible landscape. They first teach their clients how to plant, grow and harvest and later how to cook, freeze and preserve their produce.
"We're showing people how to use what they plant all season long," Rodysill said.
For customers who are too busy to grow a garden for themselves, Rodysill and Dyck will care for the food plants. Also this summer, the couple is hosting a small Community Supported Agriculture farm, supplying about 15 families with regular fresh food boxes.
"Everyone should have access to good food," Rodysill said.
To learn more about Garden Fare visit the business website at: mygardenfare.com or call (530) 913.2962.
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
"Everyone should have access to good food," Rodysill said.
To learn more about Garden Fare visit the business website at: mygardenfare.com or call (530) 913.2962.
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
