KAREN CONTRERAS — Founder of Urban Plantations

Since most of my life has been spent in one city or another, much of  my "farming" experience was accomplished on a small scale.  I learned to nestle a tomato plant or two in with the begonias or, build a raised bed for an intensive small scale garden in the corner of my back yard.

It wasn't until the 1980's, when I moved to rural Oregon, that I was finally able to realize my dream as a full fledged farmer.  I raised everything from Asparagus to Zucchini on 3.5 acres and supplied the local markets with organically grown broccoli, lettuce and garlic.

Back in the city once again, at a time when food prices are soaring and finding a ripe tomato is impossible, the reasons for us all to grow our own food is clear.

And so, Urban Plantations was created.  We are here to bring the small city farm to your back yard, your front yard, patio or balcony.  Because growing your own food is good. It's good for your body, your soul, your children and your community.  Let us show you how.

Urban Plantations was created in early 2008 by Southern California native, Karen Contreras.

Urban Plantations has been growing since our inception and we continue to expand our services and client base.  Our staff has over 25 years experience in farming and urban horticulture.  Karen Contreras is a Master Gardener, a Master Composter, and a member of the Curriculum Advisory Committee at San Diego City College for the Sustainable Urban Agriculture program.  She is also a columnist for multiple publications in San Diego and a speaker at various events throughout the community.

Urban Plantations is a member of Slow Foods Urban San Diego, San Diego Horticulture Society, California Rare Fruit Growers (San Diego Chapter), the San Diego Floral Society, North Park Main Street, and the Better Business Bureau.

The Story of the Sprout

The story of the sprout starts the way many logos do, with the creative insight of an artistic person channeling an idea from a client.  

My creative genius, Rick Newlin, understood my passion that was then just the concept for Urban Plantations.  Soon after we started working together he finalized the “sprout” that would become the corporate identity for our new company Urban Plantations.

Simple, right?  Well, not exactly.  And like many things in life, the vision of the sprout was not to be revealed clearly to me until some weeks later.

Our new home in San Diego had become testing grounds for many new things such as tomato plants that grew taller than I, a crook neck squash with no crook and deep purple eggplants that thrived in our mild climate.  I loved North Park, but I did not come to this new home without some reservations. 

I had just finished landscaping my last home with a huge Koi pond, citrus trees, California natives and of course, raised beds for a vegetable garden.  But one of the most difficult things to leave behind was the fig tree.  It was a gnarled old tree that had lived through years of abusive “pruning” (translates: get yer chain saw Jake) little water and much neglect.  After years of corrective pruning and a good dose of love, the fig tree regained its majesty and bore an incredible amount of delicious burgundy figs.  I have no idea what variety of fig it was and I have never tasted fruit so amazing before or since.  The tree flourished and rebounded with such zeal that I had a couple artisan pals construct a suitable pergola to hold the tree up. It was breathtaking to behold.

After moving to our new home with a much smaller yard, I immediately removed everything in the back yard and re-landscaped, blending edible plants with dodonaea, pink flax and kangaroo paws.  We have a new baby Eureka Lemon, a Bearss Lime and a dwarf tangerine.  Of course there is the obligatory herb garden, summer squash and those behemoth tomato plants.  But alas, no room for a fig tree.  

What saddened me most is that I would never know the variety of that fig for sure and probably never taste fruit like that again.  And, as silly as it sounds, I worried about that fig tree.  Will the new owner love it like I did?  Will “Jake” return with his chain saw? The absence of my beloved fig tree would always leave me longing.

Months later, I was toiling at my old job to pay the bills, getting Urban Plantations off the ground (or should I say in the ground?).  My Sales Manager had called to nag me about my numbers….again.  I was facing a budget crisis of my own, as I fought with the bank over a business loan, tried to get the right advertising lined up, and all the while, just watching those dollars fly out the window. Honestly, I was more than just a little worried.

All these things were causing my neck to ache as I tried to import and export art files while on the phone with Rick, deciding on banners, bags and press kits.  I was staring out my office window, looking at a hanging potted cactus I brought from my last home, and there’s a weed of some type growing up in the cactus that I have blandly been watching get larger and larger, thinking to myself that, “I must pull that out before it overtakes the cactus”.  But on this day, a light bulb goes on and I recognize that weed.  It’s actually a sprout! A tiny little fig tree is reaching its 3 leaves toward my window.  

While I wondered in amazement at this small gift of life, I suddenly realized that Urban Plantations would indeed grow into something huge like my beloved old fig tree.  Growing our own food is a calming and rewarding experience.  Almost all of us have a little dirt and access to water, and if a fig tree can find its way into a hanging pot and take root, imagine what we can do with a window box, a trellis or an empty side yard!  

Urban Plantations is more than a business, it’s a movement.  It is a new way of living that we simply must allow ourselves to enjoy.