This Edible Garden Idea is Truly a Homerun
I don’t know a soul who doesn’t enjoy a trip to the ballpark. The atmosphere is always fun and everyone seems to be in a great mood. (Now, if the home team is losing that last point may not be true.) The one thing that can be a little iffy at the ballpark is the food. Sure, it’s fun to indulge a little, but everyone needs some greens to go with their hotdog. Luckily, AT&T Park in San Francisco, along with the San Diego Padre’s Petco Park, both have edible garden facilities inside their ballparks that grow fresh food.
In 2012, the groundskeepers at Petco Park planted a few edible plants in an edible garden behind the home team’s bullpen. The Park’s head chef uses the plants, which include peppers and veggies, to make salsa and other fresh garnishes.
The garden at AT&T Park is even more impressive. The Park grows artichokes, blueberries, lavender, and avocados in raised beds in its edible garden behind the scoreboard. The Park also features aeroponic towers, which are lightweight and water efficient, that house herbs and greens.
All the fresh produce at the Park is courtesy of a collaboration between Bon Appetit Management Company, Blasen Landscape Architecture, EDG, and The San Francisco Giants. All the produce grown at the park goes into the dishes that are served at the ball park’s restaurants. Much of the produce is also used to amp up the home team’s players via smoothie form.
When there isn’t a game going on, local kids visit the park to learn about gardening. And at least one of the other establishments on site, Peet’s Coffee, is helping fuel the produce by donating its used grounds for fertilizer use.
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Resource
Edible Gardens Go to the Ballpark, by Maria Finn
