Here's how Sunset featured the interview, in its"Next in the West"section where Tara Kolla is hailed as a trailblazer for urban farmers. The photo of Tara was taken by Shelly Strazis/Sunset.
The editors at Sunset 要求我更新有关的故事 Tara Kolla，洛杉矶的花卉农户，城市农业倡导者和所有者 Silver Lake Farms. In The 50 Mile Bouquet，在第47-49页的一个故事中对她进行了介绍“。”
It was great to have an opportunity to reconnect with Tara and learn about what she’s been up to since we visited her last November. It was no surprise to discover that Tara is up to her ears in beautiful blooms, selling them at farmer’s markets and fulfilling custom orders for regular clients who love her organic approach.
As these things go with magazines, my interview with Tara was completely rewritten into a narrative format. You can see the published piece it above, or on page 18 of the June 2012issue, on newsstands now.
但是向这位才华横溢的女人学习有很多东西。因此，在这里，由于空间不是问题，所以我们的原始Q&A:
ONE TO WATCH
Flower Patch Politics
2009年，洛杉矶官员关门 Tara Kolla’s 后院花卉农场，援引1940年代的卡车园艺法令，该法令将本地农作物的场外销售限制为蔬菜， not blooms, she joined forces with fellow urban farmers to fight back. Passionate about sweet peas and the many other flowers she grows, Tara and her supporters successfully changed the city’s policy –and now the spunky owner of Silver Lake Farms has returned to the Hollywood Farmers’Market where you can find her every Sunday selling bountiful, organic and seasonal bouquets. Her advice for other urban flower farmers:
您的客户对您的政策斗争有何反应？
Some customers think I’m new because I’ve just returned to the market. Those aware of my struggle are delighted for me. It makes them feel good that L.A.’s politicians used common sense to change an antiquated law. Flower fans are now begging me to come to Santa Monica Farmers’Market on Wednesdays–I hope that happens soon.
其他未来的花卉种植者将如何应对自己的社区’的规则，是否面临类似的限制？
My issue was not about growing flowers, but about being prevented from selling them off-site! If someone’s facing similar opposition, I suggest creating a support group–we called ours Urban Farming Advocates. Request a meeting with local officials and be prepared with evidence as to why urban farming is advantageous for the community and why cities should support and encourage urban farmers.
您认为更新的卡车园艺条例是否意味着当地洛杉矶农民的花卉品种更多’ markets?
Eventually, but it is all dependent on land, time and money. I never thought I’d get rich doing this and I continue to run other facets of my gardening business to support myself, including a CSA and designing organic vegetable gardens.
在分区方面，洛杉矶仍然需要做些什么来支持当地农民？
We need backyard beekeeping to be legalized—for ensuring that food crops have pollinators and for producing organic honey. We also need home-based farm stands, meaning you could sit outside your house at a table and chair and sell your garden’s extra oranges or avocados to passersby. Kids and their lemonade stands are legal, but a farm stand with flowers, fruits or vegetables is not.
你能说说洛杉矶黑文吗’在培育城市农业方面与西方其他城市保持同步吗？
No, I think L.A. does care, but it needs to get some codes sorted out. For example, I also grow micro greens. I can sell them to chefs who shop at the farmers’ market, but I can’t go direct to restaurants because then the health department has to get involved. This is new ground and we still have some archaic laws that don’t make sense for today.
您认为什么样的花品种将成为农民的下一件大事’ markets?
In terms of a cut flower, I think it’s cotton. I first saw cotton in the flower markets in Paris. It’s not just white; you can find cotton in sea mist green or light tan–and they look great in mixed bouquets.
–Debra Prinzing
