Local Plant Starts for a Thriving Community

Buying local has its usual perks.

Supporting local businesses makes for a thriving community. And yes, buying local is also good for the environment, generally requiring less energy and transportation of goods. But when it comes to plants, and your garden, buying local means something more.

It means a better garden.

Just as when you choose the Mom and Pop bookstore over Amazon Prime, choosing locally grown plants for your garden means that the whole community grows stronger – whether we’re talking about our local community of people and businesses, or your backyard community of flowers, roots, bugs and dirt.

(Remember our post about sustainable bouquets?)

Let’s explore. When you purchase plants from a local grower, think about all the things you’re actually investing in:

1. A local grower’s business (and thus, the local economy)
2. Her farming practices
3. Her expertise about your geographic area
4. Plants that will produce nourishment for you and your family throughout the season
5. The aroma and aesthetic of a beautiful and diverse garden

And most importantly (for your garden, anyway)…

6. You’re investing in plants that have been nurtured from seed to sprout in the same climate they’ll continue to grow in

Buying plants locally not only has the same widespread benefits as other local-oriented practices, but also benefits you in a direct and profound way.

Nursery owners, greenhouse tenders and professional growers structure their lives around the seasonal patterns of their local environments. Acute to the precise qualities of their region’s climate, they know how a late freeze affects each and every vegetable. They know how high-altitude sun impacts herbs, and how chilly desert nights make for sweeter fruits.

They know their plants inside and out – fully, deeply, with passion.

Your local grower has the lived experience to hand-pick plant varieties that will do best in your local environment – and they do, because that is their way.

The plants you buy from your local greenhouse have grown up in your climate. They don’t have to adapt to a new environment after you take them home. Local plants are fresh plants – not tired and stressed from being transported across the state or country.

Local plants are fresh plants, and fresh plants are healthy plants.

At Sage Creations Organic Farm, we spend all year nurturing and caring for plants that grow well in our high-altitude, desert climate. And we never sacrifice our growing philosophies along the way.

To combat harsh winters and weeds, we always use natural remedies. We choose non-GMO, open-pollinated seeds – organic whenever possible. We nurture our seedlings using natural and organic fertilizers, transplanting them into biodegradable or recyclable pots.

Each spring, we release thousands of ladybugs and lacewings to control pesky insects. In our lavender fields, cherry orchard and tomato and pepper patches, we always weed by hand and never spray. We believe in paying our farm employees sustainable wages, and we make every effort to re-use and recycle as much as we can.

Invest in the farming practices that you believe in.

Fill your garden with plant starts that have naturally adapted to your weather. Invest in your local community – and your garden community – by buying plants from a local source.