By Khalida Sarwari
All signs of Silicon Valley life disappear the moment one steps into City Farmz, a new store on E. Campbell Avenue that specializes in homesteading items. High tech it’s not, but the applications for the products sold at the business may be just as useful as those on the iPhone.
City Farmz is as brand new as it gets, opened just a month ago by Karla Patterson, who left the corporate world in September to pursue a markedly different path.
And while she is passionate about all things related to sustainable agriculture, farming and homemaking, she does not have a background in agriculture or gardening, so every day has been a learning experience. Customers–young and old alike–are helping.
“People are coming in giving me a lot of ideas, like cover crop–I had no idea what that was, but now I do,” she said.
Patterson, who lives in San Juan Bautista, chose downtown Campbell for several reasons. She said she was looking for a place where there would be a lot of foot traffic, but that wasn’t inside a shopping center or mall. She briefly considered Willow Glen but settled on downtown Campbell for its thriving farmers market and easy access by car and light rail.
“The downtown still has that old town feeling,” she added. “It just really seemed like a perfect location.”
The focus at City Farmz is urban farming, growing your own food and buying local products, said Patterson. There are items for those interested in growing their own vegetables, raising chickens and fermenting crops, such as chicken coops and chicks, seeds for planting, equipment for dehydrating and canning and sprouting kits.
“We just want to help you raise it, grow it, make it and save it,” she said. “Self-reliance and self-sufficiency is what I’m shooting for.”
Patterson wants to remind people that being self-sufficient is imperative in light of the fact that the average farmer in the U.S. is over 50, and that it is especially essential for Californians, who live in a state that is prone to earthquakes.
The health and cost benefits are further reasons to consider urban farming, said Patterson.
“Raising your own food is economical,” she said. “Everybody can raise their own food.”
And City Farmz is not just for people with acres of spare land, it’s also for those who live in apartments or anywhere that doesn’t give them access to a vegetable bed. The store sells vertical growing systems that can be placed on a balcony railing, for example. The idea is to maximize the space you have, whether that’s in the back yard, in a patio or on a countertop.
“Instead of ornamental, think edible,” said Patterson. “I’m trying to give people that idea.”
Patterson opened City Farmz on Oct. 19 after quitting her job at Synopsys in Mountain View, where she ran the cafeteria, landscape and janitorial services and managed building projects.
“I wasn’t really happy where I was, and I couldn’t find another job,” she said. “This is really interesting to me, and it’s going to help me learn.”
Patterson’s experience with urban farming is limited to raising chickens, canning and some gardening, but she realized that while agrarian stores are gaining in popularity, there wasn’t anything similar to a one-stop shop for urban farm supplies in the Bay Area, save for the Mountain Feed & Farm Supply in Ben Lomond.
Starting early next year, Patterson would like to begin offering evening and weekend classes on topics such as raising chickens, seed saving, canning, gardening and beekeeping.
“Anything that’s kind of the do-it-yourself urban garden-type of subject,” she said.
For now, she’s enjoying learning a little more about those subjects herself every day.
City Farmz is at 389 E. Campbell Ave. For more information, visit cityfarmz.com.
