Call it Oakland's new "growth industry." More of us are raising our own fruits and vegetables since the farm-to-table movement began taking root in the Bay Area. One indicator is the increasing interest in gardening classes at Merritt College.
"I've never seen it so popular before. It's a fundamental shift," says Chris Grampp, chair of the popular Merritt College Landscape Horticulture Department.
He says up until 2000, things were pretty much status quo in the department where he's taught since 1986.
"After 2000 the whole green movement started to take hold. Growing food, storing water, growing native plants ... we're right in the vanguard of that in our department."
Tucked behind the campus is a 7.5-acre garden and landscape horticulture facility that's the envy of the neighborhood. The Merritt College Landscape Horticulture Department is one of the largest programs of its kind in Northern California.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_2054...e=most_emailed