This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

"Veg Mob" — Swap Meet for Homegrown Produce Takes Root

An offshoot of the El Cerrito Garden Club Edibles Group, "Veg Mob" provides a weekly meeting spot for home gardeners to share what they've grown.

What is Veg Mob?

is a weekly gathering, on Thursdays at 6:30-7 p.m., for anyone interested in sharing the produce and flowers they've grown. It just completed its fourth week.

Gardeners bring their excess crops and seeds and lay them out on a table for others to take to home. The gathering welcomes anyone, even if they have nothing to contribute; there are often leftovers.

Find out what's happening in El Cerritowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Veg Mob meets next to the BART tracks on the south end of at the intersection of Liberty Street and Eureka Avenue. (See map at their Web site.)

"I enjoy not letting my food and plants go to waste," said Charles, a member of the Edibles Group, from which Veg Mob sprouted.

Find out what's happening in El Cerritowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The produce is very fresh. One contributor mentioned that he had pulled his greens just 15 minutes before arriving. Since it's currently early in the growing season, the majority of items are greens.

Participants are excited to explain the best ways to prepare their crop, and eager to hear how you prefer to prepare yours. This week's items were plums, fava beans, grapefruit, collards, swiss chard, arugula, basil, cape gooseberries, and spring onions.

"I find it very interesting what other people are growing," said Pam, one of the regulars. "It's a chance to try what I haven't planted myself."

This past Thursday had a small showing of just four people, but there have up to 10  or more in prior weeks. 

Robin Mitchell noted that there's interest also in starting a community garden and that those who are interested can send an email to ECCommunityGarden@gmail.com to get on a contact list. The goal of the garden is to provide plots of land for people who either live in an apartment or do not have otherwise have space to grow produce. 

Where does the name "Veg Mob" come from? The conceivers originally planned to text each other a new location to meet each week, similar to a flash mob.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?