By Kriti Raju

Trish Watlington’s commitment to purity of process nourishes her work at the Red Door Family Garden in the back of her home in La Mesa. Watlington, with the help of Scott Medina-Brzezinski, has produced 6,000 to 7,000 pounds of vegetables per year in the Red Door Family Garden.

The Red Door Family Garden only grows food that “has no chemical fertilizers or pesticides,” Watlington said. “It is harvested within 24 hours of serving and that allows it to retain its highest possible nutritional value.”

Chef Miguel Valdez gets many of the vegetables from the garden and uses them in his dishes at The Red Door, his restaurant in San Diego that shares a kitchen with the Wellington Steak and Martini Lounge.

Watlington and Valdez’s efforts caught the eye of State Senator Joel Anderson, who was so impressed by their passion, purpose and process that he felt that their effort to grow and use locally-sourced food deserved to be recognized.

“It is exciting to have this incredible farm in our La Mesa neighborhood,” Anderson said upon awarding them with Senate Certificates of Recognition. “I am grateful for Trish, Scott, and Chef Miguel’s efforts to raise awareness about local agriculture and the benefits for our environment and economy.”

When asked about the vision of the farm, and her goals for the future, Watlington emphasized the importance of cultivating “unique ecological relationships [that are] manifested through food” and the value of developing a food community that is sustainable both ecologically and economically.

The planter boxes bursting with the greenest of greens and the freshest of fruit scream of passion and being tended to individually. The green corridors and vine-run wooden gates invoke a state of calm and peace—an almost meditative state. The backyard farm is the embodiment of whimsy rooted in literal earth.

–Kriti Raju is a legislative intern for Senator Joel Anderson and a recent graduate of UC Davis.