Edible Gardens LA’s Lauri Kranz on Discovering Your Green Thumb

Rip & Tan: What led you to decide to open an official Edible Gardens LA shop and marketplace? What can people expect from this new venture?

Lauri Kranz: When the pandemic began, my husband Dean Kuipers and I saw restaurants closing and farmers’ markets restricted and our thoughts immediately turned to the local, small farmers who suddenly lost important outlets for their food.  These much-beloved farmers, who grow food naturally and organically, are the same farmers who first taught me how to grow good food. The pandemic had shut down 60-70% of their business. Overnight, we pivoted Edible Gardens LA from designing and building edible landscapes and vegetable gardens to a farm delivery system where we received the food directly from farmers and brought it to people in their homes.

Providing beautiful food for people and supporting farmers continues to be our twin passions, and now it’s time for this effort to have a home. Our new Edible Gardens LA Home Farm shop and marketplace is about creating greater access to healthy, fresh farm food. We have created a Kickstarter campaign to support this effort.

We know so many people care about supporting healthy farmers and good farming.  We have lots of rewards at many different pledge levels for people who live both near and far.  You can view our Kickstarter campaign and all of the details here!

Rip & Tan: How has Edible Gardens LA evolved over the past few years? How does your new shop reflect this?

Lauri Kranz: We have expanded our focus from strictly designing and building edible landscapes and vegetable gardens to immersing ourselves in the world of local farms and organic agriculture, including on our own small, urban farm here in Los Angeles.

The pandemic taught us all so much: the industrial food systems we all rely on every single day are super-vulnerable. A virus or a supply-chain issue can shut them down, leaving grocery stores with empty shelves. We have recommitted ourselves to help expand the amount of regenerative food grown right here in LA. That means building more gardens but it also means increasing the demand by getting this good food to more people, especially those who have not had access to it.

Our new shop embodies our passion and commitment to providing greater accessibility to beautiful food.  We want to empower people to make healthier choices, to become more self-reliant, and to seek out new avenues of beauty in their lives. We need to get more people growing.

Rip & Tan: What are some tips and tricks for someone just starting their own garden? Is there a general rule of thumb for watering, positioning, and daily maintenance?

Lauri Kranz: First and foremost is finding just the right place for your garden—whether it is in containers, in raised beds, or in the ground. Seek out the area where you receive the most hours of sun per day—that is where you want to create your garden.

It’s also great if it’s easy to access from the kitchen, so you can step out for a bit of rosemary or chives while you’re cooking. The next step is using good organic soil and compost.

Watering regularly is vital to healthy plants and abundant harvests. Be sure to incorporate watering your garden into your daily routine. I like to start my day in the garden with coffee in one hand and the hose in the other. Ending the day in the garden is lovely too—the cool of the early evening and the intoxicating scent of night-blooming florals.

Rip & Tan: How do you approach the layout of the gardens you create? Do you try to strike a balance between produce, flowers, and other greenery?

Lauri Kranz: I am drawn to natural-looking gardens.  Everything in perfect rows makes me feel uncomfortable. I like a bit of wildness. In nature, a bird drops a seed and it sprouts up somewhere unexpected. I like this element in food and flower gardens.

I begin by planting vegetable seeds and plants throughout the garden plot, making sure that crops like eggplant and tomatoes are planted in areas with the most hours of sun and herbs like cilantro and chamomile in partially shaded areas.

Next, I sprinkle all kinds of flower seeds in and around the vegetable plantings. I do this for several reasons; I like the aesthetic, but more importantly, I want to bring bees, butterflies, and other pollinators into all parts of the garden.

Rip & Tan: How can those lacking outdoor space bring the gardening spirit alive? Are there any herbs or plants in particular that are primed for the indoors?

Lauri Kranz: A sunny window indoors is a great place to grow all kinds of herbs; basil, thyme, sage, dill—you name it! Also, you can grow an impressive amount of food in just a couple pots. If you have room on a balcony or by the outdoor entryway to your building, a couple tomato plants can be so rewarding! No tomato will ever taste better than the one you grow yourself.

Rip & Tan: What are some varieties to try for those lacking a green thumb?

Lauri Kranz: We all have a green thumb! My husband Dean says we were all born with one, it just sometimes hasn’t been exercised in a while. Tomatoes are easy to grow, especially cherry tomatoes. Our favorites include sungolds and sweet 100’s. Snap beans and cucumbers are also great choices for newer gardeners.

Rip & Tan: Do you have any budget-friendly tips for creating and curating a garden?

Lauri Kranz: Terracotta pots are an inexpensive and stylish way to grow food in containers. I like to buy larger sizes that go up to my knees so that roots have plenty of room to grow. In big pots, you can grow anything from tomatoes to parsley and everything in between. Be certain to put them in a place that can hold the weight, as they can get heavy with soil and water.

Rip & Tan: What’s one thing you’re looking forward to as spring approaches?

Lauri Kranz: Besides opening the doors to our shop, I am looking forward to sweet pea flowers and fava beans! Nothing says spring to me like fragrant sweet pea flowers and plump fava beans. They’re both very easy to grow, you can put a seed in the ground in just about any sunny spot. When they start to bloom, walking through our farm on a spring morning is like a dream—bursts of beauty everywhere.