HG Press

Microgreens and Edible Flowers

November 2, 2024

We visit a Sun Valley farmer whose microgreens and one-of-a-kind edible flowers are bringing colorful benefits to the plates of the SoCal chefs she works with.

Meet joni albers

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joni Albers. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joni, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea?

I have had a passion for growing food for most of my life. It all started when I joined 4-H and planted my first garden at 6 years old. I entered my green beans into the county fair and won a blue ribbon. Fast forward about 30 years and I found myself in California starting my own heirloom vegetable farm in early 2020. The pandemic definitely accelerated my timeline, as the demand for fresh vegetables skyrocketed. At the time, I had a full time job in Technology & Media, but found myself wanting to switch professions and farm full-time. There were a series of steps I took over a two year period to make the switch. I started building on evenings and weekends to get things started. Then, once I was ready I made the shift to farming full time. I also began installing farms and gardens for others. This quickly expanded to chef-driven restaurant farms. I found the importance of urban farming something I wanted to bring to others. We now build and service small farms and gardens for private residences, restaurants, clubs and businesses.

VISION

“Giving by Growing”

Urban Farmer Joni Albers on a More Sustainable Approach to Growing Food

Businesses, with an unwavering focus on the bottom line, often value quantity over quality. When it comes to our food, consumers pay the price for that shortsighted approach.

Joni Albers grew up in rural Kansas, where agriculture was a way of life. The early influence of her dairy-farming grandparents helped shape her into what she calls a “shepherd of the land.” Her grandmother signed her up for the youth development organization 4-H when she was six years old; and her mother helped her create her first garden, which produced prize-winning green beans that first year. Albers describes her hands-on learning experience as foundational for what she has achieved today.

Edible San Fernando Valley

Hungry Gardens

Joni Albers Brings the Farm to the Neighborhood

Between two houses on a residential street in Sun Valley, a wooden fence blocks off what appears to be an empty lot. Look closer and posters touting events on beekeeping and potting soil indicate something else is afoot. That something is a half-acre urban farm started by Joni Albers.

Albers’s foray into urban farming began in January 2020 with raising heirloom tomato seedlings for farmers’ markets. She grew these at her home, but when COVID catapulted demand, Albers started scouting for more land. She found it across the street in a vacant lot owned by the adjacent Villa Scalabrini, a retirement community with residents living in a mix of independent and assisted living.

Press Release:

Local Woman-Owned Urban Farm Preserving Moments in History with Heirloom Produce

Los Angeles, CA, (July 1, 2021) – The Hungry Gardens is not your ordinary farm. Situated on one-acre in Sun Valley, CA, the farm specializes in growing rare heirloom vegetables that have historical and indigenous value.

Heirloom are types of produce that have been grown unhybridized for at least 50 years and are not genetically modified in any way. The seeds are open pollinated and contribute to the biodiversity in gardens and farms wherever they are grown.

VoyageLA

Life & Work with Joni Albers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joni Albers.

Hi Joni, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
When I was six, my grandmother Phyllis signed me up for 4H in my tiny hometown of Hoxie, Kansas. That summer, my mom helped me to create my first garden, and my green beans won a blue ribbon that year at the county fair. This experience, along with many others that 4H provided me, set the foundation of my fascination with what nature could produce.

Fast-forward 33 years: I had been living in NYC during a 12-year career in Media and Technology and was ready to leave the city. I landed in Sun Valley, right at the entry to La Tuna Canyon. The only requirement for where we would live was that it needed to have a large space to build a garden. Little did I know how big that garden would grow!

MyBurbank

Get Out Of Town!: Hungry Gardens Urban Farm

The Hungry Gardens urban farm has been providing fresh-picked, organically grown heirloom produce and teaching its neighbors about gardening and beekeeping since early 2020 in nearby Sun Valley.

We visited the farm recently, sampled some of the very delicious fruits and vegetables and were very excited to learn about this healthy resource just a few minutes northwest of Burbank.

“Hungry Gardens specializes in growing unique vegetables that are not available commercially but have historical and indigenous value, grown locally,” explained founder Joni Albers. “All vegetables are grown using organic and biodynamic methods to provide the most nutrient dense food for area neighbors and families.”

After first growing produce on about 4000 square feet, Hungry Gardens has recently announced an expansion, adding approximately 26,000 square feet (more than half an acre), in partnership with retirement community Villa Scalabrini.

The Hungry Gardens is Growing!

Sun Valley, California, December 8, 2020 - The Hungry Gardens today announced that they are expanding to just under an acre, providing an even greater selection and volume of farm fresh produce to support families in the area. Expansion plans are part of a partnership with the Villa Scalabrini Retirement Center, a non-profit organization and neighbor.

Established in 2019, The Hungry Gardens specializes in growing unique vegetables that are not available commercially but have historical and indigenous value, grown locally in Sun Valley, CA. All vegetables are grown using organic and biodynamic methods to provide the most nutrient dense food for area neighbors and families.

The expansion is an example of two local businesses collaborating together to support the community with hyper local food, provide educational opportunities around farming and work together to mitigate climate change.

K-State Research and Extension News

Now That’s Rural: Joni Albers, Hungry Gardens

Spotlight by Ron Wilson of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

A goal of Kansas 4-H is to create a spark in youth – something that makes them want to learn more about a particular subject area. In the case of a young 4-H member from Sheridan County, winning a blue ribbon at the county fair sparked a love for gardening that eventually led her to create a business of growing and marketing heirloom produce in California. Her innovative urban farm is using technology to give customers exactly what they want.