COSTA MESA : Vegetable Garden to Take Root in City Lot

Don Smith used to be all wrapped up in quantum electronics. He earned a masters degree from UC Berkeley in the field that studies the production of light and its interaction with matter.

Then, one day, said Smith, a former electrical engineer, he looked up, took note of the blazing Southern California sun and decided gardening was the thing to do.

So he made a proposal that council members couldn’t refuse--turn a portion of a vacant lot in back of his home into a blooming garden. Right now, the city-owned lot at Del Mar and Orange avenues is barren, save a few empty liquor bottles. But the soil, Smith said, has potential.

“I’m going to grow carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, onions--just about everything that will grow now that we’re in the rainy season,” said Smith, 45, who grew up on his grandfather’s farm in the Midwest.

Two weeks ago, Smith pitched the idea to the City Council. He said it would be a pity to let the would-be fruitful land go to waste. The council then referred the matter to the Parks Commission, and this week Smith got the green light to start work.

“We just want to keep it as simple as possible,” said City Manager Allan L. Roeder.

And to Smith, there’s nothing more simple.

“I’m just going to put a hose out back through that fence there and away we go,” he said.

If the garden is a success, the city might join in and expand the project to include the entire lot.

“If anybody living in the area wants to chip in, they can,” Roeder said. “It would be nice to have a community garden there.”