Welcome!
Add it up!
610 pounds swapped so far in 2009, including
8.85 pounds of cherry tomatoes
Who We Are
The Oak Park Crop Swap is a community based initiative providing residents a formal venue to trade produce grown in their own yards.
Project Mission
The Oak Park Crop Swap provides community members the forum to exchange vegetables grown in our own front and back yards free of chemicals and pesticides! Members of the Crop Swap meet at McClatchy Park every Monday from 6:00p.m. to 7:00p.m. to swap vegetables, fruit, flowers and gardening stories starting in June and ending in September. Please see our calendar for more details and other events.
Our History
The Oak Park Crop Swap started in the Spring of 2008. Residents of Oak Park wanted a community garden, but the timeline for a community garden was too long. A few residents decided to start something that season.
An idea took hold to have residents grow produce in their own backyards and bring it to a central location to trade. We discovered community members with shady yards could easily grow delicious blueberries and leafy greens while residents with sunny yards could produce beautiful heirloom tomatoes and juicy watermelons. Residents brought the produce they grew to our trading location and bartered for produce they couldn't or didn't grow themselves. The Oak Park Crop Swap was a huge success; 20 households regularly attended Crop Swaps through out the growing season.
Not only did we trade produce, but members from the community volunteered to give presentations on gardening topics before trading. There were presentations on bee keeping, composting, building cob ovens, worm composting, solar ovens and other exiting topics. All of the presentations were wonderful and each gardener was able to take some knowledge back to their own garden.
Trading Days
On trading days Crop Swappers bring their fresh produce to our trading location. Their produce is weighted and they are given "Crop Swap Dollars" for their produce. Once all of the produce is weighed in, everyone shops for what they need that week. Trading guides are available and posted so they know how much can be purchased with their dollars. Crop Swappers have found this to be an effective method of trading; they don't have to "haggle" with their neighbor they know based on the guide how much their produce is worth.
Crop Swap Guidelines
- Crop Swappers agree to use only organic gardening methods
- The use of pesticides and petrochemicals is strictly prohibited
- Crop Swappers arrive on time for trading
- Crop Swappers have a great time!
Newsletter
Fall 2009 (PDF, 391 KB)
Sponsors
NeighborWorks® HomeOwnership Center Sacramento Region
The Crop Swap is supported in part by Sutter Medical Center.
In the News
Sacramento News & Review - Aug. 13, 2009