Edible landscape: Mission Hills mini farm is homeowner’s passion
“My goal was not to be a master vintner. The idea was to make some amount of simple wine to enjoy as a family, in the European manner,” he explained.
By Nicole Sours Larson
San Diego Union – Tribune
Sept. 25, 2022
Excerpt:
When considering San Diego’s agricultural regions, most people don’t think of Mission Hills, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. Yet this year, with a growing passion among locals for cultivating their own food, the Mission Hills Garden Club made “Homegrown” the theme of its annual Garden Walk in May and recognized a few of the community’s many small urban farms.
Among the properties featured was Ed Balsamo’s garden —tucked within a tall, wooden fence that provides privacy as well as adds support for espaliered fruits, vegetables and grapevines. All but of a few of his varied plants provide food for his family’s table.
Balsamo caught the gardening bug after he purchased his first home in 2004 and started growing tomatoes. Gradually he became more interested in gardening.
“Living overseas, especially in Italy, you see things growing all around you. People use their land to grow food,” he explained.
Over the past 20 years, Balsamo, whose father is of Italian heritage, and his Italian-born wife, Daniela Vicinanza, have alternated living in San Diego and Italy with their son and daughter while on his assignments as an environmental attorney for the Navy. His interest in growing food for his family and planting a small home vineyard blossomed with their residence in Italy.
In 2012, when they purchased their 1913 Craftsman cottage in Mission Hills set on a 4,500-square-foot corner lot, he knew he had the right space for his miniature farm, one of many that dot the well-established urban community north of Old Town and San Diego Bay.
