A community garden hopes its cash crop is a hot sauce called Los Angeles
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
The company works with 90 community gardens in 15 cities across the United States that grew five tons of peppers last year.
By Gustavo Arellano
Los Angeles Times
Feb. 26, 2021
Excerpt:
Under the shade of a sycamore tree, La Madera members showed off bottles of Los Angeles Hot Sauce, a thick habanero-mango condiment launched by Bronx-based Small Axe Peppers in 2019. In a couple of weeks, they’ll get 200 habanero seeds and hope they will sprout a summer harvest that will go into the next batch of the sauce. Small Axe has promised to buy all of La Madera’s habaneros and pay for them in cash or in bottles that La Madera can then sell and keep the profits.
Everyone is excited — and nervous.
“You can’t just put [habanero seeds] in the ground,” Nuñez explained. “The birds can eat them, or the weather can harm them if it suddenly gets too cold. So we’ll start them in a hothouse.”
“We can give everyone plants to grow on their own,” said Arturo Martinez, who visits La Madera at least once a week to “relax” and garden. “And then bring back what we grow to better all of our lives.”
“I fought so many years to grow one little habanero bush,” warned Nava, 72. “It’s difficult to grow. That’s why no one used to grow habaneros. I’d have to bring in seeds from Mexico.
“But to now have a chance to grow them for a salsa to sell? That’s just something special.”
