Yesterday the Florida Senate voted to give Floridians the right to grow vegetable gardens in their front yards! The bill will now move to the House.
“SB 82 prohibits a county or municipality from regulating vegetable gardens on residential properties, voiding any current regulations regarding the produce patches. Local governments, however, can still adopt a local ordinance or regulation that doesn’t specifically target vegetable gardens, like regulating water during drought conditions, limiting fertilizer use or controlling invasive species.”1
The bill was brought to the floor by Sen. Rob Bradley (R) who noted that there are so-called food deserts in many areas of our state where fresh fruit and veggies aren’t readily available,
“The world’s changing when it comes to food … There’s a big interest in locally sourced food, organic products and folks growing their own food. The idea that a government would intervene to prohibit someone from taking matters into their own hands and growing their own fresh fruits and vegetables to take care of their own family and their own nutritional needs, much like our forefathers have done, I think that is an action by local government that goes too far.”2
