The garden is the perfect example of how we as humans can learn to occupy the planet in a more thoughtful way. The garden is what humans make to feed ourselves; it's like some reconciliation between what humans need to survive and what the planet needs to sustain that. Where we grow food, it's scary, industrial, there's chemicals and machinery - it's problematic. But when you eat out of your garden, you don't dump things in it that you don't want to eat. It's very direct: you understand the connection. And the more disconnected we become from the garden, the more reckless we become with the way we occupy the planet. ~Fritz HaegI love this quote from an interview with Fritz Haeg, architect and project director for Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn.
Showing posts with label edible landscape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label edible landscape. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Why I garden/Why Everyone Should Garden
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Connecting to the Life Cycle
It has been three years now that I was having lunch with an activist friend who's current fight was the battle over the proposed path of I-26 through our town. I had told him all about my garden project but after listening to his activist stories, I said that I wished that I had time to be more active like he was. His response pushed me into new ways of thinking about my garden. He said, "You are growing food in the city. You are already doing a radical and activist thing."
Up until that day, I hadn't thought that was I was up to could be considered "activism". But that day opened my mind to the bigger picture of the world and where I fit into it. And so began my Urban Plot to set an example for my neighbors and community on just what can be done with a city lot.
When I bought my house I was overwhelmed by the size of the front lawn. This photo, a great before shot, shows the lawn as it was when we first moved here. The lot is the better part of a half acre and the house is set back on the back third of the lot. It is in a little neighborhood just 4 miles from the middle of downtown. This neighborhood was farmland until the 1920's when the land started to be broken into lots with little houses.
The front of the house faces West, so I have great South and West sunlight all day long. I started small four years ago with a 20' X 20' area... it has grown! The areas planted in edibles now exceed 4000 square feet.... more than 4 times the size of the house.
I work with "Low Work" methods so that I still have time for other things in my life. No tilling, lots of mulch, minimal watering. It works for me and we are eating well.
Here is a photo that show the bones of the garden in early Spring this year. I love photos of the verdant, abundant summer growth, but in the winter and spring it is easier to see the skeletal structure of the garden.
I talk with lots of people who think that they cannot possibly grow food. I have the advantage of having grown up with parents who always had a garden and canned and put up food. I grew up thinking that this was the norm. But you too can grow food. Do you have houseplants? Add a vegetable plant to your menagerie of house plants, maybe a tomato plant or pepper plant, and some herbs. Start somewhere and see where it will take you. Every little bit helps and will help you see the big picture. I think that anything that connects us to the life cycle and adds a degree of self-reliance, affords us a fuller life experience.
My own Urban Plot has become a journey of awakening. A growing awareness of the food security issues that our country and the world are facing including the invasion of pesticide and drug residue in so much of our food supply, not to mention the consequences of modifying the genetics of seed and animals. The beginning impetus of my garden project was simply to find a way to feed my daughter healthy food that I could not afford at the grocery store and to teach her about where food comes from. It has become SO much more.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Revisiting the Pearson Community Garden
Meander down Pearson Drive farther than you thought that it could possibly go until you are near the end of it.. and there on your left is the garden. It is like a well kept secret and the end of the road!
The Pearson Community Garden is one of the gardens in the Bountiful Cities Project. Bountiful Cities Project is an amazing organization. Here is an excerpt from their website:
Our Mission
To create, on urban land, beautiful community spaces that produce food in abundance and foster a learning environment for social justice and sustainability.
Our Vision
The vision of Bountiful Cities Project is to enliven and empower self-reliance, cooperation, and a stronger sense of community through providing an opportunity
to grow, harvest and eat fresh, local produce. We envision community spaces that serve as models for sustainability through organic food production, water conservation, ecological building, community celebration, and cooperative economics.
This vision is becoming a reality at our two flagship gardens: a permaculture-based vegetable garden on Pearson Drive in Montford and the Dr. George Washington Carver Edible Park at Stevens Lee Community Center which is home to over 30 varieties of fruit trees and an under story of berries and medicinal herbs.
Community Gardens and organizations like the Bountiful Cities Project are great ways for would-be gardeners to get started and learn from others in a safe and supportive manner. These gardens also offer gardeners a chance to see ideas at work. I am always inspired to see what other people are doing.408 Pearson Drive, Asheville, NC
The Pearson Drive Garden is the Bountiful Cities Project's model garden. It is over an acre of land that produces edibles for the community. We grow a diverse selection of vegetables, including a wide range of greens and peas in the spring, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, and pumpkins in the summer. There is some vegetable production throughout the year, as we grow cold tolerant vegetables under row covers.In addition to the traditional garden vegetables, we grow wild greens, culinary and medicinal herbs, and some perennial vegetables, like the Jerusalem artichoke. Fruits grown at the Pearson Drive Garden include strawberries, raspberries, and apples.
When the Garden was first conceived, the garden beds were arranged in pie-shaped wedges around a central area devoted to medicinal herbs. In 2005, this circular layout was converted to a square layout with linear beds. The linear beds allow for a higher level of food production, and also make it easier for volunteer gardeners to move through the garden.
Winter is a great time to be thinking about what you want to do in your home garden, how you might re-organize beds to make them more efficient, what to plant, what seeds to get started, etc. Check out a community garden where you live and support organizations like Bountiful Cities Project, they are there to provide both a model for you and inspiration.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Lusting for this Garden Fence.. or one like it!
But I was particularly taken by the rustic fence. I want one! It was beautiful and was so nicely integrated that it really looked like it grew there along with the garden. My camera gave out and I only got this one shot.. I hope it will give you an idea of the magnificence of this garden container!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
You Can Use The Land You Have!
The destiny of countries depends on the way they feed themselves.
~Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, 18th century French gastronome-philosopher
We continue to see both food and gas prices rise and the quality and safety of the food we are offered by the "Food Industry" decline.
It is these very trends that intensify for me the importance of my garden project. If we all produced some of our own foods in our own yards for our own families, the impact from rising gas prices and food prices would not affect us in the same ways that they do when we are totally dependent on someone else to grow all of the food for our families! Growing our own along with choosing to buy locally produced meat, vegetables, and staples will minimize the impact we will each feel and support our local economies and be better for our environment and our health!
Monday, November 23, 2009
"Everyone loves a home-cooked meal, but who has the time?"
To be honest.. I think we all have the time.. but the media and the makers of processed foods want us to believe that we don't have the time and that there are more important things for us to do with our time than to cook nutritious foods for our families made from scratch with real ingredients..
With Thanksgiving coming up, we have been watching the Food Channel thinking that we may get some new ideas for our feast. What has surprised us is how much of the dishes prepared on these food shows are made up of processed foods mixed together.... like everyone's classic favorite that has been around for quite a while.. the Green bean casserole... (can of cream of mushroom soup, can of green beans, can of fried onions... mix together.. bake). But so many of these dishes are made with store bought, processed foods filled with preservatives, HFCS, artificial flavor, pesticide residue, etc.
One night we were watching a Thanksgiving Cooking Special on TV... it was already underway when we tuned in.. IT seemed to be even more a show about using processed food to make a gourmet Thanksgiving meal for your family... The message really was.. Open these cans and add some other processed stuff to them and turn them into something new and exciting..... At the end of the show the woman said something like.. "now you can cook a fabulous semi-homemade Thanksgiving Feast."
Semi-Homemade... have you ever heard such a thing?? It made my mouth drop open and stay that way for a long while! When did homemade become something that could be done in a "semi" sort of way?
Before I started writing today, I googled "semi-homemade" and was amazed to find that Google returned 719,000 instances of "semi-homemade" on the internet... guess I am adding to the numbers by posting this....
Semi-homemade is a movement for sure... designed to make us think that we don't have the time.. and to get us to buy products, and ready made food. I could go off on a big rant here against this movement but I really want to focus on the answer, another way.
Just how much time does it take to make real food for your family??
Our friend Sara celebrated her 23rd Birthday this weekend and yesterday morning we had her over for a Birthday Brunch. I spent about an hour cooking this special meal and I want to take you through the process to illustrate just what can be done in an hour in the kitchen.
~I started off with Ginger Pecan Scones. Gluten-free so that David could enjoy them too... I started with the scones because scones are best warm, not hot out of the oven.. so I wanted them to have time to cook and cool just a bit before the meal. Measured and mixed dry ingredients, cut in butter, added chopped crystalized ginger and pecans.. added egg and milk, mix together, shape and cut.. bake for 15 minutes...
~While the scones were in the oven, I went out the the garden and picked some fresh arugula and celery for the fritatta, and some calendula flowers for the table. I also began cutting the veggies...sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes, onions and garlic from this summer's garden along with the celery and arugula fresh picked. I cut up some mushrooms and grated the cheese from the store.
This meal was more of a production than usual as it was a Special Celebratory Meal. But in the end it was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Filling and satisfying and healthy. I take great pride in serving food that has history, a story. These stories shared around the table help to remind us where food comes from and how much our health depends on this wholesome food made with love.
Because I take the time to care where our food comes from and to share that story, it is especially important to me to share these meals sitting around the dining table. Too much of our food is eaten in a hurry, at our desks, or in the car.. running.. when food is simply eaten to relieve hunger, we are left wanting. Food is life and our food should have a story and a life that does not include a factory or assembly line. FAST food is the fast path to dis-ease and dis-comfort in our physical bodies as well as a detriment to our spirit.
I know I am preaching to the choir here.. but REALLY... In my experience, cooking from scratch does not take that much more time.. maybe more thinking ahead... not that much more time!
One night we were watching a Thanksgiving Cooking Special on TV... it was already underway when we tuned in.. IT seemed to be even more a show about using processed food to make a gourmet Thanksgiving meal for your family... The message really was.. Open these cans and add some other processed stuff to them and turn them into something new and exciting..... At the end of the show the woman said something like.. "now you can cook a fabulous semi-homemade Thanksgiving Feast."
Semi-Homemade... have you ever heard such a thing?? It made my mouth drop open and stay that way for a long while! When did homemade become something that could be done in a "semi" sort of way?
Before I started writing today, I googled "semi-homemade" and was amazed to find that Google returned 719,000 instances of "semi-homemade" on the internet... guess I am adding to the numbers by posting this....
Semi-homemade is a movement for sure... designed to make us think that we don't have the time.. and to get us to buy products, and ready made food. I could go off on a big rant here against this movement but I really want to focus on the answer, another way.
Just how much time does it take to make real food for your family??
Our friend Sara celebrated her 23rd Birthday this weekend and yesterday morning we had her over for a Birthday Brunch. I spent about an hour cooking this special meal and I want to take you through the process to illustrate just what can be done in an hour in the kitchen.
~I started off with Ginger Pecan Scones. Gluten-free so that David could enjoy them too... I started with the scones because scones are best warm, not hot out of the oven.. so I wanted them to have time to cook and cool just a bit before the meal. Measured and mixed dry ingredients, cut in butter, added chopped crystalized ginger and pecans.. added egg and milk, mix together, shape and cut.. bake for 15 minutes...
~While the scones were in the oven, I went out the the garden and picked some fresh arugula and celery for the fritatta, and some calendula flowers for the table. I also began cutting the veggies...sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes, onions and garlic from this summer's garden along with the celery and arugula fresh picked. I cut up some mushrooms and grated the cheese from the store.
~ Scones out of the oven, I got the potatoes, onions, garlic and mushrooms going in the skillet. Added the celery after a while and put a lid on the skillet to soften the potatoes. 
~Meanwhile I cracked the eggs, added some milk and beat them together with the chopped arugula to add to the skillet. Poured in the egg mixture and stirred it around, sprinkled the grated cheese on top and popped the skillet into the already heated oven from the scones, 350 degrees.
~ While the fritatta was cooking in the oven, I got some bacon going on the stove-top. By the time the bacon was done, the fritatta was ready to come out and be served.
~ Between steps, I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen so that at the end of the meal, there was very little clean-up left.
Because I take the time to care where our food comes from and to share that story, it is especially important to me to share these meals sitting around the dining table. Too much of our food is eaten in a hurry, at our desks, or in the car.. running.. when food is simply eaten to relieve hunger, we are left wanting. Food is life and our food should have a story and a life that does not include a factory or assembly line. FAST food is the fast path to dis-ease and dis-comfort in our physical bodies as well as a detriment to our spirit.
I know I am preaching to the choir here.. but REALLY... In my experience, cooking from scratch does not take that much more time.. maybe more thinking ahead... not that much more time!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Earth Day
Thinking about Earth Day and knowing that EVERY DAY is Earth Day... according to my very wise nearly 8 year old!, I thought that it would be good to make a list of what we do everyday to Celebrate and care for our earth... it's the only one we really have!
So here is my list in no particular order of importance:
~Growing a large percentage of our own food.
~Planting primarily heirloom and open pollinated seeds.
~Choosing Local Food first.
~Choosing organically grown products.
~Eating meat that is humanely raised, grass-fed, free-range, etc.
~Avoiding Bovine Growth Hormone, Antibiotics and Genetically Modified Foods.
~Choosing not to eat foods that contain high fructose corn syrup.
~Shopping at the Farmers Market.
~Focusing on Local products and services whenever possible.
~Using the Better World Shopper Guide to choose products and stores.
~Turning our yard into a sanctuary for birds and bees and other wildlife who appreciate our organic ways.
~Composting our kitchen, office and yard waste.
~Teaching our daughter fabulous ways to take care of the planet.
~Sending our daughter to an amazing public charter school, that focuses on Environmental Education and Green Living.
~Harvesting rainwater for use in the garden.
~Using mulch to minimize water usage.
~Reclaiming found objects and giving them new functions.
~Reducing the amount of things that we NEED to buy.
~Making as many meals as possible at home and from scratch.
~Repairing things that break instead of replacing.
~Finding new uses for throwaways.
~Recycling things that we can not compost, reuse, repair or reassign.
~Freecycling. Both to get stuff and get rid of stuff.
~Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
~Filter our own tap water and do not buy bottled water.
~Minimize the use of credit cards.
~Sharing rides and minimizing car trips.
~Always looking for ways to lessen our Carbon Footprint.
I am sure there are more things.. but for now.. this is what comes to mind.
All of this is not only good for the planet but really good for the pocketbook and serves to bring our family and our neighbors and community closer together. Working for the greater good!
Make everyday EARTH DAY!
So here is my list in no particular order of importance:
~Growing a large percentage of our own food.
~Planting primarily heirloom and open pollinated seeds.
~Choosing Local Food first.
~Choosing organically grown products.
~Eating meat that is humanely raised, grass-fed, free-range, etc.
~Avoiding Bovine Growth Hormone, Antibiotics and Genetically Modified Foods.
~Choosing not to eat foods that contain high fructose corn syrup.
~Shopping at the Farmers Market.
~Focusing on Local products and services whenever possible.
~Using the Better World Shopper Guide to choose products and stores.
~Turning our yard into a sanctuary for birds and bees and other wildlife who appreciate our organic ways.
~Composting our kitchen, office and yard waste.
~Teaching our daughter fabulous ways to take care of the planet.
~Sending our daughter to an amazing public charter school, that focuses on Environmental Education and Green Living.
~Harvesting rainwater for use in the garden.
~Using mulch to minimize water usage.
~Reclaiming found objects and giving them new functions.
~Reducing the amount of things that we NEED to buy.
~Making as many meals as possible at home and from scratch.
~Repairing things that break instead of replacing.
~Finding new uses for throwaways.
~Recycling things that we can not compost, reuse, repair or reassign.
~Freecycling. Both to get stuff and get rid of stuff.
~Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
~Filter our own tap water and do not buy bottled water.
~Minimize the use of credit cards.
~Sharing rides and minimizing car trips.
~Always looking for ways to lessen our Carbon Footprint.
I am sure there are more things.. but for now.. this is what comes to mind.
All of this is not only good for the planet but really good for the pocketbook and serves to bring our family and our neighbors and community closer together. Working for the greater good!
Make everyday EARTH DAY!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Busy times in the garden
What a bountifully busy time of the year. There don't seem to be enough hours in the day to get it all done. I feel like I am choreographing a complicated ballet....getting seeds started ahead of planting time, prepping the garden beds, direct sowing, weeding, rearranging plants from previous plantings, re-designing certain areas of the established garden, creating new beds and doing away with more lawn! There is SO much happening... and even with my best of intentions to keep up with blogging about all of this, it seems to be the blogging that falls by the wayside. Can't eat the blog... spend time on the food.
This is the first garden year.. (year number 4) that I have been working without a bunch of help from friends and co-conspirators.. As much as I liked having the help and company, I am certainly enjoying the solitude that I find out there by myself. My daughter, Rebecca, now nearly 8, helps out when she gets a mind to and my fiancée, David, helps when I need him... but mostly it is me out there keeping up with the ballet which is Spring planting time. I am a busy farmer!
This year I have added a new batch of Asparagus, so I now have 3 plantings of Asparagus. We have been getting a few spears here and there.. generally not enough to have a big asparagus feed.. but rather tastes of asparagus in other things.. YUM! Last night, however, we had asparagus sautéed with garlic and mushrooms as a side dish.. the closest we've come to getting to really eat asparagus.. wow... what a treat! I am looking forward to MORE!
I have also added Jerusalem Artichokes this year.. this is a first for my garden but my parents grew them when I was growing up and I remember really enjoying them. They have a new bed outside the garden fence.
I rearranged the herb bed on Saturday. It was time to give the sage plants more space and to break up the chives. Everything got a little cultivation and mulch. Then Sunday was a day of light rain. What perfect timing. Everything looks fabulous!
There is lots of salad greens for fresh salads and kale that wintered over and is now producing well. Spinach that made it through the winter and snow peas are up and coming soon. Arugula is doing well.. but now that it is warming up.. it is bolting.. but I keep cutting it back to prolong the going to seed process.
Life is good, Full and bountiful and BUSY!
This is the first garden year.. (year number 4) that I have been working without a bunch of help from friends and co-conspirators.. As much as I liked having the help and company, I am certainly enjoying the solitude that I find out there by myself. My daughter, Rebecca, now nearly 8, helps out when she gets a mind to and my fiancée, David, helps when I need him... but mostly it is me out there keeping up with the ballet which is Spring planting time. I am a busy farmer!
This year I have added a new batch of Asparagus, so I now have 3 plantings of Asparagus. We have been getting a few spears here and there.. generally not enough to have a big asparagus feed.. but rather tastes of asparagus in other things.. YUM! Last night, however, we had asparagus sautéed with garlic and mushrooms as a side dish.. the closest we've come to getting to really eat asparagus.. wow... what a treat! I am looking forward to MORE!
I have also added Jerusalem Artichokes this year.. this is a first for my garden but my parents grew them when I was growing up and I remember really enjoying them. They have a new bed outside the garden fence.
I rearranged the herb bed on Saturday. It was time to give the sage plants more space and to break up the chives. Everything got a little cultivation and mulch. Then Sunday was a day of light rain. What perfect timing. Everything looks fabulous!
There is lots of salad greens for fresh salads and kale that wintered over and is now producing well. Spinach that made it through the winter and snow peas are up and coming soon. Arugula is doing well.. but now that it is warming up.. it is bolting.. but I keep cutting it back to prolong the going to seed process.
Life is good, Full and bountiful and BUSY!
Monday, May 12, 2008
What can WE do?
Everyone wants to talk about the rising costs of food and fuel. We all have worries about the impact of these rising costs and the possibility of food shortages.
It has been interesting and eye-opening to say the least. Pack was the founder of the National War Garden Commission which was formed in 1917. The express mission of the Commission was to develop latent resources of food supply and to that end to arouse the patriots of America to the importance of putting all idle land to work, to teach them how to do it, and to educate them to conserve by canning and drying all food they could not use while fresh. Thus began the War Gardens of WW1 and later known as Victory Gardens in WW2.
"Put the slacker land to work" became the slogan of the National War Garden Commission. In response the people in 1917 put to work more than 3,000,000 pieces of such uncultivated territory. In 1918, the total number of war gardens is conservatively estimated at 5,285,000. The food value was estimated at $525,000,000.
The huge PR campaign was promoted through leaflets, instructional pamphlets and posters. War gardeners were called on by the beautiful figure of Liberty to "Sow the Seeds of Victory." Another slogan, a clever paraphrase on the title of a famous song, told them to "Keep the Home Soil Turning." West Virginia started the message: "Food Must Follow the Flag," which became a household word throughout the United States. The Marion (Indiana) War Garden Association put to the home food producers in this fashion: "Earn the Right to stay at Home–Plant a Garden." The honored title of "Soldier of the Soil" gave the home tiller the feeling that he, too, was performing a service for his country although he was not wearing the uniform; and when he was informed that "Every Garden is a Munition Plant" he knew that he was helping the boys over there to fight their battles, for "The Seeds of Victory Insure the Fruits of Peace."
The patriotic spirit is contagious and the war gardener helped mightily to spread it.
The success record of the Victory Garden Project is well documented and it was not only the US Government that encouraged the participation of Americans but Big Business and the media as well.
The government and civilian groups such as the Red Cross and the Scouts organized committees to coordinate gardening efforts and allocate seeds, fertilizer and other resources. Gardening classes and literature were made available to the public. Because food production was critical, the literature emphasized getting the highest yield from each garden and the most nutrition from the crops by raising plants rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals.
The response was phenomenal. In 1917, Americans raised $520 million worth of garden produce in vacant lots, backyards, and unused land. Victory Gardens yielded as much as 40 percent of the country's nonmilitary produce. But the gardens did more than feed the civilian population. They gave people a chance to participate in the war effort and brought them together. People from all walks of life and every ethnicity and age group mingled in the many committees and the thousands of community gardens.
In Dallas, Texas there were around 20,000 war gardens in 1918. These citizens produced 17,500 cans of vegetables in just a few weeks from their garden plots. Temples, Texas had 5000 war gardens. In one growing season alone, the town produced an astounding quantity of black eye peas—one ton. The town of Marion, Indiana only had a population of about 29,000 people and it had 14,081 vegetable plots.
During World War II, a similar gardening movement swept the country. Most commonly these were known as Victory gardens. The White House lawn became a garden in which carrots, cabbages, and tomatoes were grown at the urging of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. As part of the war effort, the American government called on citizens to plant 18 million victory gardens. The response was overwhelming. Some 21 million were established, and actually produced around 40% of the country’s vegetables.
Things that amaze me most about this movement:
1. The extent of government involvement
2. The extent of big business involvement
3. The extent of media involvement
I doubt that we will see this kind of involvement today. However, We don't really need the government or big business to start a grassroots effort. And how much more grassroots can you get than planting a garden.
I want to focus on what WE can DO.
Plant a garden and have some control over the effect of rising prices both food and fuel on your family budget!
Bringing back the Victory Garden makes sense. It's low cost; seeds are inexpensive. I personally do not find the labor of a garden to be drudgery. It is a pleasure to get away from my desk and work the earth and enjoy the sunshine and to watch to literal fruits of my labor come to the table and feed my family. For every bit of produce that comes out of my garden, I save untold dollars at not only the grocery store but at the gas pump, in wear and tear on my car, and at the doctor's office. In addition, I get a share in saving the environment by leaving a smaller footprint and I get the empowerment that comes with taking some control in my life and becoming more resourceful and successful.
Think of the task of starting a garden as an creative adventure. The educational resources to make your garden venture a reality are plentiful...the internet offers abundant information sites, blogs and forums that focus on new and experienced gardeners. Don't forget the local library and garden club workshops. You will meet teachers and like-minded people at plant sales and garden shows. The Cooperative Extension Office in every county has a Master Gardener who you can call on the phone and ask questions! No outsourced customer service here!
The foods you grow are fresh and minimally processed and therefore will have a higher food value than any vegetable you can buy at the chain grocery store down the street! The flavor will amaze you.. it is hard to believe that it can make that much of a difference but the proof is definitely in the tasting. Let your garden be a protest against bland grocery store produce that is bred for its ability to be shipped long distances and to have a longer shelf-life. Most of our grocery store produce travels 1200 or more miles from field to our table! When you do buy produce, make sure that you get as much as possible from the local farmers market or locally suplied produce in your grocery store. I encourage you to start looking at WHERE your food comes from. Grapes from Mexico. Lettuce from California. Garlic from China! Let me tell you garlic is SO easy to grow.. I planted 250 cloves in October and will start harvesting in a month or so.. no work... just plant and mulch! And that garlic will last us through next winter.
Grow heirloom varieties whenever you can. They are hardy, of superior taste and novel appearance, they benefit the environment because planting them increases the genetic diversity. The focus on mono-culture crops and genetically modified foods has seriously limited crop variety. Heirloom varieties tend to be more naturally pest and drought resistant.
Your garden need not be big to make a difference. Consider a small strip of ground or a series of containers filled with tomatoes and peppers. For less than the price of a tomato you can buy a plant already started at the local garden center, ready to go in the dirt. Potatoes can be grown in plastic bags! There are many creative and productive ways to garden.
Gardening is an excellent way to increase food security (the amount and quality of food) in America. Access to Good Food should be a right, not a privilege.
In a changing world, the ability to grow food, to share and enjoy it, and to live in a healthy world full of beautiful gardens may be the best legacy we can our children and grandchildren. The human race will not know peace till each everyone one of us has access to healthy food, and clean air and water.
Join the movement. Here are a few resources to get you started:
http://www.ringsurf.com/ring/UrbanHomesteader/
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/
http://urbanhomestead.org
http://www.earthlypursuits.com/
books and history of victory gardens
http://www.victorygardensforall.org/
http://buncombe.ces.ncsu.edu/
http://www.victorygardendrive.blogspot.com/
http://freedomgardens.org/
http://www.victorygardendrive.blogspot.com/
http://mrbrownthumb.blogspot.com/
http://www.myfootprint.org/en/
http://adventuresinmyurbangarden.blogspot.com/
The main points of Modern Victory Movement encourage people to:
1- Raise & preserve as much of their food as possible.
2- Conserve energy, fuel, freshwater & other natural resources.
3- Reduce personal consumption of all goods & resources.
4- Repair, reuse & recycle to as great an extent as possible.
5- Plant trees as part of reforestation projects & edible landscaping.
6- Improve soils through wise use, composting & vermiculture.
Amid cries of "Bring back the Victory Garden" and the news that according to the World Bank's food price index, our Global food prices have risen 57.5 per cent from a year ago, I have been reading the 1919 book, The War Garden Victorious by Charles Lathrop Pack.
"Historians know that nations that cannot keep food supplies cheap, abundant and secure are in trouble. Food is national security. Food, fuel and the rise and fall of nations are inextricably linked. If the cost of fuel rises, the price of food will rise as well. That's the big picture." ~Rose Hayden-Smith
It has been interesting and eye-opening to say the least. Pack was the founder of the National War Garden Commission which was formed in 1917. The express mission of the Commission was to develop latent resources of food supply and to that end to arouse the patriots of America to the importance of putting all idle land to work, to teach them how to do it, and to educate them to conserve by canning and drying all food they could not use while fresh. Thus began the War Gardens of WW1 and later known as Victory Gardens in WW2.
"Put the slacker land to work" became the slogan of the National War Garden Commission. In response the people in 1917 put to work more than 3,000,000 pieces of such uncultivated territory. In 1918, the total number of war gardens is conservatively estimated at 5,285,000. The food value was estimated at $525,000,000.
The huge PR campaign was promoted through leaflets, instructional pamphlets and posters. War gardeners were called on by the beautiful figure of Liberty to "Sow the Seeds of Victory." Another slogan, a clever paraphrase on the title of a famous song, told them to "Keep the Home Soil Turning." West Virginia started the message: "Food Must Follow the Flag," which became a household word throughout the United States. The Marion (Indiana) War Garden Association put to the home food producers in this fashion: "Earn the Right to stay at Home–Plant a Garden." The honored title of "Soldier of the Soil" gave the home tiller the feeling that he, too, was performing a service for his country although he was not wearing the uniform; and when he was informed that "Every Garden is a Munition Plant" he knew that he was helping the boys over there to fight their battles, for "The Seeds of Victory Insure the Fruits of Peace."
The patriotic spirit is contagious and the war gardener helped mightily to spread it.
The success record of the Victory Garden Project is well documented and it was not only the US Government that encouraged the participation of Americans but Big Business and the media as well.
The government and civilian groups such as the Red Cross and the Scouts organized committees to coordinate gardening efforts and allocate seeds, fertilizer and other resources. Gardening classes and literature were made available to the public. Because food production was critical, the literature emphasized getting the highest yield from each garden and the most nutrition from the crops by raising plants rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals.
The response was phenomenal. In 1917, Americans raised $520 million worth of garden produce in vacant lots, backyards, and unused land. Victory Gardens yielded as much as 40 percent of the country's nonmilitary produce. But the gardens did more than feed the civilian population. They gave people a chance to participate in the war effort and brought them together. People from all walks of life and every ethnicity and age group mingled in the many committees and the thousands of community gardens.
In Dallas, Texas there were around 20,000 war gardens in 1918. These citizens produced 17,500 cans of vegetables in just a few weeks from their garden plots. Temples, Texas had 5000 war gardens. In one growing season alone, the town produced an astounding quantity of black eye peas—one ton. The town of Marion, Indiana only had a population of about 29,000 people and it had 14,081 vegetable plots.
During World War II, a similar gardening movement swept the country. Most commonly these were known as Victory gardens. The White House lawn became a garden in which carrots, cabbages, and tomatoes were grown at the urging of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. As part of the war effort, the American government called on citizens to plant 18 million victory gardens. The response was overwhelming. Some 21 million were established, and actually produced around 40% of the country’s vegetables.
Things that amaze me most about this movement:
1. The extent of government involvement
2. The extent of big business involvement
3. The extent of media involvement
I doubt that we will see this kind of involvement today. However, We don't really need the government or big business to start a grassroots effort. And how much more grassroots can you get than planting a garden.
I want to focus on what WE can DO.
Plant a garden and have some control over the effect of rising prices both food and fuel on your family budget!
Bringing back the Victory Garden makes sense. It's low cost; seeds are inexpensive. I personally do not find the labor of a garden to be drudgery. It is a pleasure to get away from my desk and work the earth and enjoy the sunshine and to watch to literal fruits of my labor come to the table and feed my family. For every bit of produce that comes out of my garden, I save untold dollars at not only the grocery store but at the gas pump, in wear and tear on my car, and at the doctor's office. In addition, I get a share in saving the environment by leaving a smaller footprint and I get the empowerment that comes with taking some control in my life and becoming more resourceful and successful.
Think of the task of starting a garden as an creative adventure. The educational resources to make your garden venture a reality are plentiful...the internet offers abundant information sites, blogs and forums that focus on new and experienced gardeners. Don't forget the local library and garden club workshops. You will meet teachers and like-minded people at plant sales and garden shows. The Cooperative Extension Office in every county has a Master Gardener who you can call on the phone and ask questions! No outsourced customer service here!
The foods you grow are fresh and minimally processed and therefore will have a higher food value than any vegetable you can buy at the chain grocery store down the street! The flavor will amaze you.. it is hard to believe that it can make that much of a difference but the proof is definitely in the tasting. Let your garden be a protest against bland grocery store produce that is bred for its ability to be shipped long distances and to have a longer shelf-life. Most of our grocery store produce travels 1200 or more miles from field to our table! When you do buy produce, make sure that you get as much as possible from the local farmers market or locally suplied produce in your grocery store. I encourage you to start looking at WHERE your food comes from. Grapes from Mexico. Lettuce from California. Garlic from China! Let me tell you garlic is SO easy to grow.. I planted 250 cloves in October and will start harvesting in a month or so.. no work... just plant and mulch! And that garlic will last us through next winter.
Grow heirloom varieties whenever you can. They are hardy, of superior taste and novel appearance, they benefit the environment because planting them increases the genetic diversity. The focus on mono-culture crops and genetically modified foods has seriously limited crop variety. Heirloom varieties tend to be more naturally pest and drought resistant.
Your garden need not be big to make a difference. Consider a small strip of ground or a series of containers filled with tomatoes and peppers. For less than the price of a tomato you can buy a plant already started at the local garden center, ready to go in the dirt. Potatoes can be grown in plastic bags! There are many creative and productive ways to garden.
Gardening is an excellent way to increase food security (the amount and quality of food) in America. Access to Good Food should be a right, not a privilege.
In a changing world, the ability to grow food, to share and enjoy it, and to live in a healthy world full of beautiful gardens may be the best legacy we can our children and grandchildren. The human race will not know peace till each everyone one of us has access to healthy food, and clean air and water.
Join the movement. Here are a few resources to get you started:
http://www.ringsurf.com/ring/UrbanHomesteader/
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/
http://urbanhomestead.org
http://www.earthlypursuits.com/
books and history of victory gardens
http://www.victorygardensforall.org/
http://buncombe.ces.ncsu.edu/
http://www.victorygardendrive.blogspot.com/
http://freedomgardens.org/
http://www.victorygardendrive.blogspot.com/
http://mrbrownthumb.blogspot.com/
http://www.myfootprint.org/en/
http://adventuresinmyurbangarden.blogspot.com/
The main points of Modern Victory Movement encourage people to:
1- Raise & preserve as much of their food as possible.
2- Conserve energy, fuel, freshwater & other natural resources.
3- Reduce personal consumption of all goods & resources.
4- Repair, reuse & recycle to as great an extent as possible.
5- Plant trees as part of reforestation projects & edible landscaping.
6- Improve soils through wise use, composting & vermiculture.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Notes from the Organic Growers School
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the Organic Growers School here in the Asheville Area. It was an amazing experience. I took three classes in the URBAN GROWING section. Two of the classes were about urban orchards and trees. These classes included specific varieties that are successfully grown organically here in Western North Carolina. I know that I will refer to these notes for years to come as they are filled with great information that I will guide my choices as I add fruit trees and fruiting shrubs to my edible landscape.
The third class was Cultivating Urban Abundance. Monica Williams was the presenter. She lives in West Asheville and gardens there on her urban lot. The course description: Urban home gardens have great potential for yielding abundant food, medicine, inspiration, and beauty. Even the most degraded lots can thrive by using the simple soil building techniques and sustainable practices presented in this session.
She encouraged us to begin with setting our intention. Her example was "My purpose is to create an abundant garden with a prayerful and grateful heart in order to heal our wounded soil." The setting of an intention helps to guide us through the choices we make throughout the life of our garden projects and shapes our vision. It can become the touchstone in times of doubt and frustration.
Next we looked at the "Blessings of the city".
Under Abundant Resources we explored both the people around us and the materials to be found in the city. The vast numbers of people located in the city offer us opportunity for networking, co-operative efforts, shared labor and costs.
And material resources abound.
Specific Techniques and practices for cultivating abundance:
But everything else on her list is well underway in my urban plot.
The third class was Cultivating Urban Abundance. Monica Williams was the presenter. She lives in West Asheville and gardens there on her urban lot. The course description: Urban home gardens have great potential for yielding abundant food, medicine, inspiration, and beauty. Even the most degraded lots can thrive by using the simple soil building techniques and sustainable practices presented in this session.
She encouraged us to begin with setting our intention. Her example was "My purpose is to create an abundant garden with a prayerful and grateful heart in order to heal our wounded soil." The setting of an intention helps to guide us through the choices we make throughout the life of our garden projects and shapes our vision. It can become the touchstone in times of doubt and frustration.
Next we looked at the "Blessings of the city".
- Moderate Climate
- Many Niches and Micro-climates along buildings and edges
- Abundant Resources.
Under Abundant Resources we explored both the people around us and the materials to be found in the city. The vast numbers of people located in the city offer us opportunity for networking, co-operative efforts, shared labor and costs.
And material resources abound.
- Compost-ables... leaf bags, wood chips, coffee grounds, restaurant compost, etc
- 5 gallon buckets
- firewood
- fencing
- straw
- construction material
- etc
Specific Techniques and practices for cultivating abundance:
- Compost
- Mulch beds
- Water catchment
- Winter gardens
- Diversified gardens
- Small Animals
But everything else on her list is well underway in my urban plot.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
On Pondering the Lessons of Last Year's Garden
The seeds are coming, the seeds are coming! I love this time of year. It all starts with getting the catalogs....WOW! I requested SO many catalogs, I just could't help myself. Then the browsing through all those seed catalogs and the lists.. oh the lists.. what worked last year? and what do I want to add for this year? Where will I plant things? How will I rotate repeat crops from last season? It is quite a process and one that I really enjoy, an annual reflection time and a chance to start all over again. A gray day like today has me pondering the successes and lessons from last summer's garden. I like this chance to review the past and look forward to the future.
I ordered from Johnny's, Gurney's, Cook's Garden, Territorial, Burgess, and Wood Prairie. I think that almost everything that I have ordered is finally here except for the fruit trees and strawberries.
I decided that it was time to start my mini-orchard this year. So I'll be putting in three bush cherries, one 5-in-1 dwarf apple tree, and one "fruit cocktail" dwarf tree. The fruit cocktail tree has nectarines, peaches, plums, and apricots all one one tree... it seems a little weird to me but interesting.. so we will see how it does. Hard to imagine how cool it will look!
Last year I had SO many volunteer tomato plants from the year before that one of the things I decided to do this year is cut back on the number of tomato plants that I start. The volunteers were so productive and healthy that I want to leave room for them in the plan for this year. I have added a new variety or two and we'll just see. I also plan to plant the basil along with the tomatoes again as we did not see a single horn worm. I had read that basil would repel them.. and it seemed to work. I was amazed as I never in my life grew tomatoes that did not attract dozens of horn worms!
Look for more pondering in my next post.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Some history to get started
Four and a half years ago I bought my little house in the Oakley area of downtown Asheville, North Carolina (photo is of front yard of my place just before I purchased it in August 2003). The house is small but the lot is immense by urban standards, just shy of a half-acre! And what a lot of lawn to mow... I immediately saw in my minds eye the potential to make my place an amazing eden of edible delights! But alas, as the solo parent of Rebecca Grace, professional 2 year old.. it was a daunting task to think about making this dream a reality.So I paid a guy to come and mow every other week and every time I wrote that check for lawn care I wished for a way, the energy mostly, to get my dream going...
Well, 2 years later, a friend moved to Asheville from Atlanta.. and as we sipped tea in the height of the winter season we hatched a plan to garden together.. It did not seem so impossible now with the promise of help!
And so began the conversion of the unwanted lawn into a bountiful edible landscape. For the first two years of this garden adventure we operated loosely as a community garden. We invited other friends to participate and all shared in the work and the bounty. We had 3 committed partners the first year and it all worked pretty well... it was my land so I was the lead gardener and planner. In the second year, well the amount of time the other partners had to share diminished greatly and I found myself without help. It was more work for me but the rewards were great and oh so satisfying!
I wish that I had started a blog in the beginning of this project to really tell the story as it unfolded.. but better now than never!
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