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The Little Garden that Could
The Obama family is celebrating the first anniversary of their new
kitchen garden, but in my house we're putting two candles on the
organic carrot cake and making a wish for our national food gardening
future.
Two years ago this week, my family and I planted a little garden of our own in the middle of our front yard. As luck would have it, we live in a little white cape with southern exposure which allowed us to claim that we had planted something much more noteworthy: a new food garden on the south lawn of the "white house."
Although the major networks were not present for our groundbreaking event, that didn't stop us from growing some media coverage of our own. We produced a short Internet video of our white house garden planting and used it to urge presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama to follow suit upon taking office.
The clip went as viral as a gardening video can hope to go, appearing on many busy websites and, ultimately, on national TV. Fast-forwarding to the present, I am happy to report that both "white house" gardens are flourishing and that a new food garden revival has taken root.
Like the Victory Garden movement of the previous century, war once again provides the context for this revival, but this time it's not nation against nation, but people waging a struggle for health, their own and that of the planet.
Whether the current home-grown revival sends its roots deeply and broadly enough in society to make a significant impact on social and environmental issues remains uncertain. According to a recent survey by the National Gardening Association, 1 million new food gardens are planned for 2010.
That may sound like a large number, but when it's compared with the estimated 20 million Victory Gardens planted in 1943 when the U.S. population was half what it is now, it would seem that we're only scratching the surface.
This brings me to my birthday wish. First lady Michelle Obama has been the best gift the food-gardening movement could ask for this past year, but I'm hoping that millions of new people will follow her example this year. To bring these new gardeners into the movement, we need to educate them about the diverse contributions food gardens can make to families, communities, and our country's national security.
Many people, including policy-makers, think that a number of new little gardens won't add up to anything more than a hill of beans, but our history proves otherwise.
At the peak of the Victory Garden movement, gardens behind homes, schools, prisons, workplaces and in vacant lots were growing 40 percent of the nation's produce and helping to conserve financial and natural resources at a time of crisis.
Last year, my wife and I did some garden math of our own to offer a more contemporary example. We weighed, recorded and priced every item coming out of our yard, front and back, over the course of the growing season. By the time we were done, we calculated that we had saved over $2,200 and had met roughly half of our family's produce needs for the year.
And the food was not only delicious and low in carbs, but also low in carbon, having traveled less than 50 feet from plot to plate. Saving money is one financial incentive for growing kitchen gardens, but it shouldn't be the only one.
Each year, we manage to find billions of tax dollars to subsidize corn and soybeans, which are used to sweeten soft drinks and fatten livestock.
Surely some of those funds would be better spent sweetening the deal for gardeners through innovative fiscal incentives and grants for new school and community gardens.
We already provide tax breaks to encourage families to put solar panels on their houses, so why not encourage them also to grow solar-powered food behind those houses?
Whether we organize it now or it organizes us later, a food garden revolution is coming and that's a very good thing.
In fact, the only downside I see is a nationwide glut of summer squash, but hopefully many new gardeners will follow Michelle Obama's lead in sharing some of their bounty with neighbors in need.
Doing so would not only make for a better-fed nation but a more socially just one too. When it comes to the next healthy, home-grown revival, everyone should have a place at the table.
- Posted in
37 Comments so far
Show AllI may have lost my wife to cancer years ago but that did not stop me from getting my neighbors to do some gardening together. We can socialize and look out for one each others' gardens. However, not everyone shares that fortune. Most people are not fortunate to live in homes that have yard space for gardening and even among those who do most of them are either working longer hours or very worried about their unemployment. Try telling people who live in apartments, condos, or townhouses to grow their gardens and see what happens when those fascist HOAs get in the way. Another thing to keep in mind is that with more schools closing, educating people into constructive ideas will be harder while young people uninterested in farming or gardening will be on the rise as a result. Instead of subsidizing corn and soy for poisoning purposes, why don't this administration take back what he said against public schools deserving to be closed and not only reopen them but fund school programs such as teaching students to garden?
"Try telling people who live in apartments, condos, or townhouses to grow their gardens and see what happens when those fascist HOAs get in the way."
That needs to be stressed more often. I thought that in CA or some state or city, the local government found some way to override HOA somewhat. Fat chance of seeing that happen in Washington. :(
Welcome back, Jennifer.
Thanks Ted. Glad to see you as well. I thought about you quite a lot while I was abroad. It was great being overseas but in the end, I thought that it is best to stay here and battle the dysfunctionality here at home to help curtail its worldwide spread. I will have more to say on that in the coming days ahead. :)
"I thought that it is best to stay here and battle the dysfunctionality here at home to help curtail its worldwide spread."
It's a good fight. Glad to have you on this side.
Thanks Ted. I had more to say on that. It has been one adventure after another this year. Three months abroad followed by nearly one month of looking for another company to work for after the hell from my previous job upon returning. Details in comments under
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/05/10-6
When I left the country, I was at first glad to run away but soon things started to not look right. Yes, Europe, Russia, and South Africa are better than the US in many ways but it's not rosy there either. I know that many good progressives would love to move to anywhere in Europe, Asia, or just anywhere outside the USA but that all assumes that they have what it takes to afford it. Also, I will be admitting a lot of things I loved about those nations that made me jealous and angry. I have started talking about them with "Prometheus" on this site. I don't like it when people in this country trash other nations with their poor misunderstanding but I also don't like it when people in other countries go a little too far in joking the US. Yes, the US is a laughing stock but those nations are also undergoing similar crisis thanks to playing follow the US on everything. I also missed the heartland life that I have been so used to all my life and my first trip in my life to the other side of the planet was in some ways a shocker. On a good note, I had a chance to cool off some though I wished I had waited until summer to visit Europe.
P.S.: I will check out for community gardens and plots for rent as I haven't thought much about it. Thanks.
Also, Stan told me that you lived in South America for a number of years which I find interesting. When you compare life in South America to life here in the US, which do you find better just out of curiosity?
I did live in South America for nine years. Grew up there. My father worked for USAID, part of the State Dept. I was 2 when he got a post in Chile, and seeing as I didn't have a job or love interest I moved down with the family. Spent 5 years there then off to Colombia for 2 years. Then back to the States for 4 years then down to Paraguay for 2 1/2 before returning for good. I was 15 at that point.
I have never quite related to the culture here. Even though this is home, in some sense, I've been like a fish our of water. Not that I grew up living poor as many do in SA, but I did absorb another way of being and it has stayed with me. People down there are much more rooted and family oriented. Family is all around and they take care of each other. Here, we are scattered, atomized, alone - tied to things instead of community. And it is absolutely true that people with less money give more. Whether it is some little thing or more of themselves, they give more than rich people do.
Which do I find better? Hmmm... I guess I find parts of each better. The slower pace (though, that has changed, especially in the large cities), the closer-knitted families and communities, the more organic feel and human scale of things down there are better. The abject poverty and unstable governments are not good. The possibilities to do well in the US are so much more obtainable than they are down there, though, this is becoming less so every day.
As with you, this is my home. For all its faults, I find its possibilities to be alluring and worth fighting for. While I was raised in other countries, the United States has always been home. It's just that I see this country through a different lens than most. We have so much...SO MUCH...that in some ways, it's a detriment. It weighs us down, both physically and psychically. It's too much. We really can't handle all this stuff and busyness and distraction and entertainment. It's too much and it's really unhealthy. It makes us lonely. A bite of chocolate is wonderful, a pound of chocolate will make anyone sick. We are eating a pound of chocolate on a regular basis and we can't see the value of eating less of it.
Anyway, it sounds like you have gained an added perspective to things since your travels, Jennifer. I'd like to hear some about that.
Wow, 9 years in SA is awesome ! I had noticed similar patterns of sharing and getting together in Europe, Russia, and South Africa. I hear you on the lack of family and community getting together. I lived with my parents until I found my first job and because there was nothing locally, I had no choice but to move.
I will be continue to read and the archives of these past 4 months to see what has happened while I was away. I will try not to get depressed. I have lots to say but obviously can't say it all in one post. Just catch my posts in the articles where I slowly share my experiences and thoughts abroad. As usual, I will share the ones relative to the articles being discussed. Check out today's article on capitalism and my comments there. As this was my first time in my life of having gone out of the the country and for so long, I know that I might not sound like some of the others who have been abroad longer just like you. I still feel that I have more to learn and maybe I might get more opportunities to travel abroad depending upon how everything goes.
P.S.: I see you met my uncle and I have been reading his emails he would keep sending my way even while I was away from the computers for those three months. I heard about that tragic health care bill that passed in March. I will have to read the bill but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it isn't about health care but instead being forced to cling onto "insurance".
Stanley,
I'm sorry you lost your wife to cancer. I'm seeing far too much of that lately, especially among young people.
As for apartments, condos, and such, I think you're painting a bleak picture where one doesn't need to exist. There are options for even those folks. Many cities and towns have community gardens or spots of land where folks can rent a plot for the summer. There are also things folks can do with container gardens. I lived in a condo and rented a plot. That's really what got me gardening.
As far as educating people and kids - it's done by example and by folks like Roger Dion. As more people garden and as more people lobby schools and other organizations, things will happen. Kids are naturally curious and the more time we can get them out in the garden, the healthier and wiser they will be.
Again, this will happen, and is happening, because more and more people see the value and wisdom in growing their own food and in doing things on their own. One doesn't need a "back forty" in order to feel empowered by growing his/her own food, but a small plot or even a few containers. One things leads to another. That's how change happens - from the garden roots, up.
Ted, fighting HOA is a hellish task at large and I had to go through that before I would be allowed to plant on the balcony of my condo. Sometimes apartment spaces can be so small that one would give up thinking about trying even a small garden there.
I hope you are right about kids wanting to be curious. Big GMO is what worries me a great deal about the future of this nation's health.
Are there any community gardens or plots for rent in your area? Check it out - it's worth it!
Ted, I truly wished that more people living in condos, apartments, and townhouses would have the same kind of dedication as Jennifer to make even a small space something truly useful in and of itself but I don't know. She told me all about the arguments she and her elderly neighbors who fought with her against the board they had to use just to wake them up. I thought that she stressed herself too much and given people's tendency to conform and not ask questions, I don't have a good feeling about this. I am well aware of the community gardens and urban farms and hope that the city folks can get together and make the best of it where they can't garden or farm.
"As more people garden and as more people lobby schools and other organizations, things will happen."
That is definitely true but the schools closing in record numbers is a serious concern. I just wished this president would bother getting rid of Bush's NCLB Act with an executive order instead of approving of public schools facing closure in record numbers. If there are fewer public schools, then it will be very difficult for students to learn and don't get me started with those crooked private and charter schools.
"Again, this will happen, and is happening, because more and more people see the value and wisdom in growing their own food and in doing things on their own."
That is true. I don't doubt that each and everyone of us wants to be able to grow some food locally. The reason I mentioned working with neighbors is given the modern economy, some guidance and neighborly help could make a difference. I read your other post and I think that you are wearing yourself out.
The way younger generations have been poorly educated, it's too easy for them to get brainwashed into believing that GMO is easier and better than doing it the regular way. Whatever we plant, we must avoid buying GMO seeds lest we get sued by the likes of Monsanto or something like that.
"I don't doubt that each and everyone of us wants to be able to grow some food locally. The reason I mentioned working with neighbors is given the modern economy, some guidance and neighborly help could make a difference. I read your other post and I think that you are wearing yourself out."
I'm tired, but not wearing myself out. I do rest now and again. Hey, if it was good enough for the Big Guy...
Help is good, but today's America is not our father's America. We have jobs and events and amusements and cell phones and Farmville and so much more to steal our attention. However, it's still up to each of us to keep reaching out and building a network of friends and helpers. I'm lucky enough to have a rather built-in network in my permaculture group. My problem is that I like to do things myself. Kind of a control freak, I guess - at least, when it comes to my space.
As for all the other stuff (GMO, Monsanto, Bush, HOAs), I see them as a separate issue. Yes, an HOA can keep one from doing what they please, but that's the nature of the beast. I guess one could join the association board if one were so inclined (I did) and try to work from the inside to change some rules. Or, one could move. I did both.
Again, there are alternatives and folks really should use some imagination. Many towns have garden plots available for a fee. That's a great way to get started.
Michelle Obama's organic gardening effort has meant a big cultural victory. Don't think she wasn't besieged by the makers of pesticides and herbicides, asking that she please recognize the irresponsibility of her example, and that she please consider using their "crop protectors". I don't know how she managed to maintain her ground, but her shining example is inspiration to all who thought that gardening is an expensive hobby that has nothing to do with getting food. If security were more lax on the White House lawn, I'm sure the poison makers would have sneaked in and thrown plant pests and diseases into her garden.
"If security were more lax on the White House lawn, I'm sure the poison makers would have sneaked in and thrown plant pests and diseases into her garden."
Actually, the White House garden was already sludged before they entered the White House.
http://www.prwatch.org/node/8982
Yes, I remember reading that.
Last year I started a garden and I bought four baby chicks. I am so glad I took the leap. It was so scary.
I am learning, and growing and sharing what I have with others. My day starts with coffee and then to the garden. I have never been happier or felt more productive. I am in a learning process and yes sometimes I have to share my bounty with the birds and bugs. However, I am also able to share my garden with friends and loved ones.
I plan to expand the garden as much as I can for as long as I am allowed to live on this earth. The rewards are beyond explanation.
Cool.
I'm expanding my garden and planting more perennials (fruit trees, bushes, and beneficials) all around my yard. I have an eye toward getting chickens, perhaps next year.
I would love to have more time, but I work full time in retail, which means I'm on my feet for 8 hours a day. Most days, I come home exhausted, so it's a struggle sometimes to do physical work in my yard. I am working, however, on a way to cut back my days at work so that I can really get this place humming.
I say this to let people know that it doesn't take being financially independent or retired to transform their yards and homes into something more sustainable. And while it is is hard work, it is the most rewarding work I've ever done. As the short video below shows, the only danger in doing this is the danger of becoming free.
This is what my goal is (yes, even here in Maine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCPEBM5ol0Q&feature=related
You are all traitors to the Megafood Corporations running our supply chain!!!
How dare you do it yourselves?
How can obscene profits be made when you act in this treasonous manner?
1. Yup!
2. We are not doing it TO ourselves - we are doing if FOR ourselves.
3. Aw, I'm so sorry...
Thanks for the smile!
"Also very good advice to anyone who is looking to starve the BEAST. Only when it's weak from starvation would mere men have a chance To contain it long enough to kill it once and for all."
That's been my thinking. Though, I don't think we'll ever kill the beast once and for all. Life is a struggle and we need to be constantly mindful of the nature of things.
I hope you can plant a garden, if even a tiny one. I was out planting this morning and still am amazed at how huge plants can start as a tiny round seed. And some of those plants wind up on my plate which I eat, which nourishes me.
The garden is my church and my teacher.
Well...time to get back out in it. I got the day off and I'm gonna get back to the garden...
our garden runs right along a busy street...a woman and her son were walking by the other day, and she asked if she could have a few of our plentiful collard greens...
we said sure, so she took a few...
it felt good...
Yeah, I've heard that kind of story from quite a few people who have gardens. Gardens are one of the best community-building inventions going.
Can we use a nationwide glut of summer squash, to provide transportation?
Hah!
Around here, during zucchini harvest, folks who leave their cars unlocked are liable to find their back seats full of the stuff. Can't give it away fast enough!
Sitting at the computer while my rain barrels fill up and loving this thread!
So can't resist:
Q. How can you tell if a person has no friends?
A. S/he is buying zucchini at the supermarket! :-)
I have an abundance of heritage garlic. Quite mild. Love how the little curly tops appear while waiting for the bulbs to mature. Nature is wonderful.
Keep up the good work folks!
Lettuce is up and delicious, radishes are thriving, corn is peaking through, beans will follow shortly, tomato plants were planted indoors in February are ready to go into the garden, cucumbers are going wild, winter squash will be planted among the corn when the corn reaches one foot high, two rows of zinnias are growing on the garden border to attract more bees, potatoes are in, and all seeds are organic heirloom varieties so that seeds can be saved for next years planting. Compost is my natural fertilizer. I was gifted a milk weed plant to place in the garden to service the butterfly's, and sunflowers are planted on the eastern side of the garden as is my amerindian cultural tradition. I work my garden early each morning since plants tend to hydrate before 10:00 A.M. The garden is large enough to feed both people and critters. No pesticides or herbicides or used. Life is good at the garden.
Stone,
Plant the milkweed away from your garden - the stuff spreads like wildfire.
BTW - you can eat the milkweed spears when they are young and tender. Tastes like mild asparagus. No need to dump the water several times as they really aren't bitter as some have written (Euell Gibbons).
Here in Austin, we've had rain 2 of the last 3 days and my new rainwater collection system is full to its 1100 gallon capacity. Between greywater, rainwater collection, and water efficient planting, I will not have to open a tap to water anything the rest of the summer. We've had a small garden revolution in my neighborhood the past couple of years. Many of us have planted new water efficient gardens in places that catch runoff and therefore need no irrigation. A woman who lives around the corner even planted a brilliant low water garden near the bus stop at the end of the street. I've always felt that even a garden that has only a few successful plants can make a huge difference in how a person eats. Two healthy tomato plants can produce enough for a person to have more tomatoes than they can possibly eat by themselves.
That's awesome! I love stories like yours.
These posts are great, surely there has never been anything
more rewarding than vegetable gardens in my life.
My three apple trees are loaded and the peach trees
this year, never have sprayed them, the deer almost did
them in though, anyway what apples and peaches i don't
use, the deer eat up.
To be ecologically green makes idealistic people feel warm and fuzzy. Plant a garden, raise chickens and return to eden. BUT
It is a war against the squirrels, sparrows, rats, rabbits, cabbage worms, aphids, snails, slugs, grubs, snd mildew. Trap the squirrels and sparrows, spray the bugs, but their armies multiply like the DOD. The final victory goes to the nematodes, those terrorists who infest the soil devouring the roots of the tomatos.
The only winners are Ferry Morse, Burpee, and Monsanto.
So its fresh eggs you want? Wait until the hens discover that the eggs are edible.
Dear sugarsnap:
I have a small garden but I do wrap pieces of old screen around the tomatoes, so the squirrels won't dig; squirrels don't like screen, as their little toes get stuck. I put my bird feeder on the opposite side of the garden.
I have a squirrel station with peanuts for them and the jays, ( away from my plants) and another feeder for small birds .
They all seem to stay away from my food areas. DEFLECT and Conquer, is the plan, and it really works!
I enjoy trapping and killing the squirrels and sparrows. We have a family of Black Phoebes, a carnivous bird that can spot a cabbage worm from miles away. As for the nematodes, I use crop rotation and starve the tiny bastards. I forgot to mention gophers.
The most wonderful part of having a garden is that first summer day, when the sun hits the tomato vines and the earth is still moist; the real, organic smell of that plant rushes up, and there is no better scent in the world.
Popping a beautiful, round, and hot from the sun, cherry tomato into my mouth gives the most delicious taste. If you haven't had a vegetable rush, then you're missing one of the best parts about being a human!
I live in a condo and use Topsy Turveys to grow a few tomatoes. :-)