Landscaping with vegetables and ornamentals

Food security.  The tanking economy.  Self-sufficiency.  These related topics are in the news and on everyone’s minds these days.  The boom in interest in urban agriculture and local food is everywhere now.  Some people want to rip up their lawns to grow vegetables and build a chicken coop in the back yard to ensure they have a regular supply of locally grown, high quality food.  Some people want to learn how to can fruits and vegetables to put away a little something for the hard times to come.  Some want a way to simplify and change the way they live because they’ve seen that the culture over-consumption just isn’t working for us.  There are many ways and many steps people can take to move toward these very sensible goals.

In my recent backyard farming travels I’ve been introduced to a new breed of landscaper.  These guys aren’t your typical “mow the lawn, trim the shrubs, install a hardscape” kind of landscaper.  They are interested in food crops as an integral part of the urban landscape.  They incorporate  permaculture techniques as well as complete vegetable garden systems into their designs.  If you’re not ready for Food not Lawns or a neighborhood egg co-op these are the people you want to call on.

I met one of these new kind of landscapers at the B-ISA Summit put on by Sky Vegetables in Berkeley, CA in December.  What a revelation!  Landscapes and food all in one!  It doesn’t have to be one or the other.  Joshua Thayer, owner of Native Sun Gardens in Berkeley opened my eyes to the possibilities.  It’s not strict vegetable gardening.  It’s not strict permaculture.  It’s not strict landscaping for asthetics only.  It’s a hybrid that I think is going to make sense to many of you out there.  Take a look at Joshua’s website to see what services he provides.  See if you can find someone in your community who is doing the same thing.

Victory Gardens 2.0

It’s time to move from reminiscing about the Victory Gardens of WWII to building the movement for Victory Gardens 2.0.  It seems as though we are in middle of the perfect storm to make this happen.  We are at this important point in time due to our deep economic recession, unstable fuel prices and our country’s new found desire to raise chickens and grow food our cities.

POP Farming - Start a Victory Garden for Food Secuity today!

First thing you can do is start your own garden this spring.  If you don’t know how to garden go find yourself some help in getting one set up.

Beyond growing your own garden, you can become part of a national effort to encourage President-elect Obama (only a few more days until I can remove the “elect” from that phrase!  woo hoo!) to get on board with this idea.  There are actually two different groups dedicated to lobbying the President-elect to install an organic food garden on the White House lawn.  Eat The View and The WHO Farm have started petitions to bring this movement into the public eye.  Check them out and sign their petitions!

According to change.org:

The many successes(1) of the first Victory Garden movement were the
result of effective public policy, bold leadership(2) at a time of
national crisis, and the commitment of millions of citizens who were
ready to roll up their sleeves for the greater good.

(1) Victory Gardens (behind homes, schools, in vacant urban lots, etc.)
produced 40% of the nation’s produce at their peak, helped conserve
food and natural resources at a time of crisis, resulted in the highest
consumption rates of fruits and vegetables our nation has seen, and
helped keep millions of Americans physically fit and active.
(2) First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden on the White
House lawn in 1943 over the objections of the USDA, inspiring millions
by her example.

Just imagine what would happen if there were a food garden installed on the lawn of the White House.  How many people would then take that same step and begin to see the importance of growing their own food?  Just that simple gesture would change the mindset of many thousands of Americans.  We would be one step closer to food security, healthful living and reducing our dependence on foreign sources of oil for our food.  (Yes, all that conventionally grown food you buy at the store is grown with fertilizers that are directly derived from petroleum products.)  Victory gardens during the WWII era supplied up to 40% of all fresh produce consumed in the US for those years.  Let’s do it again.