I am very concerned about the economic impact of the political fights going on right now. Not just for now, but also for the future. I am concerned about a worsening problem of access to quality food.
And there is a simple solution which gives a family or individual, food, a peaceful activity, and more control over their own destiny.
Grow Food!
What if you went to the grocery store tomorrow, and you found that the shelves were mostly empty? Would it be too late for you to learn to grow your own food?
That was part of the lead paragraphs in an email I received from the Grow Network. http://thegrownetwork.com/
Which made me remember the phrase:
Grow food not lawns? It is estimated that there are 35 million lawns in the US. What if many or most of them were turned into food gardens?
The average lawn is 5,000 square feet.
Which made me remember a great article in Mother Earth News.
Edible Landscaping: Grow $700 of Food in 100 Square Feet!
In 2008 well known edible landscaping author Rosalind Creasy (the link is to her author page on Amazon) with Cathy Wilkinson Barash (well known edible flower author) began a test of how much food and food savings could be achieved from just 100 square feet (5 x 20 feet). The result? $700 over 6 months.
A little simple math will show you how much your lawn could be producing or a new garden bed. AND in the desert, since we can garden year-round the math looks even better 2 x $700 from 100 square feet. Image if you had more area to grow in?
http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/edible-landscaping-zmaz09djzraw.aspx
Rosalind wrote a follow up blog to the article.
http://www.rosalindcreasy.com/edible-garden-how-to/
Creasy's first book published in 1982 was what pushed my "growing" interest in edibles going forward. The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping: Home Landscaping with Food-Bearing Plants and Resource-Saving Techniques
I ultimately published my book "Edible Landscaping in the Desert Southwest: Wheelbarrow to Plate," to address the year round growing capabilities of our desert gardens.
As an aside, Creasy's book The Edible French Garden, showed me for the first time the "Alpine" type strawberry. It was some years later that I discovered those berry seeds for growing in my own garden.
Back to growing food instead of lawns, or just adding too or staring a vegetable bed. What are you waiting for - the grocery shelves to be partially empty?
I am not trying to be one of those end-of-the-world people who are telling you to build shelters, I am saying - Growing some or most of your own food gives you remarkable control over your future. If you can grow some or most of your own food, you won't go hungry. Period.
AND you will have a possible source of extra income. Most of the farmers markets welcome backyard gardeners and many now have "community tables" where you do not have to set up your own table - they sell for you for a small percentage.
You can share your extra with your neighbors and food banks.
What are you waiting for?
Growing your own food is a win/win.
-- Catherine, The Herb Lady
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