Backyard Farm: My Kind of Yard

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

My Kind of Yard

I moved into a house with lots of lawn. Slowly but surely I am eliminating the grass in favor of raised beds and areas to be planted with pollinator attracting flowers and plants. And it looks like I'm not the only one.

Out with the lawn, in with edibles - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Seattle Post Intelligencer

Out with the lawn, in with edibles
Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA - Apr 9, 2007
"We've seen that growth (in gardening interest) and added so many more programs recently," said Kathy Dang, a teacher at Seattle Tilth, an organic gardening ...

technorati tags:gardening, lawn, vegetable, pollinator, grow, food

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WHY I GROW MY OWN

FLAVOR & NUTRITION

Locally produced food is better than food that has traveled, it's fresher, more delicate. And what is more local than your own backyard?

Fresher food = more nutrients.

Growing your own gives you more choices of obscure and heirloom varieties of plants. Some of the most beautiful, most flavorful varieties are just not practical for large scale growers.

BETTER THAN CURLY LIGHT BULBS

If you're trying to reduce your carbon footprint growing your own food is a dandy way to do it. Okay, I'm not so pure that I will forgo European wine, cured meats, and cheeses. But if I grow some of my own food it doesn't require packaging, it's not using energy to get to me, and I'm not driving to the store to retrieve it.

Out of season produce may need to come from very far away, another hemisphere maybe, and some of it comes by plane. Does this make sense?

FOOD SAFETY

What I grow will never be recalled or tainted with Salmonella or E coli. I know exactly what is on my plants and what is not. I try to be organic, but I am not above buying conventional seeds or starts.

FOOD SECURITY

Without sounding like too much of a doomer. I don't want to be completely reliant on a food system that is so dependent on cheap, abundant fossil fuel.

GARDENING IS GOOD FOR YOU!

It's good exercise. It produces good food for you to eat. And it feeds your soul. It is elemental. It puts you in touch with the cycles of nature. And you'll meet lots of great, like minded folks. Gardening builds community.

LOCAL. SEASONAL. SUSTAINABLE.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

My Kind of Yard

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