* We all have our passions. You may be into cycling, or golf, or movies or knitting or cooking. But, no matter what, there comes a time (well, actually at least three times a day) when we all eat. And that’s become my passion–growing food. Well, it’s becoming more like small-scale urban farming, what with the home garden and the community garden and all the other places I’ve found in my city to dig in. This trend is huge in the United States as more people are discovering the joys, the affordable abundance, and the boost in flavor and variety from home-grown fruits and veggies. However, since our country moved away from this age-old model of resiliency, many cities have policies that literally prohibit things we used to take for granted as a society. Things like growing tomatoes on your front lawn, or keeping a few chickens for eggs, or setting up a little stand to sell your bumper crop of zucchini. The good news is that things are changing, and moms and dads just like you and me are bridging the generational divide (this knowledge has skipped not one but two generations) and teaching our kids again how to be more self-sufficient and healthier by growing their own food. The best part? In more and more urban and suburban areas, we are now allowed again to do so. The most comprehensive report in the nation about urban agriculture policies in cities was just released yesterday, and yes, gardening nerd that I am, I read the whole thing last night. Authored by the Turner Environmental Law Clinic, it gives results from sixteen cities, from Atlanta (my city) to San Francisco, Seattle to New York. See here if yours is included (or enjoy reading about those that are). The report even mentions one of my favorite urban farms, Truly Living Well Center for Urban Agriculture’s Wheat Street Gardens, which I visited again just last week (see picture, and yes, this is what’s growing right now, in December). Whet your appetite (so to speak) for your own home garden by taking a quick look at Make Getting Food a Little Less Taxing for Yourself and Those in Need (yes, I wrote that on Tax Day).
* The bottom line? You have lots of new options in the last few years as a homeowner as to how you can (legally) incorporate food-growing into your home landscape. Vegetable gardens, greenhouses, and backyard chicken coops are becoming more and more common, and people are having a good old time making these enhancements to their quality of life inviting, attractive, and productive. The most famous urban homestead is probably the Dervaes family’s home in Pasadena, California (pictured here), but take a bike ride around your city soon and you’ll find ones close to home at which you never stopped and looked before. You’ll find yourself saying crowd-pleasing lines like, “Wow, is that kale I see?” (Don’t laugh–Eat More Kale t-shirts are flying out the door right now at this site.) See Make Your Farm Fantasy Come True, Stylishly for more ideas.
* The Bee Movie was not just an entertaining kiddie flick (I thought of it the other day because my daughters just discovered old Seinfeld reruns, and I realized that they are old enough now for them and I don’t have to catch Jerry in animated movies anymore). It was an albeit fictionalized take on what’s happening in our country today re: our dwindling bee population. Backyard beekeepers are filling the gap, one hive at a time (see more about this movement here). Think this is not a suburban or urban mom thing? You’d be surprised. Do a quick online search for your community’s beekeeping club and get in on the buzz. Plus, just think about the micro-enterprise learning opportunities for your children–they get to harvest, package, and sell their very own product (as my friend’s children did recently). (I found that photo on a very nice blog named Fig, Jam and Lime Cordial: Living Well in My Urban Village.) Not into beekeeping? You still get to enjoy these bees as they make their way over to your garden to pollinate–how neighborly!
* In a country where only 50% of us know some of our neighbors (see this recent report by State Farm), this urban gardening/farming stuff can fling open the doors to connections you never would have expected. Not only are people who were previously strangers community gardening together at neighborhood parks, but they are yard-sharing as well. This could be something as simple as a few neighbors having a collective garden, or it could be someone who is not using his or her property allowing someone without a sunny spot to grow food there. See Hyperlocavore: A Yardsharing Community for more details about this. And for those of you in condos or apartments, don’t overlook the roof. In fact, if you look out across the roofs (especially if you live in Chicago, the national leader in green roofs right now), you may already see a sea of green. Here are some tips for rooftop growing.
Want to start digging in in your community (or back or front yard)? Find out what’s happening in your local food scene, and then, trust me–you will fall down the rabbit hole to an entirely new world. Service pros you find on Kudzu such as backyard farmers, landscapers, handymen, fence builders, and yes, even lawyers (those backyard chicken battles at City Hall can get contentious in cities that haven’t embraced these best practices yet) can help you create your own urban homestead.
