Growing a vegetable garden is a joy, a commitment and, it goes
without saying, a source of delectable fresh produce. More than
ever, it is becoming a powerful tool. In today’s world,
one’s own kitchen garden represents the new Victory Garden.
First, I must admit that with my now grown children no longer
around to dig into the cool spring soil, drop in a few pea pods
and assist in weeding, I’ve asked myself: why am I doing
this?
The “this” is not about the bursting energy of a
young potager. Nor is it about the sense of accomplishment—and,
yes, sigh of relief—when harvest season is upon us. No,
it’s about what goes on in between.
Summer can be a trying time for a gardener. Who looks forward
to sweating under the blistering sun of a gruesome mid-July
day while peering at the shriveled, brown stained leaves on
the tomato vines? Visiting the farmer’s market further
compounds things: some of us invariably return home wondering
why our tomatoes don’t resemble those golden, juicy ones
overflowing in wicker baskets....
No, it’s about laziness, or, if you prefer, setting priorities.
From tending tiny seeds in early April to transplanting, watering,
weeding, staking—the list goes on—a nagging question
invariably emerges: How energy efficient is this garden? Not
a good question for a gardener.
Fortunately, new perspectives on why old-fashioned kitchen gardens
are as meaningful as ever are coming to the rescue. As a result,
foreclosure on my raised beds is not on the immediate horizon.
First, as we know only too well, we are beset by skyrocketing
food costs, coupled with ongoing issues of food safety. And,
there’s the heavy carbon footprint. In order to support
our voracious global food habit, we remain hopelessly dependent
on large-scale industrial production, packaging, fossil fuel
fertilizers and endless miles of transportation.* From this
perspective, the “simple” act of growing potatoes
or asparagus becomes not only more attractive, but more responsible.
Cultivating a garden doesn’t look so complicated or cost
inefficient after all.
A vegetable, herb—and while you’re at it—
fruit garden is becoming more than the sum of its parts. Traditionally,
we equated them with healthy soil, seeds, good sun and water—not
to mention the pleasure of picking a shiny zucchini still warm
from the sun. In the context of climate change, however, the
reason for “tending one’s own garden” has
grown exponentially.
Recently, Michael Pollan propounded this in his inspiring and
thought-provoking piece, “Why Bother?” (4/20/08
New York Times Magazine). As he states, faced with the overwhelming
challenges of global warming, growing one’s own source
of food, either individually or communally, carries more weight
than ever. By bending over and getting our hands dirty, we are
taking a step away from the factory farm while at the same time
shedding a few pounds of carbon and personal body weight.
Closely related to the reasons for sustainable food production
are psychological and social factors. As Pollan puts it: “A
great many things happen when you plant a vegetable garden,
some of them directly related to climate change, others indirect
but related nevertheless.”
First, we reduce our reliance on the global food system matrix.
Second, and on a more subtle level, the hopeless resignation
we may experience when challenged to “make a difference”
is, to a certain degree, alleviated. Planting, tending and reaping
imparts a sense of well-being and self-sufficiency. Henry David
Thoreau, Wendell Barry, and more recently Barbara Kingsolver,
in her marvellous book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of
Food Life, have been proponents of this for years.
Victory Gardens, popular during World War II in Great Britain,
Canada and the United States, offer us concrete, historic and
inspiring examples. They were established “to reduce the
pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort.”
In addition...“these gardens were considered a civil ‘morale
booster’...gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution
of labor and rewarded by the produce grown.” (Wikipedia).
And, their dedicated efforts worked. By 1944, Victory Gardens
supplied much of the produce consumed in the United States.
Thus, providing for one’s own sustenance, be it in a time
of war or of peace, on a plot of land or on a rooftop, carries
not only a practical but an inherently symbolic value. The act
of taking the initiative, setting an example and following through
with it (even in mid-summer!), ultimately catapults into social
and political change. Pollan gives us further reason for hope
when he likens this movement—call it slow food, locavore
or a new term I’ll coin here: “homeavore,”
to the revolution that quietly began in Eastern Europe in the
1980s. It was the individual voices of Vaclav Havel and Adam
Michnik that sparked the profound changes that ultimately threw
off the yoke of the Soviet Union.
When it comes to global warming, this may all seem somewhat
naive, even romantic. Still, “...there are sweeter reasons,”
according to Pollan, “to plant that garden, to bother.
At least in this one corner of your yard and life, you will
have begun to heal the split between what you think and what
you do, to commingle your identities as consumer and producer
and citizen.”
* A recent article in the New York Times revealed that a bottle
of wine shipped to New York from France is far less polluting
than by truck from California. Many complex factors are at work
in measuring the carbon footprint of transportation.
Honey Sharp has a landscape design business in the Berkshires
and can be reached at
hs@honeysharp.com or found at www.honeysharp.com.
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