This whole "New Age Victory Garden" does have a kind of Marie Antoinette feel about it, doesn't it?
Not so much; it is entirely idiotic.
First of all, the author gives a history of "victory gardens," but then goes off on a completely unrelated topic...the mass production of wheat, rice, soybeans, and corn.
Victory Gardens were a means of providing a family with a decent supply of fresh vegetables during rationing. At the time, many people had an area where they could grow such a crop...now, most people do not.
Anyone familiar with vegetable gardening, also understands that you need to plant at varying times, to assure a constant source of such vegetables (as your climate will allow)...plus, you need to know how to freeze or preserve the excess...and be willing to do so.
Pollan (who is a constant source of idiocy on the subject of agriculture), cannot seem to understand that most of the farms that he so despises do not produce "food" that goes to the grocery store directly.
Good luck growing a wheat or rice crop in your back yard...get back to me if you need to know how to grind your suburban wheat into bread.
Corn and soybeans are largely used to feed livestock, pressed into oil, used in other food processing, or exported to other countries.
Furthermore, if we decided to have new "victory gardens" we would displace the fruit and vegetables growers in our own "climate zones"...in other words, you would put your local growers out of business. I'm sure that the Mexican and South American growers would just love the extra business.
So, you would destroy American businesses on an experiment that is destined to fail while having absolutely ZERO effect on the commodity crops. Typical greenie pipe dream.
“So, you would destroy American businesses on an experiment that is destined to fail while having absolutely ZERO effect on the commodity crops. Typical greenie pipe dream.”
Exactly. I knew a farmer that planted a ‘victory garden’ on some land and he was in the PIC program. The D of Ag made him plow it under ;-)
That was part of that stupid Supreme Court decision, I forget the name of it - I’ll have to ask Sarah... where you effect the ‘market’ price because you’re not buying the fruits and vegetables at the market, affecting interstate commerce.
This is stupid hippie stuff from Northern California that has been around for decades. There’s certainly nothing wrong with gardening, but the idea that America is “suffering” and that somehow people will start little backyard gardens that will replace “agribusiness” (or maybe the author really means after agribusiness farms have been collectivized and thus cease to produce anything) is ridiculous.
The fantasy of the US as tiny colonies of peasants tending their Chinese-style plots while the government supplies their other wants is a long-entrenched leftist California dream, and it’s not only idiotic and unworkable, but is a dangerous blueprint for oppression and starvation.
I manage a Garden Center, and I cannot argue with any of your comments.
However, since I’m a Good Little Capitalist, you can be darn sure that I’ll ride this wave of mild “panic” and sell more veggie plants and seeds this upcoming season than the last.
It IS hard to grow food for your family. It takes time, energy, good weather, smart planning...and again, TIME. I have a 1/4 acre garden and an orchard and if I told you I managed a Garden Center (full time) and then showed you my garden, you’d laugh yourself silly.
However, when I had the TIME and worked from home and raised up the boys, I had an AWESOME, productive garden which fed us well. Not completely, but as a supplement to purchased, gleaned, hunted and fished-for foodstuffs.
And once you HAVE a bountiful garden, there are hours and DAYS of processing that food, either by canning or freezing or making jam or whatever. and that starts with the first harvested spring peas and beans through the last harvested apples and squashes. Yeesh, what a season-long job!
My SIL shared a wonderful recipe with me for white beans and rosemary. The beans are soaking right now. That bag of dried beans cost me 97 CENTS at Wal-Mart. She was talking this morning about planting drying beans in her garden this upcoming spring. I just chuckled and explained to her that she would need a huge area to grow drying beans in her garden; it is not cost-effective by any stretch. I don’t do it, even back when I had the time to.
While my customers will enjoy a few patio-grown tomatoes, and a row of green beans, a few pots of herbs or some home-grown lettuce, the vast majority of them won’t be ‘feeding’ themselves without the work of others and the Free Market (Hey! That’s ME!) any time soon. :)