Back to the garden

Great discussions. I'm involved in teaching people of all ages from kids to adults about growing food. As for what David says , in a way it's true growing all our food in a city or suburban areas isn't realistic BUT doing what we can IS vitally important for many reasons: community building, sharing resources that would otherwise be wasted, educating all ages especially the young so they have the skills to enhance standard of living, because growing food does connect us to nature and thats a major reason for peoples unhappiness in this world I believe. A bit of gardening certainly doesn't take much time or money, contrary its an empowering process that leads to a better standard of living.

There are many programmes too that connect people in cities with local farms outside the city where they get an experience and connection to where there food comes from.

So more the merrier i say. Good on you ALL. It's all about power to the people and NOT just relying on multinationals to support/control us.

Mr. Katz brings up very good points, but I disagree (and am somewhat insulted) when he says that it's dishonest to encourage urban gardening as a means to food security, and calls it a "joke." No, we are not going to grow every single type of food that our bodies need in our gardens - and I would never suggest that. And yes, in some areas it might not be practical. But people can significantly lower their grocery bill by growing their own food. I'm doing it myself, and I see my neighbors and the families I work with doing it - and still considering it financially worthwhile despite having to pay for water and perhaps soil amendments.

Consider Cuba. In 1990 when the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba's food imports were cut by 80% and their oil imports were cut by more than 50%. Cubans were forced into a local agriculture system and it worked wonders. Organic urban agriculture has produced 65% of Cuba's rice, 46% of the fresh vegetables, 38% of the non-citrus fruits, 13% of the root crops, and on from there. I know that our climate is not the same as Cuba's, but Cuba is a model for how we can be more dependent on ourselves for food. I recommend checking out the movie "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil."

I very much appreciate the discussion this article has prompted, and I recognize that for some people, in some areas, urban gardening may not be the solution. But I have found (through research and doing) that in most areas, it can be one part of the solution.

You make some good points. Some of your comments may be applicable at this point in time. Having grown up during WWII, though, and being familiar with victory gardens, I might point out that as the practice of growing produce expands, the next step will be learning to can the extra, or freeze it if possible. The time element is not an issue. We don't need to keep urging people to use more and more of their time to enrich huge corporations. We need to educate and urge them to use their spare time in gardening and preserving instead of having "fun" with standing on street corners hanging out, using ipods they can't afford, drinking and gambling, etc. Education is the answer, with lots of examples. It isn't the inner city where this movement is starting, but suburbia where there is some room and resources for home gardens. The flowers and shrubs are beautiful and plentiful, needing water when it doesn't rain, but can give partial way to edible crops. The less demand for produce, the lower the prices and those who don't have the resources to grow their own will benefit from lower prices. Lower prices will mean that canned and frozen produce will eventually come at a lower cost, too.

Garden on, America, all of those that can and will!

I agree with David Katz that urban gardening can't provide food security. Since Katie Olender's article doesn't make this argument, I think Katz refers to her bio, which says her work focuses on "urban gardening as a means to food security for low-income communities." I don't think she's saying that urban gardening can single-handedly provide food security. I understand the phrase as a means to to signify in support of, or as a path towards . So, urban gardening in support of food security. One could speak of urban gardening as a means to build community, or as a means to create safe spaces for kids, where gardening is deployed in support of these objectives.

So how do we assess the success or value of urban gardening? The right has constructed (apparently convincingly) a picture of a world where there is one way, where the accumulation of capital in the hands of a few is in the interest of the many, where corporate agribusiness — as part of a larger neo-liberal project — is the way to provide food security. If we're assessing urban agriculture on its ability to feed cities or to overturn wholesale a system that is fundamentally unequal, then Katz is correct — urban gardening is a joke. But its ability to create alternative spaces that serve purposes beyond the exchange of capital is extraordinarily important. Coupled with the community-building role Linda brings up, urban gardening is valuable in ways that can support real, sustainable change. None of this is at odds with farms occupying a central place in healthy, sustainable food systems and a more equitable, just society, which is what I think we’re all working for.

Using the square-foot garden method only 20% of the area is required and 20% of the water. No one need go without a garden.

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/body_index.htm

Hi David, I like urban gardening because I have also had experience in city neighborhoods.

Newark, NJ has extensive urban gardens that should be more well known. It was where I first had my own veggie plot and we hustled water from a fire hydrant, used rain barrels and used heavy mulches to conserve water and build soil. The benefits far outweighed the problems because the food, flowers, herbs produced there also provided a way of meeting neighbors, a cultural sharing, a place for children and elders to sit. More people outside watching out for the block. Sure, there is vandalism, and naysayers. On what was a bleak, glass-strewn lot, the neighborhood had created trees for shade, and those famous Jersey tomatoes. There's a network of beekeepers in Newark gardens and rooftops-- how many suburban folks get to taste local honey? Sure, from a strictly economic, academic viewpoint, food supply may not be possible on a large scale, and there's people working on that, too, but civic engagement, a sense of accomplishment, an appreciation of place can start residents thinking of what other things they should have, like clean, safe homes, local jobs, social justice---bread and roses, too.

I think we are doing a great mis-service promoting home gardening and urban food production as a way to provide food security, especially for low-income urban communities. It will never be able to supply more than a miniscule percent of the food needed by urban dwellers and there are many real barriers. First off, urban water costs between $500 to $1000 per acre foot, far more than what any farmer pays, regardless of source, and cities everywhere are worried about future supplies for basic needs, not for urban ag. Urban gardening supplies only a small percentage of fresh vegetables, which are important from a nutritional point of view, but not very significant when you think of the carbohydrate and protein needs of all people. Most urban areas have much higher levels of soil and air pollution than rural areas, leading to increased levels of contaminants in food. In the poor San Francisco neighborhood where I am working now, the people need to increase their income by getting better jobs and education so they can improve their lives. They don't have the time to devote to raising very much of their food needs, especially when its is mostly just a few vegetables. Its basically dishonest for activists to talk about urban gardening being a realistic answer to meeting urban people's food needs. As a recreational activity, getting people outdoors, and providing a connection to the earth, its great, but as a real food supply, its a joke. If we run out of oil, farmers will bring their crops to the city using horse drawn wagons or steam engines fired by wood or coal. What we really need is political control of the food system and social justice, not urban gardens, if we are going to make sure that everyone has enough to eat.

It looks very timely now, that we should promote actively the urban horticulture or agriculture and as well as urban gardening. However since the more appropriate activity towards this, is to promote the organic gardening. In this respect, I think the availability of organic seeds is not globally happen. Possibly you may share your opinion on how this could be helped in future. Thank you.

Congratulations to everyone that is part of the NorthWest Initiative. This is the time to involved each kid to get back in contact with Pachamama (Mother Earth). Blessings, Magha Garcia,
Executive Director, Oro Verde Foundation. Puerto Rico.