Letters to the Editor
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And, Chickens?
I always have wondered why we all do not have hens, for eggs. I have no hens, but I wonder why I have none. One even could keep a couple hens on an apartment balcony.
We need bio-engineering, I think. We need cats who lay eggs. Not such a stretch??? We would have to train them to lay their eggs in their nests on the balconies, rather than in their litter boxes, but, what the heck?
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the next best thing
is the local farmer's market or farm stand. Even cities have them, and the stuff is reasonably priced (and lots of them are organic).
In my town, we have a Youth Agency-run veggie garden that keeps us in produce all summer and into fall. They have started doing veggie gardens in the schools: the kids volunteer to weed, water and harvest, and the produce shows up in their cafeteria. You'd be amazed at how many more carrots and tomatoes get eaten when the consumers have grown the suckers.
And clever teachers are incorporating gardening into the lesson plans. Everywhere from math and science, to nutrition and health, to the rhythm of the seasons and learning colors and shapes.
I dream of starting my own real garden, instead of just a tomato plant or two, but the Youth Agency garden seems to offer me and my kids the pleasure of gardening part-time, without the full-time worry of our own.
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There's one thing to learn from conservatives
I'm a fan of Pollan, and certainly there's no harm done in planting a garden. But I think at this point, we need to be more serious than that. Planting a garden is a very yuppie, feel-good thing to do that has little actual impact. For all I despise economic conservatives, I'll give 'em this: scale make things efficient, and while they like that because it puts more money in their pocket, efficiency is also what we need to build a sustainable future. It's a different kind of efficiency, to be sure: the variables are different. No longer is the only parameter the dollar; there's the pound of C02, the acre of forest, the elimination of a species, the particle of pollutant. But the strategy is the same: having a (for example) physicist who would be spending his time researching better solar power toiling in the garden ten hours a week to produce seven tomatoes at the end of the summer isn't our way out of this.
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Gardens
Point well taken. Some like myself have an affinity for weeding, planting and so on that defies explanation and other do not. So be it. One of my fondest dreams is to have a root cellar to store my bounty through the winter. This year I have a plot a community garden so I can the potatoes and onions that don't fit in the backyard. Sourcing sustainably and locally works too.
FunGal
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The Peasant Problem
The problem with being a peasant isn't the hardship of farming, it's the lack of land ownership (and the subsequent tithing of large amounts of one's production.)
So, yeah, gardening isn't labor-free, but keeping a home garden--particularly in temperate California--is perfectly doable for the able-bodied.
So you have redwoods in the backyard--why not grow tomatoes in the front? Or herbs? And I'm with the previous poster--I, too, have been wondering lately why we don't keep chickens--they eat bugs and grass and can live under redwoods. They're not quite as entertaining as cats, but they do have some personality.
Oh, and don't worry about weeding oxalis--it dies back--just let it go.
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Climate Change Victory Garden
Of course gardens are work. The reason we are in this dilemma is because we don't want to sweat or put out effort that isn't instantly gratifying. It took me a few years but now I harvest my own seeds and compost everything organic that I can get my hands on. It is extremely rewarding to harvest your own broccoli, tomatoes, onions, herbs, beets, and I have added some flowers that just make the whole plot beautiful! I am not searching for serenity, but digging in the dirt with my iPod is a good mix of exercise and entertainment. And the digging is not all that hard. Try gardening, try walking or taking the bus to work. Come on, do you think someone is going to hand you a solution to climate change as a prize in a cereal box?
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I think you're missing something here
Your blog post today is kind of driftless compared to the focus I see when you discuss economics. When you write of subprime meltdowns and collaterized debt obligations your writing shines with purpose, while here I feel like I'm reading the hazy reflections of an ex-idealistic fighting through a hangover with coffee and their journal.
I think the point you're missing with Pollan here is that he's saying, "Look, this is as big as World freaking War II. That took a deep understanding of personal sacrifice made manifest in the Victory Garden. Climate Change needs to be seen on these terms as well."
That being said. I'm probably much more like you in my approach than Pollan, but I look to the future knowing things are changing in their cycles and revolutions, so I prepare for the potential absolute need for "Victory Gardens" while enjoying the leisure and freedom currently granted me by the present arrangement. I just hope we can still have our blogs if things get that tense in America.
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To JeffK
Scale means different things. If everybody who can grow a vegetable garden does so, it will have an effect on a large scale.
I'm married to a serious gardener--who also works 60 hour weeks. We do several things as a result of the garden--we tend to eat very seasonally. I don't know the last time we bought a tomato, a cucumber, a batch of arugula, lemons or jam. For a long time we didn't even see a farmer's market because during the summer we don't buy fruit or vegetables.
Part of what we do, though, means kitchen know-how--preserving requires its own set of skills.
I'm not convinced that all of this actually saves us money--but we do benefit in terms of quality (yes, even compared to the farmer's market) and there's sure no question of what's been used on the vegetables.
Also, organic gardening is a snap, but organic farming isn't.