Whether you live in the city, the suburbs, or the boondocks, you may be like me — in need of a kick in the pants when it comes to gardening. If so, I’ve compiled 7 reasons to garden to provide said kick.
How Are Your Gardening Skillz?
I have a confession to make. I am a novice vegetable gardener. I have had successful herb and flower gardens, but I have never — not once — started a vegetable garden and seen it through to harvest. (I have done both, but never both in the same garden!) Somewhat frequent moves and being heavy with pregnancy have been my excuses. What are yours?
As it stands, I’m actually going to plant a vegetable garden this year. Tomorrow, in fact. And you know what? I have no plans to move out of this home before I actually harvest my happy mini-crops. Will you join me in this adventure?
HOAs vs. Your Garden
Imagine growing a lush, organic garden full of fruit trees and raised beds featuring edible flowers and vegetables. It’s beautiful. And it’s in your backyard. Your slice of heaven. Your respite. The place where you can get your hands dirty growing wholesome, nourishing foods for you and your family.
One day you stroll out to your mailbox to find a letter from your HOA telling you your garden is in violation of HOA rules. According to your deed restrictions, all fruit trees and edible plants should be grown inside a screened in patio. You face $100/day fines for each day that you refuse to tear up your fruit trees and remove your raised beds.
That’s just what happened to Amy Becerra of Florida. And she’s determined to fight.
Take Back Urban Homesteading
Urban Homesteading. It’s a beautiful collision of farm and urban life in urban and suburban areas. Feed yourself from your own garden? Try to squeeze a few chickens into your postage-stamp sized backyard? You’re an Urban Homesteader! That’s why I was shocked to read about how one family has trademarked the terms “Urban Homestead” and “Urban Homesteading” and has gone after blogs, libraries, and organizations in the Urban Homestead movement.
Backyard Farming Is A Feminist Act
So says Peggy Orenstein last week in The New York Times Magazine. Are you a stay-at-home mother who keeps chickens, maybe a small garden, perhaps even a beehive? Do you dabble in preserving your food, making your own bread, and cooking nourishing, wholesome, seasonal food for your family? Then you’re what’s quickly becoming known as a “femivore,” a woman who turns her homemaking into something more earthy and industrious than the consumer-driven model that’s dominated America’s cultural landscape for the last half century.