The Local Food Movement

Taking this one step further

This past summer we planted a small garden. We have a very limited backyard, so it was only 4'x4.

We supplemented the garden soil from our own compost container. We used only leftover food scraps like eggs shells, peels, vegetable trimmings, coffee grounds and the like. Nothing like meat or stuff that would stink up the joint.

I was quite please how much we got out of it while doing practically no tending. I'm lazy when it comes to weeding.

If a lot more would have composted how much food leftovers wouldn't have been needlessly wasted by ending up in a dump. Also how much less the sewer plant would have to process for those who flush these down a kitchen disposal.

How many tons of foods would not have been transported by fuel guzzling trucks if everyone just planted a small patch of their own.

Not only did we save a couple of bucks, we knew for certain that our vegetables were 100% organic. It is also believed that every hour that goes by after harvesting, the vegetables lose some of their nutrient content. For almost 3 months whenever we made a salad for dinner all I had to do was go out back a snip a few leaves of lettuce. Nothing fresher then that!

Certain garden herbs we planted attracted hummingbirds and butterflies.

What a waste when you see all that empty area on most suburban home's lawns going unused. Wonder why more people don't put at least some of it to practical use. It would also be one less area to mow.

The final bonus is, after the plants are harvested the stems and stalks can go back into the composting container for next year's garden.

"Food Inc." Trailer