Food Not Lawns

by Lawson Schaller

"Food not Lawns" is a slogan being used more often these days.  There appears to be a movement afoot. 

The cost to water, feed, and maintain a lawn is coming more into question.  More and more folks are converting their lawns to gardens.  There are many reasons why people are choosing to convert lawns to food, the most general being a better use of resources. 

A food mile, simply put, is how far food travels to get to our plate.  Estimates vary, but here in the U.S. food for a typical meal travels roughly 1,000 to 2,000 miles.  Oddly enough, local food is not always more affordable.  On the other hand, the true cost to the environment is not always accounted for fully.  Beyond costs and resource allocation is the choice for more flavor and freshness.  More and more people are growing local.

Those that cannot grow at home or make it to the local farmers market can sign up for a weekly delivery of produce from local growers.  Some services require pick-up of the week's supply.  Like the local farmers market, and that of your own garden, you get seasonable vegetables.  We are so very fortunate to be living here on the Central Coast with a Mediterranean climate which produces abundance year round. 

A large nursery here in California reported a dramatic increase in the sale of their fruit trees.  Staff stated that a rising number of customers are coming in to grow more of their own food.   Staff said some customers are interested in a more affordable option than retail organic prices.  Some see the real need to minimize the long distance transport of food from other regions.  A recent article in a mainstream publication reported that a major multinational corporation has seen increased sales in seeds and fertilizers for the homeowner market. 

Central Coast Transition Towns is also playing a role in emphasizing growing local.  Growing foods locally is just one component of the Transition Town philosophy. The idea is to have more local reliance and resilience.  An internet search of Central Coast Transition Towns and food not lawns San Luis Obispo will deliver a number of resources to access and use. There are local community groups and companies that help homeowners through the process of converting lawns to food.  This can range from an all-volunteer neighborly barn raising approach to professional companies handling the transition from start to finish.  Many of you probably know the joy and satisfaction of walking out your door and picking delicious fruits and vegetables . . . real tomato flavor!

With all the uncertainty of these times perhaps folks are pausing for reflection, rethinking how we are doing things.  The victory gardens of WWII (estimates of twenty million) were seen as a way to do our part.  Might some friends and neighbors be acting on that same sense of purpose?  Think global, act and grow local. 

Be sure and check out a new monthly Journal column - Grow, Learn, Eat by Gibsey Beckett. Gibsey will be telling us all about her neighborhood's participation in Sunset Magazine's latest "One Block Diet" competition.

Great Horned Owl image on banner courtesy Cleve Nash