- Container-grown broccoli
I’m only feeding the two of us, so a few container-grown broccoli plants are gracing our table with plenty of goodness this winter.
The brussels sprouts will follow close behind; I’m anxiously awaiting their bounty.
On the way down to the mailbox yesterday I stopped to chat with our neighbor Les, who was conversing with another neighbor from up the street aways, an older gent named Bill, who it turns out is also a container vegetable gardener. Those of us with small yards must grow what we can, where we can. Bill was interested to hear of my terracing project and rued the fact his backyard hill faces north, which rules out growing vegetables there.
I advised him to tear up his front yard and plant his vegetable garden there. I was not kidding. It was good to talk with someone who goes to the same trouble I do to grow a little bit of food for their table. Here in suburbia we are a dying breed.
Thistledog's Farm 
LOL, when I worked in town, a co-worker and I walked everyday just to get out of the office. We usually stuck to the same route, always chatting with the folks out working in their flower beds. One day we took a different route, just one street over. Imagine our surprise to see vegetable gardens in place of front lawns, permaculture plantings, and carboys in garage windows hinting at fermenting folks. Funny thing, that street, just in suburban Portland, and 50 steps away from Home Depot inspired flower beds.
Good for you and Bill, maybe it will catch on 🙂
That reminds me of the Dervaes’ family there in Pasadena and their showcase urban homestead (http://www.pathtofreedom.com/)…
It’s a paradigm shift. I rather imagine, though, that the lean years ahead of all of us will make the notion of growing useful things instead of just pretty ornamentals much more acceptable for the Home Depot crowd.
When we lived on a very small lot in town we plowed up a 10′ x15′ patch of grass and planted sunflowers, tomatoes, squash and peppers. I canned my first things ever from that garden, eight quarts of tomatoes. Actually, plowing up part of a manicured lawn is a pretty easy way to start gardening, as likely the only weed you’ll have to deal with is, well, grass. You likely won’t have many insect problems either, to begin with.
Lovely broccoli, by the way!
Jo – you’re so right! It’s not difficult at all to become a home-grower, and wonderful to see the growing trend of people making the effort to start a garden in whatever space they have.
I’m always impressed by how those tiny seeds result in such a bounty of food. Broccoli is one of my favorites!
So what did Bill have to say about your suggestion? Maybe that is too much work for him, though. TLC for aging bodies and all that kind of thing. A paradigm shift, indeed – it’s been a long time coming.