Welcome to the Independence Garden Movement

Welcome to the Independence Garden Movement.

Over the last year, my husband and I have become increasingly interested in gardening and finding "local foods", especially ones that use organic gardening methods. I've always grown things. Even in my first townhouse apartment, I planted tomatoes on the tiny patch of lawn by the back patio. I haven't had good luck recently, as the area we live in has very sandy "poor" soil. So, we decided to try a raised bed using the Square Foot Gardening techniques developed by Mel Bartholowmew. Our goal - try to offset our use of commercially grown foods, the energy they take to grow and store, and the gas they use to transport by slowing increasing the amount of food we get from our own small area of land in our backyard. And, hopefully get our kids to eat more vegetables, as well as to enjoy the experience of eating something they've seen grow.  But really, we are doing it mostly because it is fun.

We recently read the Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan which only reinforced our resolve to find ways to "move off the grid" in terms of our eating. If you haven't read this book, you should check it out. In this book, the old "Victory Gardens" are mentioned, and the fact that during this time up to 40% of produce consumed was grown in back yard gardens and involved nearly 20 million Americans. Wow. That really got me thinking.

What if we tried this again to mobilize people to garden, but not to support a war effort, but rather to wage our own war to take back our independence and ability to sustain ourselves in ways that are "green" and financially beneficial? Do you know how much a packet of seeds cost? Not much. A bag of garden soil? Not much. A small pot? This is doable for the average American. And, you don't even have to have a backyard to do it - a windowsill will do.

Have you ever watched a water droplet? One little drop doesn't seem significant. What could one little drop really do anyway? How many of you have ever had a leaking pipe? Drip. Drip. Drip. Ok, how irritating. Stick a bucket under it and plan to call the plumber sometime soon. You have to get to work and it can wait. Drip. Drip. Drip. Pretty soon that one drop got friends and filled that bucket. Drip. Drip. Drip. And, the bucket not being big enough, took the pool party out onto your floor. Drip. Drip. Drip. Someone told some other drops about the big party and they got busy getting friendly with the living room carpet in the next room. Drip. Drip. Drip. Everyone knows its not really a party until something gets broken, so now you have some water damage on your lower walls and your carpet is going to need to be replaced. Drip. Drip. Drip. The water boys found a nice space to take the party to another floor of your house, but they had to flow across the ceiling of the lower floor and down the wall to get there. Drip, Drip, Drip. Call the plumber all you want, this is a gift that just keeps giving...Drip, Drip, Drip...

If we all did something, even something as small as planting some herbs in a pot for our windowsill, we could be that drip...that drop of water in the bucket. Alone we are easily dismissed with little impact. Together...well, together we have power. Will you help by being a drop in the bucket? Tell us about your journey to become part of the Independence Garden Movement.

This blog will, in part, chronicle our journey to offset our footprint and find independence through our produce. We'll post our trials and tribulations of our little 8x4 foot raised bed garden, and a few pots of herbs. Oh, and we stuck a squash plant on the side of our house that is actually doing very well. We'll tell you all about the local sources of food we've tried. And, even some recipes that worked. Honestly, there are some vegetables that neither of us have ever really tried. Getting a big box of produce from a local community supported agriculture site forced us to figure out how to prepare beets and turnips - both of which I thought I hated - both of which were pretty darn good! And, we hope that you all will chime in with your own stories and pictures of your gardens!

The real question is...can two people who aren't even particularly "green" or anything like that, just normal every day people start something that cumulatively could have a real impact. Can we?

"You must be the change you want to see in the world." - Gandhi