March 2013 Letter from the Publisher

The greatest fine art of the future
will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.
~ Abraham Lincoln

I dream of the day I can walk into any local food establishment and buy an organic salad or a hot or cold organic meal without planning my daily movements around a health food store. That day may arrive sooner than expected, but don’t expect that farms will be the sole source of organic fare. Your neighbors may soon be supplying some of the organic produce that you’ll find on your plate at your favorite restaurant.

In this month’s feature article, “Urban Gardening Takes Root,” John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist report that more than 30 percent of U.S. households are now growing food for their families. Even apartment dwellers are finding creative ways to raise ample quantities of produce on balconies, patios and rooftops.

In my January letter, I reported that after we purchased our current home, Pat and I dug up all the grass along our driveway, put down organic topsoil and now enjoy a variety of organic vegetables and fruit every season. This summer, we plan to turn our front yard into a wildflower garden and the west side of our property into a second vegetable garden.

It’s a great feeling to walk outside our front door in the summer and pick some fresh strawberries, raspberries and figs to have with breakfast. I can’t think of a better family activity than home gardening. There aren’t many projects that can nurture and expand the minds of young children better than planting, growing and eating your own food. Even those that lack a green thumb can still thrive by tapping the Internet’s limitless source of videos and articles on the subject.

If you need some inspiration to begin your own home garden, point your browser to Tinyurl.com/yardfarm and witness Jules Dervaes and his family—Pasadena, California, urban farmers who produced 6,000 pounds of produce on their one-tenth-acre property during their first year of urban homesteading. In this YouTube video, Dervaes states that, “Growing your own food is a dangerous act, because you’re in danger of becoming free.”

Let your garden grow…cheers!