New York Magazine

September 10, 2007

My Empire of Dirt
An Experiment in Brooklyn-Style Subsistence (Backyard) Farming….

“Dear Kitchen Gardener,    

       I am writing to invite you to join me in a group internet action that will cost you but a small amount of time and money and that - if carried out by enough people - could help raise the stature of gardening and local foods in society while raising much needed funds for KGI’s core activities and garden grants program.

So here’s the deal: with one First Family moving out 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the next few months and a new one moving in, KGI is taking it upon itself to organize a little “lawn sale” on their behalf, but not type you might think.

We’re selling the White House lawn itself on eBay in parcels of 1′ x 1′ at a fixed price of $10 each. Please allow me to explain. As a law-abiding nonprofit group, we of course can’t really sell you the South Lawn any more than we can sell you the South Pole or the Brooklyn Bridge. We can’t do it and we don’t have to. The First Lawn already has an owner: the American people!

But, if you’re like me, the White House’s sprawling grassy landscape doesn’t feel like it’s yours. It doesn’t look like it would look if you were Landscaper-in-Chief because it’s missing a key element: an organic kitchen garden. It’s had one before and, given the changing times, it should have one again. Hence the idea of a “lawn sale.” What better way to give people a renewed sense of ownership and control over something than to give them a chance to buy it back?”

{snip}

Read the entire article HERE.

This is part one of the new video over at Path to Freedom Urban Homesteaders. It gives a QUICK look at garden before an interview with Farmer D.
I have more to say, but we are running out the door to catch a movie with DD as a belated birthday celebration. Oh, and I want to say that My Hero came home with a small cake to celebrate last night.

♥

After reading HausFrau’s The Fruit Tree Commitment at Peak Oil Hausfrau, I became….um….wellllll….envious of her lovely peach tree and harvest. Being envious when visiting HausFrau is nothing new though, it is a common occurence with her solar cooking successes and victorious efforts toward sustainability.

I have a confession to make.

I have a love for pear trees, which is weird because I rarely even purchase pears in the store. Store pears always seem hard and difficult to eat. I love everything about a pear tree..its shape….its produce (no matter the variety)….its juicy, coarse texture….the jewel tones of its flesh…. and the clean, crisp aroma of a fresh pear which emanates from that very first bite. In my mind nothing beats ice cold pears with a side helping of cottage cheese.  Pear butter or pear preserves smeared over hot biscuits or pear relish served with a yummy pork roast warm my heart and tummy in the winter months.

I have planted three pear trees in my life. I very lovingly planted two pear trees in my Texas backyard so that they could be trimmed to form an archway into my vegetable garden. Many hours were spent on their care and dreaming about a future bounty. Unfortunately, the ex and his new wife gained custody of the pear trees and organic vegetable garden before I ever saw one bit of fruit.

After DH and I were engaged, he received a promotion and a transfer to a new location. One of the things I first wanted to plant was a pear tree, so we purchased an 8 foot Bartlett and continued to search for another variety to compliment. DH  had to move immediately and I had to stay behind, until after we married, so he was left in care of the new “baby”.Another unfortunate demise of my pear tree dreams came when we realized that there was a severe problem with water where we had to live. Pear dreams quickly turned into pear disaster.

Now, twelve years later from the second debacle, I am going to attempt another hope for having my very own pear tree. Maybe I will even have three…Bartlett, Orient, and Keiffer.  Locally, there are no fruit trees to be found, so I will be purchasing online. I realize that by purchasing online I will be settling for smaller trees, but it appears that an online purchase is the only way I will get one (or three) planted this fall. The Arbor Foundation has a great selection of trees of all varieties and has free gifts with your purchase or if you become a member, you can get 10 more free trees. The other exciting find at The Arbor Foundation is that shipping is only $4.95 for any amount of trees that you purchase.

This morning, I drew a rough schematic of our front and side yards so that DH could help me determine how many trees I could plant. If you are going to dig….say, three holes…why not go ahead and dig 7 or 8 more. If I purchase some of the dwarf varieties I can get more diversity in our fruit diet. My neighbor planted (what she thought) was an ornamental dwarf plum in her parkway and it presents her with the most beautiful dark, sweet bountiful harvest you could ever imagine every year. I hope that my eyes are not bigger than my husband’s digging prowess, but I plan to order:

• Keiffer, Orient, and Bartlett Pears
• Burbank, Damson, and Methley Plums
• Bing and Black Tartarian Cherries
• Early Golden and Moorpark Apricot (My second fav fruit)
• Golden Jubilee Peach (cold hardiness..might add another later)

So that is 11, did I count correctly? Yep, 11 trees! I am probably being considerably too ambitious here. DH jokingly says we can start digging holes now (which may secretly mean…YEAH! less to mow…lol).

Anyone have any suggestions, critiques or similiar wish lists?

♥

♥

I was just reading my friend Anita’s great post, Off Grid, Part-Time at Prairie Dreams  about a family who is going off the grid and eating locally  for a one month trial.

 When I began thinking about eating locally or growing my own food, I found inspiration at Path to Freedom with their 100 Foot Diet Challenge. My garden is small and actually looking like it may never produce ANYTHING, so I feel a bit defeated at the moment.

Here are the specs for the Urban Homesteader/Path to Freedom 100 Foot Diet Challenge….

If not from BACKYARD, then Locally produced (PTF’s addition)
If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic.If not ORGANIC, then Family farm.If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business.If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Fair Trade.

In the past, Anita and I have shared our concerns over not being able to find much locally grown produce available for purchase.  We hope that soon the Farmer’s Market will be able to assist with this dilemma, but I began thinking about an alternative for future seasons after I left a comment on her post. What if Anita and I cooperated with each other…with a backyard C.S.A.? We live within 20 miles of each other, so that would certainly meet the 100 Mile Diet requirements. What if we found just two more backyard farmers who were interested in the same?

I don’t quite have the logistics of how this might work, but it is definitely something to think about for when Anita is moved into her house and has her garden growing. Do you think I should have asked Anita first, before putting her garden up for barter?