What is your take on growing food, not lawns?

1. 65

   ThompsonPenposted 11 years ago

   There are some places which prohibit growing a vegetable patch instead of growing a front lawn. What do you think about this?

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      wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      $$$$ and more $$$$.
      
      What will a corn patch on the front lawn next to your home do to it's value?

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         Sarra Garrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Greed.  Did you know that in some places a child can't have a lemonade stand; it's because they need a peddlars permit.

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            wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, although that is a different issue.  Still about as silly as it can get, though.

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2. 71

   seanorjohnposted 11 years ago

   I grew french beans and potatoes in my front garden for the first time this year. Apparently, in a North England Town the citizens plant veg in public places and anyone can help themselves to free food. Brillliant idea.

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      ThompsonPenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Very! In the book the Fifth Sacred Thing, they take over San Francisco and dig up the roads and redirect rivers to flow down them, and plant fruit bearing trees and veg all along the streets so that every one can do just that. It's a great utopic/disutopic book

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   PrettyPantherposted 11 years ago

   I think we should question a value system that favors using land for over-fertilized, chemically weed-free grass over growing healthy food.

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      ThompsonPenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I fully concur

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   Gearhead-Daveposted 11 years ago

   What could go wrong and how ugly can it get?

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   eternals3ptemberposted 11 years ago

   My grandmother's neighbor grew raspberries, and honestly, it was the prettiest yard on the block.

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      Gearhead-Daveposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      there you go ,I would definitely grow raspberries and strawberries even capsicums.

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6. 74

   WriteAngledposted 11 years ago

   The aspect I object to is the concept that someone else would have control over what I do on my property! As long as it does not constitute a major nuisance or hazard to others, I am free to do whatever I want in my house and garden. I would not dream of buying a property that had such strings attached.
   
   I suppose it's different if you are talking about rented property, where the landlord is the one who decides what is permitted.
   
   That is why my first priority was always to get to a position where I own my house and NOBODY can tell me what I can or cannot do in it.
   
   As for public spaces, I think communal beds with fruit and vegetables are a great idea. In Cuba, residents of high-rise block in Havana cultivate the land around their buildings and share out the harvests among themselves.

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7. 88

   mistyhorizon2003posted 11 years ago

   I obviously can't post a link to my own hub here, but there are a couple of villages in the UK that have started growing vegetables in all sorts of public places, e.g. flower beds, graveyards, containers by bus stops etc. The vegetable plants are grown and donated by locals, and the fully grown veg are free to anyone to pick and take home.  I hubbed on the villages because I found the concept fascinating, and felt that not only did it bring the community closer together, but it was a fabulous way to provide free food for all. (Todmorden and Huddersfield are the two villages).

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   2uesdayposted 11 years ago

   I grow my own fruit and vegetables on a plot of land that I rent. In the UK we call these areas for growing fruit and vegetables allotments. I had written hubs about it but unpublished them and moved them elsewhere. If I were going to grow vegetables in my front garden I would probably have a potager-style garden as they can look neat and attractive. You can even combine the fruit and vegetables with growing herbs and flowering plants.
   
   An unkempt vegetable patch in a front garden may not be an ideal situation, so a certain amount of skillful planning and upkeep is needed.

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   Healthy Pursuitsposted 11 years ago

   I am currently in the process of banning all grass on my property. I have the front almost completely cleared of grass. I plan to plant spinach, cabbage, onions, green peppers, etc., mixed with various edible flowers next year. In my town, people don't seem to mind.

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10. 67

    safiq ali patelposted 11 years ago

    If we all grew food in our gardens perhaps world food prices would come down from the extra supply of food that comes from out gardens. Good forum question.

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