Last fall I moved to Vancouver and specifically told myself to find a place to rent with space for a garden. I had talked to numerous individuals throughout the summer, and with life taking me down the path of trying to conserve and live responsibly, the concept of growing my own food just made sense.
Gardening reduces the overall energy needed to produce food in comparison to buying food from large shopping centers, often requiring shipping and handling over great distances. Growing one’s own vegetables saves money in the long run and it makes use of all that yard space. By using our own lawns, we require less space from nature that we continue to develop for food related agriculture. Beyond that, it puts your food production in your own hands which I find is becoming increasingly important and personally rewarding. This inherently connects one with their food and the process of making that food. Watching the documentary “Food Inc.” (Watch it here) clearly puts that last point into perspective by discussing the negative implications of not being in touch with our food from start to finish.
Despite all the reasons to have a garden, it is not the garden project’s aim to focus on why or why not to have a garden. I have committed to doing what I can to grow food this season. What follows are the stories and ideas of doing just that. Will it work? How much work is it? Is it easy? Can I actually do it cheaply or are you just telling me that? Can anyone in fact do it? What is there to learn in the process and can we generate a broader community interest in gardening so that our city blocks are those lined with cheap sustainable food in place of grass.
