Comments on: Suburban Agriculture http://jcarrot.org/suburban-agriculture Jews, Food, and Contemporary Issues Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:36:01 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Liz McLellan http://jcarrot.org/suburban-agriculture/comment-page-1#comment-15179 Liz McLellan Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:40:26 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/suburban-agriculture/#comment-15179 What is a ‘hyperlocavore’? A hyperlocavore is a person who tries to eat as much food as locally as possible. Growing your own is as local as it gets! What is ‘yard sharing’? Yard sharing is an arrangement between people to share skills and gardening resources; space, time, strength, tools or skills, in order to grow food as locally as possible, to make neighborhoods resilient, kids healthy and food much cheaper! Why would I want to set up a yard sharing group? Yard sharing is a way to connect people who love to garden, people who love healthy fresh food and people who have yards! Often people who have yards have little time time for a vegetable garden. And sometimes gardeners have trouble finding soil to garden in because they rent an aparment! Sometimes older people lack stamina and are socially isolated, finding younger people to partner in growing food together works wonderfully for all. There are all kinds of reasons it makes sense. Yard sharing works for: * apartment dwellers * busy parents * older people * frugalistas * foodies * treehuggers * cheap bastards * farmers lacking land * land holders lacking farmers * people sick of leaf blowers * curious kids * folks with a disability * people who want to get outside more * people that want to eat better * people that want to eat cheaper * people who want to make their community resilient * people who like their food super fresh * people worried about peak oil * and maybe you! (if you’re not on the list - send me a note!) Yard sharing cuts down on greenhouse gases by limiting the travel time of fruit and vegetables to your table. Yard sharing is a great way to connect with your family, friends and neighbors! Yard sharing helps you eat more veggies! Yard sharing can be a workable solution for people with physical limitations who want to eat better and more cheaply. Yard sharing is an excellent way to teach children about food and biology! Yard sharing is a great way to get cheaper produce to older people on a fixed income! Yard sharing helps you get enough vitamin D from sunshine! Yard sharing is a way to avoid pesticides and other chemicals on your food! Yard sharing is a fun activity to share! Yard sharing helps to create independent local food systems that are less sensitive to the price of oil. And nothing tastes as good as food you grew yourself! Who can yard share? Anyone! If you don’t see a group for your area just create one! Then send invites to people in your neighborhood, your friends and their friends and maybe you will find someone willing to start with you! I hope you enjoy Passover with your loved ones this year, and that your dear can be near! What is a ‘hyperlocavore’?

A hyperlocavore is a person who tries to eat as much food as locally as possible. Growing your own is as local as it gets!

What is ‘yard sharing’?

Yard sharing is an arrangement between people to share skills and gardening resources; space, time, strength, tools or skills, in order to grow food as locally as possible, to make neighborhoods resilient, kids healthy and food much cheaper!

Why would I want to set up a yard sharing group?

Yard sharing is a way to connect people who love to garden, people who love healthy fresh food and people who have yards! Often people who have yards have little time time for a vegetable garden. And sometimes gardeners have trouble finding soil to garden in because they rent an aparment! Sometimes older people lack stamina and are socially isolated, finding younger people to partner in growing food together works wonderfully for all. There are all kinds of reasons it makes sense.

Yard sharing works for:

* apartment dwellers
* busy parents
* older people
* frugalistas
* foodies
* treehuggers
* cheap bastards
* farmers lacking land
* land holders lacking farmers
* people sick of leaf blowers
* curious kids
* folks with a disability
* people who want to get outside more
* people that want to eat better
* people that want to eat cheaper
* people who want to make their community resilient
* people who like their food super fresh
* people worried about peak oil
* and maybe you! (if you’re not on the list – send me a note!)

Yard sharing cuts down on greenhouse gases by limiting the travel time of fruit and vegetables to your table.
Yard sharing is a great way to connect with your family, friends and neighbors!
Yard sharing helps you eat more veggies!
Yard sharing can be a workable solution for people with physical limitations who want to eat better and more cheaply.
Yard sharing is an excellent way to teach children about food and biology!
Yard sharing is a great way to get cheaper produce to older people on a fixed income!
Yard sharing helps you get enough vitamin D from sunshine!
Yard sharing is a way to avoid pesticides and other chemicals on your food!
Yard sharing is a fun activity to share!
Yard sharing helps to create independent local food systems that are less sensitive to the price of oil.

And nothing tastes as good as food you grew yourself!

Who can yard share?

Anyone! If you don’t see a group for your area just create one! Then send invites to people in your neighborhood, your friends and
their friends and maybe you will find someone willing to start with you!

I hope you enjoy Passover with your loved ones this year, and that your dear can be near!

]]> By: Roxanne Christensen http://jcarrot.org/suburban-agriculture/comment-page-1#comment-10894 Roxanne Christensen Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:13:52 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/suburban-agriculture/#comment-10894 Whether or not "suburban" gives agriculture a bad name, "agriculture" can help to redeem suburbia's negative image. And more and more suburban farmers are cropping up due to a new sub-acre farming method called SPIN-Farming. SPIN is a franchise-ready vegetable farming system that makes it possible to earn $50,000+ from a half-acre. SPIN's growing techniques are not, in themselves, breakthrough. What is novel is the way a SPIN farm business is run. SPIN provides everything you'd expect from a good franchise: a business plan, marketing advice, and a detailed day-to-day workflow. In standardizing the system and creating a reproducible process it really isn't any different from McDonalds. By offering a non-technical, easy-to-understand and inexpensive-to-implement farming system, it allows many more people to farm commercially, wherever they live, as long as there are nearby markets to support them. By using backyards and front lawns and neighborhood lots as their land base, SPIN farmers are recasting farming as a small business in a city or suburb and helping to accelerate the shift back to a more locally-based food system. SPIN is now starting to be practiced throughout the U.S.,Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands, and you can see some of these entrepreneurial farmers in action at www.spinfarming.com Whether or not “suburban” gives agriculture a bad name, “agriculture” can help to redeem suburbia’s negative image. And more and more suburban farmers are cropping up due to a new sub-acre farming method called SPIN-Farming. SPIN is a franchise-ready vegetable farming system that makes it possible to earn $50,000+ from a half-acre. SPIN’s growing techniques are not, in themselves, breakthrough. What is novel is the way a SPIN farm business is run. SPIN provides everything you’d expect from a good franchise: a business plan, marketing advice, and a detailed day-to-day workflow. In standardizing the system and creating a reproducible process it really isn’t any different from McDonalds. By offering a non-technical, easy-to-understand and inexpensive-to-implement farming system, it allows many more people to farm commercially, wherever they live, as long as there are nearby markets to support them. By using backyards and front lawns and neighborhood lots as their land base, SPIN farmers are recasting farming as a small business in a city or suburb and helping to accelerate the shift back to a more locally-based food system. SPIN is now starting to be practiced throughout the U.S.,Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands, and you can see some of these entrepreneurial farmers in action at http://www.spinfarming.com

]]> By: Bobbi http://jcarrot.org/suburban-agriculture/comment-page-1#comment-10880 Bobbi Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:40:03 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/suburban-agriculture/#comment-10880 Tikkun olam, exactly. And a political statement with every tomato plant and squash blossom. We ripped up the side yard. The backyard will go next spring. The front yard grass is going brown...dare I herb up the front? Tikkun olam, exactly. And a political statement with every tomato plant and squash blossom. We ripped up the side yard. The backyard will go next spring. The front yard grass is going brown…dare I herb up the front?

]]> By: Isaac Hametz http://jcarrot.org/suburban-agriculture/comment-page-1#comment-10867 Isaac Hametz Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:12:47 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/suburban-agriculture/#comment-10867 Hey Pablo, I would also be a little peeved if someone called my farm operation "suburban agriculture". What ever happened to calling it "micro-farming"? Either way, all the power to you brother. Its great to hear people ripping up the grass and putting in the veggies! Hey Pablo,

I would also be a little peeved if someone called my farm operation “suburban agriculture”. What ever happened to calling it “micro-farming”?
Either way, all the power to you brother. Its great to hear people ripping up the grass and putting in the veggies!

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