Posted on 04/12/2009 6:25:24 PM PDT by Steelfish
Vegetable gardens growing in popularity
By Debbie Arrington
At her modest south Sacramento home, Yemanya Napue tore up her backyard lawn to plant an extensive vegetable garden. In the front yard, she squeezed blueberries, herbs and fruit trees into a flower garden to create an edible landscape.
Napue shared that bounty last year with her neighbors – and ended up feeding 43 families. Now, she's planting much larger community gardens, including one on what used to be the lawn of the neighborhood church.
"I've always worked in gardens all my life," said Napue, 52. "This is something I can do, and it's better for you, too. People got to eat."
While Napue's effort is extraordinary, she's not the only backyard – or front yard – farmer. A mix of bad economics and a desire for good food is driving a new boom in home vegetable gardening.
In a mass movement reminiscent of the 1940s victory gardens, families throughout the region are trying to grow their own food to save money and eat better. The trend has neighbor helping neighbor and communities coming together over cabbages and beans.
Suddenly, growing vegetables is all the rage, with first lady Michelle Obama taking over a portion of the White House's South Lawn for summer crops.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
It has nothing to do with her. Sales of seeds and guns WAY up even before she stepped foot in the WH.
True. Between the economy and food poisoning risks, people are thinking of making better use of their soil and have been doing it for several months, at least.
Vegetable Gardens Growing In Popularity [Michelle Obama Effect?]
Ah grow up..
Peoplehave been planting gardens since the beginning of time. And they always surge in popularity during poor economic times...
[Michelle Obama Effect?]
You must be kidding with that title. People are losing their jobs, food prices are going up. The stupid token White House vegetable has nothing to do with this trend. Survival does.
Michelle Obama???
Yep, everybody is afraid we will starve under her husband’s watch.
I would call it “the China effect.” During communism, the only place the people could get food was the little garden which they tended themselves. There was nothing in the stores, at least that they could afford. And they had no incentive to work because they did not get paid what they produced. Their garden was the only thing that really belonged to them.
And so it is the same under the Obamanation.
I doubt it has much to do with her but I think it’s a great idea and I hope more do it. I intend to make mine bigger this year. Space is not a problem. Ambition is.
I doubt it has much to do with her but I think it’s a great idea and I hope more do it. I intend to make mine bigger this year. Space is not a problem. Ambition is.
Seriously, I bet by May that the Obamas abandon the garden until ceremonial harvest and leave its care and watering to the White House groundskeepers.
Moving out of an apartment to a house JUST so I can start growing my own food.
In three years my daughter graduates from HS and then it’s off to 160 acres in central Nevada where I can live off the land and off the grid.
Getting away from THE MAN. Since DumbO, it’s not just for hippies any more.
Given how the first photo op presented a reenactment of ‘Green Acres’ of sorts, these people living in the White House are play actors.
I am guessing the servants are out tending that garden for the ‘Queen’ because gardening requires full time attention, if one really plans on actually harvesting food for consumption. And there is no time to garden if you are always on tour or vacationing away from the garden.
Suddenly, I think that I have witnessed the biggest ass in this country if this writer thinks that growing a vegetable garden is someway remotely related to Ms Obama, who btw only recently began to feel good about her country! The Sacramento Bee is in serious need of objective writers........
was planning mine long before she did...LOL It’s a money thing. I like to eat an can no long afford to without some free food...Hey maybe Obama can fly me in a pizza...
Congratulations. And more of us may find ourselves “off the grid” voluntarily or involuntarily. Best to be prepared while we can. Near Highway 50?
If she doesn't get an experienced gardener to keep an eye on that White House Green Acres patch, everything's going to shrivel and die . . . if it comes up at all.
For FReepers who garden and are smokers, here’s a tip.
Save your butts.
Get a big plastic jug that holds about a gallon of water. Fill it near full, and toss our butts in.
After a day or so, strain it out and save the liquid part.
Nicotine is deadly to insects, that’s why the tobacco plant makes it. This is a quite strong insecticide, and does a pretty good job of repelling moles and gophers as well.
USE EXTREME CAUTION AND COMMON SENSE!!
A teaspoon of the stuff will kill you OR your pets!
Also, since tobacco is somewhat related to the nightshade family of plants, it’s recommended you don’t use this very heavily around potatoes or tomatoes.
I want to emphasize again USE CAUTION!
oh, look.....y’all are planting gardens and are imitating MO.......LOL
The ‘ho’ doesn’t know how to hold a ‘hoe’.
Good. Glad to see the first lady encouraging this hobby.
Now, they won’t give me any crap for my garden.
My...TOBACCO garden...
MUAAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!
Garden Valley? Mt. Aukum? Do tell!
More people have been taking up gardening for a few years now. Last year several common seeds I use were sold out by late May in farmer’s coops, and the old basic seed racks that are seen in many stores had many empty slots, very unusual. The seed shortage was fairly common conversation while Rush coordinated his “Operation Chaos” last Spring, long before anyone had even been nominated for president.
If this undue credit for the Obamas is irritating (and it is), you should be watching Geraldo tonight mentioning Obama’s critical decisions making in the pirate crisis every half a chance he gets. Just stopped watching the pathetic suck-up even though I was interested in the discussion of the rescue of the Captain.
“At her modest south Sacramento home, Yemanya Napue tore up her backyard lawn to plant an extensive vegetable garden. In the front yard, she squeezed blueberries, herbs and fruit trees into a flower garden to create an edible landscape. “
LOL! It takes years for fruit trees and shrubs to bear a crop. At least the herbs should grow.
I don’t live near Highway 50. I live in Central California in farming country, though. Tomato capital of the WORLD, dude! However, during a trip back west across Nevada along 80, a fire near Reno shunted us down to 50 and it was lovely country. We tend to think of Nevada as a big sagebrush patch but there are some beautiful valleys there. Heading back across Nevada in a few days to deliver daughter to college. Her academic track puts her in college April through December.
I call BS on this.
“Vegetable gardens growing in popularity” - is at best a guess based on anecdotes. What horribly low-standard journalism.
Typical MSM drive-by, lets invent news article.
h/t to RedState
Haven’t quite decided yet. Lot’s of nice parcels still available (for cheap). Forgive me for not advertizing them on FR.
Yeah, I think there’s going to be a major red county/rural retrenchment as we figure out how to take our country back.
Financial and intellectual.
Gardening really has been growing rapidly for two or three years. I think all the contaminated food from China caused many to start growing more of their own, plus economic worries were already affecting behavior last year.
But the big jump in gardening definitely took off last Spring, and to some extent in years before 2008. Just a lot of people decided it was a good idea, long before Michelle staged here photo op.
I think most of us have overlooked the biggest reason of all for the increase in gardening: the high cost of fuel during parts of 2007 and 2008 which caused substantial increases in the costs of most all food items. That caused a big surge in gardening during 2008, and some before 2008.
Absolutely nothing to do with MO.
You are right, I had absolutely nothing to do with it...
:)
MOgirl
Hey, I got a generator, several months of food, multifuel cook stove, a husband who can machine anything and fix any car, and a dad who can grow anything anywhere. Tell you what, just private email me the location and we can be a Freeper Nation. (Actually, we’s several years away from retirement but keep some land in mind for us, k?)
Oh, spare me the bull$hit. It has nothing to do with Blackie-O.
Fear of rampant inflation and/or shortages.
Uh, no. She is one of the last ones on board.
“Let them eat kale”
A lot of people simply like to garden. I made and tended a couple of vegetable gardens when I was in high school. My main influences were Gregor Mendel, the pioneer geneticist, and George Washington Carver.
My early garden has been planted for over a month. I have had a garden for years because I like the taste of fresh vegetables and love going out to pick something to prepare that is very fresh.
Zero’s wife’s garden is for publicity only!
No, I’d say the economy is the cause, it was for me even before she decided to plant one..
But if it helps people become self-sufficient -I am all for it; it’s not a political issue!
Given the sheep herd mentality of most people today this is not at all surprising.
If someone were to come out publically and say Michelle Obama owes her muscle tone and smooth skin to drinking a cup of raw sewage from a certain septic tank, you can bet there would be a line of people there the next day with cups at the ready.
“Yep, everybody is afraid we will starve under her husband’s watch.”
I bought manure, mulch, fertilizer just after the election to beat the rush (along with ammo, etc.). I had to wait for the seeds though as they wait until early spring for that stuff. I’m a city boy, but figured it can’t hurt to try it.
PSSSSST, Diana, did you get a gander at this one.
I do believe the headline gets it WRONG. Momma O is copying the rest of us, not the other way around.
“Momma O is copying the rest of us, not the other way around.”
LOL! I love how every shot of her has her ‘gardening’ in black, or spandex or heels.
She WISHES she was as cool as us Country Bumpkins...and she’s mad because we have more fashion sense in our overalls and sh*t-kickin’ work boots. :)
Actually, such a style would actually be rather flattering to her, IMO.
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