The New Victory Garden

Permaculture is a broad-based and holistic approach that has many applications to all aspects of life. At the heart of permaculture design and practice is a fundamental set of 'core values' or ethics which remain constant whatever a person's situation, whether they are creating systems for town planning or trade; whether the land they care for is only a windowbox or an entire forest. These 'ethics' are often summarised as;

Earthcare - recognising that Earth is the source of all life (and is possibly itself a living entity - see Gaia theory), that Earth is our valuable home, and that we are a part of Earth, not apart from it.

Peoplecare - supporting and helping each other to change to ways of living that do not harm ourselves or the planet, and to develop healthy societies.

Fairshare (or placing limits on consumption) - ensuring that Earth's limited resources are used in ways that are equitable and wise.

Modern thought about permaculture began with the issue of sustainable food production. It started with the belief that for people to feed themselves sustainably, they need to move away from reliance on industrialised agriculture. Where industrial farms use technology powered by fossil fuels (such as gasoline, diesel and natural gas), and each farm specialises in producing high yields of a single crop, permaculture stresses the value of low inputs and diverse crops. The model for this was an abundance of small-scale market and home gardens for food production, and a main issue was food miles.

[via wikipedia.org]

"The purpose of an intensively grown garden is to harvest the most produce possible from a given space. More traditional gardens consist of long, single rows of vegetables spaced widely apart. Much of the garden area is taken by the space between the rows. An intensive garden reduces wasted space to a minimum. The practice of intensive gardening is not just for those with limited garden space; rather, an intensive garden concentrates work efforts to create an ideal plant environment, giving better yields with less labor."

[full article found at ag.arizona.edu]

The rest of the article details:

• The raised bed


• Vertical gardening


• Interplanting


• Succession and relay planting


• Spacing


• Intensive spacing guide


• Planning an intensive garden

Intensive spacing guide

Plant

Inches

Plant

Inches

Asparagus

15 - 18

Lettuce, head

10 - 12

Beans, lima

4 - 6

Lettuce, leaf

4 - 6

Beans, pole

6 - 12

Melons

18 - 24

Beans, bush

4 - 6

Mustard

6 - 9

Beets

2 - 4

Okra

12 - 18

Broccoli

12 - 18

Onion

2 - 4

Brussels sprouts

15 - 18

Peas

2 - 4

Cabbage

15 - 18

Peppers

12 - 15

Cabbage, Chinese

10 - 12

Potatoes

10 - 12

Carrots

2 - 3

Pumpkins

24 - 36

Cauliflower

15 - 18

Radishes

2 - 3

Cucumber

12 - 18

Rutabaga

4 - 6

Chard, Swiss

6 - 9

Southern pea

3 - 4

Collards

12 - 15

Spinach

4 - 6

Endive

15 - 18

Squash, summer

18 - 24

Eggplant

18 - 24

Squash, winter

24 - 36

Kale

15 - 18

Sweet corn

15 - 18

Kohlrabi

6 - 9

Tomatoes

18 - 24

Leeks

3 - 6

Turnip

4 - 6

[chart via ag.arizona.edu]

One of my most referred to resources

All New Square Foot Gardening

Yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 24 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream. That's a lot of waste to send to landfills when it could become useful and environmentally beneficial compost instead!

Composting offers the obvious benefits of resource efficiency and creating a useful product from organic waste that would otherwise have been landfilled. On the EPA's web site, you will learn about the following:

• Basic Information - provides a general description of what compost is and which materials should and should not be composted.


• Where You Live - contains information about regional and state composting programs.


• Organic Materials - provides more detailed information about the specific materials good for composting.


• Frequent Questions - presents frequent questions about how and why you should compost.


• Laws/Statutes - discusses regulations for organics materials and composting facilities.


• Environmental Benefits - explains how composting benefits the environment.


• Science/Technology - discusses how the composting process works and the different methods of composting, such as creating your own composting pile.


• Publications - contains a list of composting and related publications.

EPA's Composting Site

"Natural pest control is less expensive than buying and applying pesticides, and it's safer for your garden, your family, the natural wildlife and the environment.
Each year North American homes use approximately 136 million pounds of pesticides on lawns and gardens, and in the home. In fact, homeowners use about three times the amount of pesticides as farmers. Most wildlife pest poisonings, and most surface water contamination from pesticides, come from single-family homes.

For safety information about common pesticides, see the Audubon Pesticide Chart."

[full article found at eartheasy.com]

The rest of the article details:

• Prevention


• Beneficial Insects


• Non-toxic and Homemade Remedies


• Traps and Barriers

Sustainable Table
Sustainable Table celebrates local sustainable food, educates consumers on food-related issues and works to build community through food.


Revive the Victory Garden
Today our food travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to table. The process of planting, fertilizing, processing, packaging, and transporting our food uses a great deal of energy and contributes to the cause of global warming. Planting a Victory Garden to fight global warming would reduce the amount of pollution your food contibutes to global warming. Instead of traveling many miles from farm to table, your food would travel from your own garden to your table.


Local Harvest
People worldwide are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. It is fresher than anything in the supermarket and that means it is tastier and more nutritious. It is also good for your local economy--buying directly from family farmers helps them stay in business.


Slow Food
Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people's dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.


GreenScapes
EPA's GreenScapes program provides cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for landscaping. Designed to help preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution, GreenScapes encourages companies, government agencies, other entities, and homeowners to make more holistic decisions regarding waste generation and disposal and the associated impacts on land, water, air, and energy use.


Food Not Lawns
Food Not Lawns is turning Yards into Gardens and Neighborhoods into Communities around the World! We envison a thriving human ecology, and embrace theories and techniques derived from permaculture, kinship gardening, ecological design, and biodynamics. We offer educational, organizational, and hands-on services, such as garden design, events organizing, writing, research, and interactive community workshops. We specialize in lawn-tossing and community seed swaps!

About

VGoT is an art project posing as a propaganda campaign for new, American homefront values. The message style draws from American mid-century homefront propaganda, and the messages essentially draws from 21st century needs as found in the current environmental sustainability movement.

The resulting artwork is a series of propaganda-style poster images, that are either hand screenprinted, painted, or offset printed.

I'm Joe Wirtheim and I've been making these images since 2005. I now live and work in Portland, Oregon.

Back Story

I wanted to create a design problem for myself. A self-initiated design project that would let me experiment with design, form, and content. The project idea had to be something I had interest in, felt passionately about, and had timely interest to the audience. Basically, I wanted to make art, but I wanted it to have meaning and be something that could be talked about.

Hence, the "Victory Garden of Tomorrow: New American Propaganda." It began suddenly as doodles, sketches, and writing in my notebooks. I was reading lots, and rode my bicycle everywhere - which led to strong feelings about urban design and culture. I wondered about my city and how it became this way, and where we were going with it. For example, the way the streets were arranged to inhibit anything but cars and trucks, how so much land was vacant, trashed, wasted it seemed. How people seemed depressed, unhealthy, without energy.

This was just in 2004 in Columbus, Ohio, when political debates were going strong. I think this is when I decided I wanted the art to influence or propagate these ideas of a simple living. I started reading some history and looking up period poster art, and fell in love with the idea of the "victory garden". The history of it is so simple and charming - I especially liked the active voice in the poster art, like: "Help Harvest" or "Can all you Can" about canning vegetables for winter. These were all very classic folk activities, doing things like growing vegetables, canning them. There were others like collecting salvaged steel, aluminum, and rubber which I felt was perfect - its like not only going back to classic folk values, but then cleaning up the industrial mess that we appear to buried in.

I enjoyed the charm of the active-voice propaganda, like a mother telling you to eat your vegetables - who can argue with that? Planting a garden, riding a bike, and just getting up and doing something. I found out that kind of art is called "agit-prop" or agitational propaganda, because it persuades the audience to get up and do something, not just change their minds.

For me, its been a great amount of fun, and I've learned so much about art, design, and process - and I've got a lot more to learn yet. There are plenty more ideas, and thanks to the support of many friends and fans of the work I can keep it going. Thanks!

-Joe Wirtheim

Be sure to visit the site at: victorygardenoftomorrow.com

Washington State University Master Gardeners for the Yakima Herald-Republic

There is much hunger in the world. It can be frustrating to hear about hunger in far-off places because we feel powerless to feed the children we see on the television screen. Sometimes we send money to charitable organizations but we seldom feel the satisfaction of hands-on service.

During the Second World War, families across the country were encouraged to grow a Victory Garden during a time when goods were in short supply. Some folks still remember those days and, if you ask them, they will tell you about the memories they have of that patriotic effort. It was the first gardening experience for many young people. It felt satisfying and purposeful. It was a way to be proactive in taking care of themselves, friends and family in need.

Fast forward to today. Times are again hard. All around us there are people who are suffering because of the receding economy. With unemployment numbers rising, it's safe to say that the need for help in our communities will be greater than ever this year. Is it time to panic? No, it's time to go to work.

What would happen if every gardener in this country dedicated a portion of his or her vegetable garden as a "Giving Garden"? What if every gardener in the country made it his or her business to keep the local food bank, homeless shelter or out-of-work neighbor supplied with fresh vegetables and fruit?

As you plan and plant your garden this year, consider a Giving Garden. It won't cost but for the seeds, fertilizer and lots of good satisfying work. It's a way of getting right to the heart of the need without any middleman taking his cut (except for your little 4-year-old grandson who gobbles up strawberries on the way to the basket).

Here are a few tips for success as you get started:

• Involve the whole family. Give everyone his or her own spot or vegetable to tend. Doing service helps children to get outside of themselves and notice others' needs.


• Pick and deliver on the same day - call the food bank or shelter to find out what day it distributes food. If possible, pick produce early that morning so it is fresh and wholesome and will keep for several days after it's distributed.


• Pick produce at the peak of quality - pick zucchini when it is 8 inches or less, cucumbers when they are young and crisp, peas and corn while they are still sweet and tender, and green beans while they are crisp and before the seeds develop.


• Keep track of how many pounds of produce you pick and donate. Go for a family record; that shouldn't be hard the first year! Then you can work on breaking the record next year.


• Keep track of how many plants you planted of what. This will help you with your planning next year.


• Plant things that are universal favorites. Go light on the lima beans and heavy on the lettuce, tomatoes, green beans and corn.


• Use succession planting techniques to ensure a good supply over time.


• Grow some jack-o' lantern pumpkins, decorative gourds and lots of extra flowers. A simple bouquet of flowers and a pumpkin to carve for Halloween are sweet, embracing luxuries that can brighten up life.

If you decide to start a Giving Garden, would you keep in touch with the Master Gardeners and let us know about your experiences? Write to: Master Gardeners, Giving Garden, 104 N. First St., Suite 204, Yakima, WA. 98901, or gardener@co.yakima.wa.us.

[via yakima-herald.com]