Go Green & Start a Backyard Vegetable Garden

A carbon footprint is the impact each of us has on the environment. Reducing our carbon footprint at home involves using less electricity, changing standard bulbs to fluorescent bulbs, perhaps buying an electric or hybrid car, and starting a vegetable garden. And in the long term, a backyard vegetable garden will make the biggest impact-at least until room temperature superconductors arrive on scene and revolutionize the world overnight.

I'm A Dreamer

I envision a world where, someday, everyone will eat all natural, all flavorful, locally grown, nutritious food. Heavily processed food-like substances will disappear. Breads will be fresh baked, available in every neighborhood, as will fresh vegetables and fruits. Dairy and meats will be produced locally too, right out in the countryside, and available in a market square, old-world style. It's a dream, I know. Demand for organic and all natural foods would need to increase, the choke-hold the industrial food complex has on average consumers would need to be broken, and before that could happen, lifestyles need to change, the trend toward healthier diets would need to increase, and reliable local food production and distribution networks would need to be in place. But how is that ever going to be possible?

It Starts With A Grass Roots Movement

Anyone with some yard space can start a garden. Even apartment dwellers can raise herbs, peppers, tomatoes, and strawberries. The key is finding a place that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day. But even partially shaded areas in your backyard can be put to use; leafy plants like lettuce and spinach can tolerate some shade, or herbs like mint and sage can grow well without much sun. Consult your local nursery to address your specific needs, and to see which plants do best in your climate.

Whether you're in a desert area or a temperate zone, you can raise vegetables more efficiently with a drip irrigation system rather than a sprinkler, and not worry about spending a fortune on water. In fact, raising a garden requires different techniques from growing grass in any climate, plus, grass is a water-hog while offering very little in return. Starting a compost station will further reduce your carbon footprint, and will provide for your mulch needs. And planting fruit trees-or any trees-will make shade, cut down on water evaporation and soil erosion, and each tree will clean as much as a ton of carbon-based gasses from the air during its lifespan.

Get together with like-minded neighbors and plan your gardens together. Pool your resources, divide your produce needs, and sell what you don't use. Many organic specialty stores, like Whole Foods, have programs in place where they will buy locally grown produce from reliable sources, and as demand for organic and all natural foods rise, the big chain markets will follow with their own local programs. Go to LocalHarvest.org to find more opportunities for buying and selling all natural produce. Food production throughout history has always been in the hands of the people, and that's where it belongs. Unlike in the past, when peasants were exploited, our current market system is one in which at-home food production can thrive. In our current economy with dwindling job markets and a serious energy crisis, staying home can be lucrative, food quality will rise, heavy processing of food-like substances will lower, and flavor will dominate the food industry. Home-farm gardening is an idea whose time has come.

Go Organic And Increase Your Marketability

The USDA tightly controls organic foods with strict guidelines over materials, techniques, and handling of crops. This ensures quality and safety. You must document your work every step of the way and it can take approximately 3 years to receive organic certification, but anyone can do it. Go to the USDA website, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, for more info. Organic programs are good because in addition to guaranteeing quality foods, they help lower production costs, raise income, and promote sustainable agriculture, thus reducing the economy's reliance on nonrenewable resources.

Solutions Are Here, Now

While technology charges ahead trying to solve global issues of sustainable energy and averting ecological disaster, we can each do our part by raising some vegetables in the garden. So let's start a grass roots movement. Copy and paste the byline for this article and email anyone you know who is out of work, has an interest in vegetable gardening, or both. Also click on the byline to see my related article on getting your backyard fruits and vegetables certified organic. My dream of farm fresh produce markets in every neighborhood may be a long way off, but we can certainly start the trend today for a greener world, fresher, all natural and organic fruit and vegetables at home, and creating extra income from our own backyards.