Why grow a lawn? Eat it instead.

[Buck]

The days of the lawn are numbered as more
folk's start a up the old "Victory Garden"
once again.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/80531/

[Av8rTx]

I grow a garden. And I consume what I grow. My garden is a-political, it is a refuge, not a statement.
I do have a small front lawn and large garden in back. The front yard slopes allot and is too easily accessible to passers by to put much out there other than landscape plants.

[chrisser]

I tried reading the whole article. I really did, but if I wanted to be preached to, I'd go to the nearest church.

Its obvious, though, that the author lives in a different world than my wife and I.

One where squirrels in the city don't eat everything that isn't protected. Yes, lets grow more food for them.

One in which nobody has a back yard, plenty of which already have gardens.

One in which roving vandals don't damage plenty without giving them a more interesting target and source of projectiles.

One in which grass growing takes a monumental amount of effort.

I think I mow the lawn 15-20 times per year, and I don't have to water or fertlize it, but it does do a nice job of keeping my small raised lawn from washing into the sidewalk when it rains. I probably spend a total of 10 hours a year and $5 in gas on my lawn. I'm sure a garden would take far more time, and probably about as much gas to run a rototiller. And since the spring rains would likely wash my freshly-tilled lawn away before anything I planted had a chance to root, its just not practical to plant anything but grass there.


I like gardening, and the idea of growing an edible garden anywhere the homeowner wishes. I don't get why the author can't argue for a garden on the merits, rather than with near-derision of anyone who doesn't share their utopian vision.