The urban garden guide. 242 pages, 24.2 MB .pdf
Preface
Gardens, like many other good ideas elsewhere, have the gift to grow in the most unexpected places. My first experience as an urban gardener was in Brussels, Belgium, on a flat roof without safety barriers. Although my main goal was to grow tomatoes in pots, my secondary goal was not to finish in gazpacho on the pavement five stories below. Now 15 years later, I'm still learning about gardening, but this time, safely, feet on dry land in a vegetable garden 2000 square feet in suburban Portland, Maine.
This vegetable garden on the roof of my building in Brussels did not provide much to put us in the tooth, but it sparked my appetite for a different lifestyle for my family and myself, where good food and gardening were essential. I began to sow the seeds of my new life by reading Living the Good Life, Helen and Scott Nearing, a book that discusses the art of living off the land in a farm on the Maine coast.
This book allowed me to reconnect with my roots, literally and figuratively. But more than that, it helped me to broaden my vision of what can be grown right inside the boundaries
generous of its land and its climate. And like any good book, it also led me to discover other authors, including Eliot Coleman, an organic farmer from Maine who at the time was trying to extend the cultivable season through innovative techniques. Inspired by these
experiences, I moved to Maine, where I started growing vegetables and managed to get a production throughout the year.
Now, a little over ten years later, the gardens of the arguments in favor are stronger than ever because of growing concerns about health, climate change, food and economic security. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, we have to increase global food production to 70 40% in the coming years ain monitor the growth of the population. It becomes clear that to meet this déi, we will redefine where gardens can be planted and by whom.
Urban gardens have the potential to play an important role in the production of urban power, but only if they are given the chance. Last year I had the great pleasure to contact Josée and Michel, and to join their campaign to save their garden in front of their home. From the moment I saw their garden magniique on Facebook, I knew that this garden was important, but I had no idea how he would become. My first reaction was to click "Like" under the picture on Facebook. A fortnight later, I learned that their garden was in danger; click on "like" was not to save the Sufis.
During the following weeks, which were exciting, we called together thousands of gardeners around the world asking for their support, and their response has been extraordinary. Although some municipal officials of Drummondville were against the garden of Josée and Michel, the world was in his favor. It was heartening to see that could accomplish a group of people united for the same cause.
The fight for the vegetable garden and Josée Michel is over, but the struggle for urban gardens is just beginning. A key to the gardens are part of the solution is education.
We must teach our elected officials why gardens are essential for viable and sustainable communities. In addition, we must also learn and inspire more people to cultivate their garden. This book achieves both objectives.
Whether you have a green thumb or not, I am sure that the authors teach you many things. The key ideas behind this book are the hope and the sense of community. Our ability to act together will enable us to face the major global DEIS.
In fact, the "good life" is easier and closer than we think it is as easy as planting a seed and as close as our garden. This year, let us commit ourselves to live this experience and share it with others.