A Royal Vegetable Garden and more

Some of you may have seen this already, but it’s worth repeating.  The British Royal family has started a vegetable garden at Buckingham Palace. This is great news! The idea seems to be similar to what we are seeing here- to promote family gardening and growing one’s own food, if even on a limited scale.  It is interesting to note that a lot more of the British have continued the concept of the Victory Garden than Americans.  A friend who had just returned from a visit remarked on the train ride from the airport,  he could see into the backyards and a vast majority of them had gardens from fence to fence, with a lot of growing in evidence.

Another item of interest is from the Washington Post.  The headline states the increased seed demand is based on the recession, yet the article also states that a lot of the growth is from people who are concerned about the safety of their food and where their food comes from.  Here is the full article. This follows what we have seen here, most people aren’t as concerned about the economic impact; they’re concerned about the safety of their food and how fragile the distribution chain is. They remember the $5/gallon diesel last summer, and the resulting $2 tomatoes that still tasted like cardboard. People are starting to realize that the supermarket model is not sustainable, as the food travels an average of 1200-1500 miles to get to them. The increasing popularity of the farmers markets and home-grown veggies is the result of this unease and resulting realization.

Hope your garden is going gangbusters, and you’re wondering what to do with all of your veggies!