Food Not Lawns #2 - Research

I have been doing a lot of planning and thinking since I originally posted my "Food Not Lawns" idea. I have read numerous books and have done a lot of sketching. Right now I am still at the planning stages. I know that I want to create a beautiful landscape, yet have it functional (edible).

Part of the decision to do this comes from my desire to know where my food comes from. I know that I have not sprayed the food with various chemicals. I want my food to be close and not travel 1500 miles to get to me. I can't get much closer than walking out my front door. I also want to know that my food is not contributing to climate change. How? Well, food that is grown and sprayed with chemicals adds to the problem -- as the creation of the chemicals is bad for the environment. Then the truck, plows, and tractors which plant, harvest, and transport our food emit CO2. If the food is processed, that emits Co2. I believe I read somewhere that our foods use 10 calories of energy to create 1 calorie of energy. It seems out of proportion. I'd rather walk out my door.

So, in the research of this I have read Gaia's Garden (thanks for the recommendations). Wow. It opened my eyes. There is so much that I thought impossible, that now is possible.

In this book I learned about water catchment systems, using grey water, and forest gardens. Forest Gardens? Yes. It turns out that I can use the shady area in the back. The shady area is dominated with a canopy of tall trees. I can plant fruit trees under those trees. I can plant fruit bushes under those and herbs and shade vegetables with the bushes. It is very exciting to me!

I drew a map of our property (not to scale). I also found some pictures from our sidewalk designing phases. I have included notes regarding the light and shade during periosd of the day.

So, thus we start. I am now going to use the sketch and the photos to plan the garden.

Next will be a decision of what the beds will look like, how paths will weave through, and what plants I will start with. I have also been reading about plants which are beneficial to one another.

I have seed catalogs and have been taking notes on the light/shade issues, companion plants, and germination periods. I need to think about when to plant various plants and when to start some of these indoors.

There is still a lot of research and planning to do, but I feel that I am off to a good start.

I look forward to sharing more of this journey soon!


The yellow mercedes in the driveway is our veggie car!