2 weeks Ago
Over the past few years, we have heard and read about inflation in food prices. I know this is a very serious concern for everyone, especially for families with several children. Throughout this entire discussion, I have heard no politician of either party endorse backyard vegetable gardens as a solution.
In the late 1990s, there was a financial crisis in Southeast Asia. At that time, the president of Malaysia told the people that all citizens should plant a vegetable garden. Over the last 45 years, traveling around central Illinois, I have known many residents with gardens.
One couple in Urbana had a garden that filled most of the backyard. Another couple in Paxton plowed the yard each year and raised a variety of tomatoes, green beans, squash and green vegetables. These people dried beans from the garden and stored them in jars around the kitchen.
These were the beans used in soup during the winter. I remember several clients in the Roberts and Thawville area with substantial gardens. One man raised cabbage, which he used to make sauerkraut and stored it in crocks in the basement.
Just down the road, his cousin had a trellis by the garage. On the trellis he grew Sicilian zucchini and on the ground raised tomatoes. This man used the tomatoes to create tomato paste, which he stored in jars in the basement for use when he served spaghetti.
We have crossed the country by train many times and many miles. Along the way, I have watched the houses and vegetable gardens go by. The mountain states of the East, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, have many homes with gardens.
When the train from Champaign approaches Chicago Union Station, it turns south into Chinatown before starting its backup maneuver. From the window, I see many townhouses and apartments with trellises holding a variety of vegetables. Even the land under the nearby L is used by residents to raise squash and pumpkins.
Even a deck or apartment porch can hold pots that will produce cherry tomatoes and herbs. I know that squirrels and rabbits can be a problem, so chicken wire might be necessary. However, if everyone planted gardens and fruit trees, I am sure it would relieve the strain on many budgets.
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