San Francisco is a prosperous town, with the HQ's of several major corporations there, and a vibrant community type feel to it, this story comes as a surprise:
" The goodies in the pint jars and the carboys come from the Joseph Daniel Wilson Memorial Garden, which the Worleys founded across the street. The fresh produce is a huge final delivery from a Community Supported Agriculture farm in Orange County, which they used all summer. Packed in sand and stored at 55 degrees, the potatoes should keep at least until the New Year. The squash could still be palatable on Groundhog Day, and the onions should survive till spring. Cynthia Worley, who counsels and teaches adults for the New York City Department of Education, and Haja Worley, a neighborhood organizer and radio engineer, will let their basement-deprived friends store vegetables, too"
Middle America apparently does not like the smell of what is coming down the river and at least some folks are taking steps to prepare, though it should be noted, a Community Garden is at best a supplement, scores of people trying to make do off of a couple of acres food plot is not tennable.
What surprises me is the attitude to what once was thought simple prudence on the part of "Joe and Jane Average" in America:
Root cellars have long been the province of Midwestern grandmothers, back-to-the-landers and committed survivalists. But given the nation's budding romance with locally produced food, they also appeal to the backyard gardener, who may have a fruit tree that drops a bigger bounty every year while the refrigerator remains the same size
So the article sort of casts stones at self sufficiency, yet goes on to offer advice:
People who squirrel away vegetables tend to be resourceful, and they do not limit themselves to the subterranean. Anna Barnes, who runs a small media company and coordinates the Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture in Champaign, Ill., says squash hung in a pair of knotted pantyhose stay unspoiled longer than others.
This is a typical American reaction in my view, disparage, "only nutcases or grannies do that" to offering advice on how to do what they just disparaged.
The real problem is, if one is laid off or out of work, and has a family, grown food will not be enough, 365 days x 3 meals a day, and you will run out of pantyhoused squash before you run out of dinner to prepare.
4 comments:
Plus all those panty hose could set you back more than a few potatos.-annr
Exactly, they are noobs at this sort of thing clearly.
I think it is telling how the denigrate, then praise, as if the Newspaper's opinion is all that matters to their reader children.
"Eww....you are growing your own food like some midwestern Grand Mother..tsk tsk tsk..but if you are determined here is what you can do.."
We used old pickle jars with the pickling agent still inside, simply chop your veggies, drop them in the brine, and add some white vinegar..
There's actually another reason other than fear of an economic melt-down that has liberals trying to grow their own food -- the liberal interest in all things "green" so as to save Ma Earth from the ravages of global warming. "Eat locally produced food" is a growing commandment within the earth-fearing crowd.
It's actually good advice if what you want to do is cut down on fossil fuel usage. After all, food grown in California and consumed in California uses way less oil to ship than food grown in, say, Florida and then eaten in California. -- Bulgron
Yeah Bulgron, we have more then a few "eat locally grown food" or "support your local farmer" bumper stickers rolling around WNC.
Ehh...for me it makes sense just from a quality of produce point of view, as well as imparting a measure of self sufficiency.
The funny thing is, many of the chemicals and techiniques used are simply to produce uniformly "pretty" veggies..
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