Fellow Landless Peasants!

Cities that feed themselves and their neighbors...

Hello Fellow Landless Peasants! So you want a garden too? I don't blame you. I used to garden on my parents' property, but I have never owned land. Hard to keep a Green Thumb with no Brown Dirt of your own.

Lots of apartment dwellers and low-income housing renters are in the same boat. You can't exactly go sticking a shovel in the landlord's lawn. But you still want the advantages of home-grown, fresh fruits and vegetables - they're cheaper, you can control what goes into them and on them, and they are near to hand and fresh off the vine. You can't get that at the local supermarket!

But what can you do? There are lots of places you are not thinking about, just outside, and also inside, your little place.

People put flowers in window boxes, which attach with small metal arms, over any window frame. Instead of flowers, why not strawberry vines? If you are on the first floor, why not use the top of the air conditioner? (I say first floor, because I don't want second floor dwellers openning the window to water the plants and have the air conditioner fall out onto someone's head!)

Along the tops of cabinets or dressers in every room - any place where there is sun exposure - you can put an old pickle jar with potting soil or even just water - and grow tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, eggplant, etc. How about on top of the fridge?

Weirdly, you might also try saving large plastic juice jugs (clear ones are best) - cut them in half to make start-up trays - or cut just the tops off to make potato or onion growing tubs. (These don't even need as much sun exposure as some other plants.) You can try carrots and turnips in these too.

Think about the kinds of vegetable or fruits you would like to have and think you can grow. Only you know what kind of space you have, window exposure, etc. and also what your family likes to eat. Make a plan accordingly. Seeds and even some starter plants are cheap, and if you have gardening friends, they can be FREE!

As a side note - when your plants really take off, and you get all that you need - think about donating the extra stuff to your neighbors, or to the local food pantry or soup kitchen! Don't let anything go to waste.

Let me know how you make out! All stories welcome!

Your Extra Garden Vegetables

Every Summer, at every party, in every office, they come. You know the ones I mean: THE GARDENERS. Those people either in your family or in your office that grow about 5 times the number of tomatoes any family might need, and then try to give them to you.

It becomes almost a joke. But instead, it could be really helpful. Tell these Green-Thumb Do-Gooders they're giving their produce to the wrong people!

Recently, I have found out what it's like to have to ASK FOR HELP - as in, I became too poor to be able to buy enough food for myself and my family. And it is an education, let me tell you! People tend to donate the off-brands, dented cans, dry goods they can't use. And they almost never give fresh fruits and vegetables.

I am asking you - if you garden, but you get more corn, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers than you can use, consider donating them to the local soup kitchen or food pantry. There, the people won't smile politely and then look at your gift like it's a third arm. The people at soup kitchens and food pantries won't consider it "extra"; they'll consider themselves really really LUCKY.

You know that for your own family, fresh fruits and vegetables are a NECESSITY for good health. Don't forget the people who can't quite make it this Season. They would like for their families to stay healthy too.

And wouldn't it be nice to know that your gardening effort really helped someone?

From those of us on the Chow Lines, thank you.