permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <llondon@bellsouth.net>]

Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 11:52:22 -0500
From: Steve Groff <sgroff@epix.net>

valerie frances wrote:

> "When conditions are ripe for it, these suburban lots could quickly be
> developed into mini-farms, either as home-based businesses or as a
> source of much good food for the family living there. That sort of
> flexibility, coupled with broad-based ownership of prime agricultural
> land in the form of suburban lots, may turn out to be a very lucky and
> important break at a moment when we need one badly."

Anyone interested in seeing this type of agriculture first hand should
go to Japan. 
I was there a year ago and was amazed at the intensity of food producing
plots. 
Not a single square foot is wasted! Even in the downtown areas in of
Tokyo there 
were plots as small as 4x5 ft that had veggies growing in them. There is
no grass 
for yards *anywhere* near the population centers. It is considered a
waste of 
resourses not to grow food in open spaces.  Even at major interchanges
on the 
highways they have planted the whole area in vegetables.

Steve Groff.

Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 13:55:34 -0800
From: Phil Gillman <pgillman@cafarmersmarkets.org>

While it would sure be nice to have many more of our urban and suburban
lawns converted into gardens, the fact remains that suburban and urban
contruction frequently involves vast disruption of soil ecology, and
even more often, the complete removal of native topsoil to be replaces
by chem fertilizer and imported sod. If folks want to farm and urban 1/2
acre plots are too small for them, perhaps they should buy multiple lots
in suburban area, or even better, farm land prior to subdivision. As can
be seen by the fact that Japan and Korea are net importers of food, and
soon china may be as well, the concept of urban/suburban ag is NOT a
solution, only one of many parts- other crucial parts include the
conservation of farmland in immediate proximity to urban area, and the
continued profitability of that land, which is, i believe, the primary
reason we are reading this list.

phil gillman