by frog
One of the speakers at the Green conference last weekend was Lynda Hallinan the Editor of New Zealand Gardener Magazine. Sadly I wasn’t taking notes, because she gave a fascinating talk on growing her own vegetables in her inner city garden. If you are an early bird you might know her from TV3′s Sunrise show where she has a gardening segment. Eighteen months ago Hallinan set herself an ambitious New Year’s resolution: she vowed to be self-sufficient in the city by living out of her garden for a year. She set a $10 a week maximum grocery budget. And she has been going strong ever since then, saving herself an estimated $11,000 per year in food.
Now she is keen to challenge as many other New Zealanders as possible to grow our own food. Every Friday, Lynda sends out a free email newsletter with heaps of hints, tips and weekend tasks you need to get growing (so sign up now and you might be in time to get an email today).
Lynda’s talk last week centred around a packet of snow peas that she had found at her local supermarket, imported from Africa and selling for $1.98, and a bag of garlic, imported from China and selling for 99 cents. As she said you’re hardly feeling at your freshest, healthiest and most crunchy when you’ve just stepped off a plane from Africa. She raised an important question about the economics of food: Just what do you have to do to grow and harvest a bag of garlic, transport it from China to a New Zealand supermarket, sell it for 99 cents and still make a profit? And why would you want to eat it? Once you think about it like that New Zealand garlic from a local farmer selling for $17 a kilo, or garlic from your own garden suddenly seems like a good deal.
Photo Credit: Scoop and Sally Tagg
Published in Society & Culture by frog on Fri, June 6th, 2008
Tags: , Food, garlic, Lynda Hallinan, New Zealand Gardener Magazine, self sufficient, snow peas
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
>>Just what do you have to do
Create efficient free market trading systems. Economies of scale, comparative advantage, technology, etc.
The fact that central planners don’t get it doesn’t surprise me…..
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I applaud Ms Hallinan for her initiative. Certainly, if more people filled their plates with homegrown a lot of pressure would be put off our roads, amoung other things. But what about the people who live in cities, with little or no backyard, and those with rented flats whose landlords aren’t very keen on the backyard being dug up?
I think there should be a movement for inner-city allotments, like the traditional ones of the UK, which can satisfy the eating demands of families, and at the same time encourage a sense of community in an urban environment where close ties with your neighbours isn’t a priority.
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Yesterday was discussing my yard with money bags. He had similar but he put garage on the front lawn and subdivided.
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BP, you missed the point of the post. Chinese garlic at 99 per pack is NOT the same product as what Ms Hallinan grows, nor what I dig out of my garden. It’s also not the same quality as what the NZ garlic industry produces.
You launching into a knee jerk response about so called free-market is merely a Pavlovian response on your part, rather than a debate about the issues.
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Hey JA
sorry to burst a bubble but he allotments of England were not located in the inner city but in the outer suburbs. They’re still there, and there is great competition between the renters for best ??????; I think there is a mobie currently in circulation about the “culture” of the “lotties” as the tennants were called where I grew up.
One question though. Patches of land were ‘allotted’ to members of the armed forces who wanted them on their return from the war. They were able to supplement their diet (which needed it given the deprevations of ‘the front”) and held the land under a peppercorn rental. How would you allocate them in New Zealand today?
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fastbike
I’m not dissing home grown. I grow grapes, tomatoes, herbs…
The meaning of “Just what do you have to do to grow and harvest a bag of garlic, transport it from China to a New Zealand supermarket, sell it for 99 cents and still make a profit”….is rather ambiguous. The way I read it is it suggests that there is something untoward going on.
From a quality perspective, I’d challenge people to take the taste test, especially after the garlic has been cooked and incorporated into a meal. I’m a foodie, and freely admit I could not tell the difference. I’m reminded of Rick Steins series on organic, local produce, where he repeatedly failed to identify the organic produce in blind taste tests.
I’m not saying there isn’t a certain feel-good factor to organic and local produce, but taste and quality arguments are often nonsense.
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Strings
Hmm. If it is given that people want to partake in communal allotments then I am sure there could be an appropriate process to allocate them to inner cities. But that is an interesting piece of history trivia, indeed.
And yes, you’re right again about the allotments in the UK, about the location and competition. The Ecologist write pieces often on the situation, and there are no doubt many issues to go over. But there are certainly other examples of innercity allotments, in New York for one.
But I still think that my point is a valid one for further discussion – it is not sustainable to provide every person in the country with their own quater-acre section, especially in the cities because we would just see an infinite urban sprawl, which is a terrible idea. But we all think (don’t we?) that more self-sufficiency would be ideal. So allotments could be a good direction.
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BluePeter – organic food is better quality. Science has proved it. I direct you to Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food for backing up that statement. Of course, the people who have something to gain by telling people the opposite are insidious, so I don’t blame you for taking that line.
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>>I am sure there could be an appropriate process to allocate them to inner cities.
It is very easy.
Band together, buy a plot of land, and divide it up.
You might find your vegetables turn out to be really expensive, however, when you factor in rates, interest etc. Then, the idea of growing this stuff on – you know, dedicated farms outside the city – seems to make more sense.
Oh, you want me (taxpayer) to pay for your hobby? Thought so….
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>>BluePeter – organic food is better quality.
It is true to say that organic is sometimes of higher quality. It is not true to say it is always better quality. It is not true to say that people can always taste the difference. It is true to say that organic can sometimes be inferior.
As I say, try the blind taste test. Is religion getting in the way?
>>people who have something to gain by telling people the opposite are insidious
Uh-huh. I have nothing against organic, and have purchased it in the past. But claims about superior quality and taste are often nonsense. Time to market and handling conditions are often more important factors than bug control methodology.
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Goodness BluePeter. A bit touchy aren’t we? I am not sure where you got the assumption I was expecting the tax payer to pay for my ‘hobby’. Though, if you followed my argument at all, I hardly think you can justify allotments as a mere ‘hobby’.
I would appreciate it if you considered what I say, not put words in my mouth and then criticise me for what you think I would say. You get the difference, ey?
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She raised an important question about the economics of food: Just what do you have to do to grow and harvest a bag of garlic, transport it from China to a New Zealand supermarket, sell it for 99 cents and still make a profit? And why would you want to eat it? Once you think about it like that New Zealand garlic from a local farmer selling for $17 a kilo, or garlic from your own garden suddenly seems like a good deal.
That is a very valid argument, pointing out the carbon benefits of using the most efficiently produced garlic. Of course if she were talking about aluminium instead…
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>>J.A. Prufrock
Then the solution is obvious and available to you today. Band together. Buy the land. Plant stuff. What are the city dwelling greenies waiting for?
>>hardly think you can justify allotments as a mere ‘hobby’
They’re a hobby.
They might be otherwise if the food distribution channel in NZ ground to a halt, but the chance of that happening is near zero.
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JA
>
>>But I still think that my point is a valid one for further discussion
>
I abbsolutely agree, discussion is good for the mind and soul.
>
>>it is not sustainable to provide every person in the country with their own quater-acre section, especially in the cities because we would just see an infinite urban sprawl, which is a terrible idea.
>
Indeed, so how would you allocate the leases? In England, there was a socially acceptable approach that caused no ill will. In New York, as I understand it, the plots of land (non of which are in Manhatten which is, by definition, NYC’s ‘inner city’, I think most of them are in Queens) were purchased through a philanthropists bequest, though I have no idea how they were allocated.
>
>>But we all think (don’t we?) that more self-sufficiency would be ideal. So allotments could be a good direction.
>
I’m not actually certain that total self sufficiency is a good thing I’m afraid. Yu see, I quite like a juicy steak, but draw the line at keeping a cow in the back yard. I also have very little free time (four grandchildren, a lifelong habit of service club membership and a wife who can fill in odd hours at the blink of an eye,) which coupled with the ability to somehow cause a plant to wither with the slightest touch, makes me a bad candidate for self-sufficiency. I believe in distribution of labour, each according to his skills and abilities, and am prepared to purchase the fruits of another man’s labour for coin or note at a mutually acceptable exchange rate. As have been the majority of people since the initial tribes were formed from families sharing a geographical proximity.
So lets stick to the main point which is the concept of land allotments for inner city residents.
An aside to your later point. Quality is a very abstract concept. I live in Wellington, where ther are many excellect eating establishments, one of which my son is head chef at. However, I have taught a lesson on quality to many of my clients over the years that proves that McDonalds has higher quality than any other restuarant or restuarant chain in the city. That though is just the International Standards Association’s view of quality. You are allowed to have another as long as you define it
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another thing to bear in mind is that a plot of land only has to be available for a few years to we worth dividing it into allotments. It has to be available for many decades to justify building a decent building on it. So land that has been set aside for public works (or even a private development) that aren’t going to happen for a decade or so is ideal for turning into allotments.
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I think the whole point is that you can grow a significant quantity of your food at home. If you have a larger section, you can do something similar to Lynda Hallinan; on smaller sections you can still grow herbs and vegetables in pots. Obviously in the latter case you will save less, but you’ll still get to eat much nicer food than you buy at the supermarket.
This article has inspired me to plant some veges in the flower garden this weekend.
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Yes, I think one of the things Lynda mentioned (or maybe someone else at the conference?) was that you don’t actually need that much land to get growing – even that bit of grassy kerb between the road and the footpath is enough space to start feeding yourself and your family/flatmates. BestGardening.com has some advice here on small vege gardens as I’m sure Lynda does if too you go to her website above and send her an email. And if that’s not possible, look around for a community garden – then you’ll have other people to help weed your garden for you! If the food itself is not enough reason to inspire you there is a political motivation as well
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frog, A kerbside vege garden will definitely be a great way of feeding yourself and your family/flatmates and assorted passers-by, if some misfit doesn’t trample it first.
Or the council inspector.
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/quickanswers/streets/berms/f1939.asp
http://www.nelsoncitycouncil.co.nz/services/road_transport/berm-planting.htm
http://hamilton.co.nz/page/pageid/2145827767
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I don’t like the idea of my kerbside vege garden being visited by all the dogs which walk down the street either.
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I think this idea of lawn into veggie gardens is a very idea and should be promoted especially now with the price of gas going up all the time.
One problem with campaigns like a lawn into veggie gardens is the people who are most likely to do it are the people who are doing it as a hobby. The people who should be turning their lawns into veggies because they need the extra food are usually the people least likely to do so.
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