Comments on: Real Gardening vs. American Lawncare

By: Holli

Holli — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:31:00 +0000

We have HOA guidelines here too. My neighbor and I keep joking that we are going to build a shed (you are allowed to build a shed if it matches your house LOL)looking chicken coop and just bribe the neighbors between us with eggs. Sometimes I dislike my HOA, but then my sister is trying to sell her house which is meticulously maintained and has had people turn it down because of the way the neighbors house looked, so I guess for that reason they are good. We are doing what we can as well.

By: Stephenie

Stephenie — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 19:37:15 +0000

Great post! We have 5 acres and are slowly (as time and budget allow) trying to become more of a ‘homestead’ for our growing family of almost 9. We currently have chickens which my 10-year old son cares for. My husband has been working with him for several years on how to care for them. We haven’t used them for meat, yet, but I know that time will come. We sell our extra eggs to friends and family. Our chickens free range and that doesn’t make for a very well manicured lawn! LOL But, it doesn’t matter to us, because there are so many more important things in life. We also garden, but we choose the square foot method after some not so great attempts at conventional row gardening. Our soil is not good, so we are finding much better results with it. All we lack are two gates and our fencing will be finished which means we can ‘seriously’ talk about cattle to raise for beef. It’s been a dream for 7 years now. So, I agree with you. Every little bit of space can be utilized if you let go of the pressure to conform to what society deems is acceptable.

By: Jessica (thesavingmom)

Jessica (thesavingmom) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 19:20:47 +0000

I so agree. I live in Colorado where zero scapes are the in thing, but I think garden-scaping makes more more sense. Thanks for the great post! ~Jessica

By: Friday's Frugal Favorites for June the 18th | iGoBOGO

Friday's Frugal Favorites for June the 18th | iGoBOGO — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:01:07 +0000

[...] I loved this very thought provoking post from Kitchen Stewardship on Real Gardening vs. American Lawn Care! [...]

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:29:34 +0000

Lori,
This seems like an important issue for you; for me, it was just an exploration of an idea. I love that my kids can play in our yard, and I wouldn’t advocate getting rid of my lawn entirely. Just not making it perfect and putting some time toward some veggies. I’m all about balance, if you read around Kitchen Stewardship a bit.
Thanks for your perspective,
Katie

By: Lori

Lori — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:47:25 +0000

Not considered in this post is the soil conservation that is provided by an established manicured lawn. Also not considered is the mental health and well being of those that “tend” to the manicure and those that simply enjoy the esthetics of the well-manicured yard. A well manicured yard does NOT always require excessive watering and fertilizing and to assume that it does, well you know the catchy phrase about assuming…
I (and my DH) grew up on family farms. Both farms had large yards (about 3-5 acres each) in addition the gardens, cattle pastures, and grain fields. Proper farming and preservation does not require the keeping chickens and other farm animals most likely is forbidden in most HOA’s across the country. (As well as the proper management of their waste products.)
While I could (and have) mow the yard to reduce my DH’s workload around the homestead (now an acre in a subdivision), he finds it to be a stress reliever and enjoyable time to mow the yard. Who am I to not allow this feeding of his soul or dare I say judge or even steal this opportunity from him?
While I do enjoy container gardening and raised beds to tear out established grass and totally replace with gardens is not environmental wise and to change all to raised beds, depriving children of a larger grassy area to run, play (football, kickball, baseball, etc), and learn about the earth (bugs, worms, etc) is selfish and they have never taken a child to the ER with a large gash on his head from running between beds and tripping.
To say nothing about the crossing the line from need gardening to glutenous is a very fine line to cross. Food pantries across the country generally do not accept home processed foods due the fear of distributing food that is not processed properly. (An understandable worry in this litigious society we live in.) So grow only what you will use, not what you will waste.
Also not taken into consideration, is limiting potential resale value by limiting the pool of possible buyers (not just your property but those of your neighbors as well). Wise stewardship of both the kitchen and the home as a whole has to take property values weigh into the decision-making.
.-= Lori´s last blog ..Stoney’s Crew: Back Door Guests Are Always Best! =-.

By: Katie

Katie — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:23:16 +0000

LOVE. IT.
Make me one, too!

By: jillian

jillian — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 02:51:07 +0000

Sorry, I have to speak up here. There is absolutely no way that chickens are easier to care for than grass. My grass gets mowed at most every 2 weeks. That’s it. I do not ever water it. I do not ever fertilize or apply any other kind of chemical.

I hate my grass but I don’t have the time or other resources to rip it out right now. Unfortunately I do not have the time to care for chickens either. I am sure they are worth the work but you can’t invest resources that you don’t have.

By: Matthew B

Matthew B — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:58:48 +0000

Great article…I definitely agree that sometimes we tend to put an overemphasis on our lawns, as well as our cars, home updates, fashion, etc. I know I tend to spend a little more time on my lawn than I should and perhaps I could use it to grow food and have animals….BUT I live in an HOA and am required to manicure my lawn and it would cost a lot more money for me to do something else and make it look good. Oh and farm animals are out of the question. Plus, don’t you remember (or at least I do) running in the lawn with friends play games as a kid or backyard BBQs. As much as lawns take a bit of time and work they sure have given me a lot of enjoyment.
.-= Matthew B´s last blog ..Welcome Caleb Matthew Becker =-.

By: Rachael B

Rachael B — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:42:54 +0000

Interesting thoughts. I agree with you to a certain extent-I find myself spending too much time and effort in “keeping up with the Joneses” without much lasting effect.

However, you are missing two things of value when you consider Americans today: the level of advancement and knowledge that our society has obtained as a whole. We would not have the great medical and technology gains without time away from manual labor, ie: mental effort through education. Manual labor takes time away from these things. The level of education 100 years ago was vastly different than we have today.
Secondly, there is something to be said for aesthetic beauty. While it may be a waste of time and resources to spend hours on a lawn, we do receive happiness and our lives our enriched by beautiful things. For some, this may mean looking at a beautiful lawn. We all need beauty in our lives.