Some call them “recession gardens.”

Others label them revivals of the Victory Gardens, an early 1940s campaign that helped people put more food on the table during hard economic times.

Whatever the label, one fact is known _ people are growing more of their own vegetables this year.

Seed specialists like Burpee report vegetable seed sales are up 25 to 30 percent, and local garden centers support that claim.

Seeds can be an economic way to begin a garden but National Gardening Association experts advise gardeners to be realistic about their expectations. A $70 investment in a garden yields about $600 in produce for the year _ not thousands like some seed companies claim.

Gardening is a lot of work, don’t be fooled. But it is WORTH it. And it has many more benefits than eating fresh veggies. It teaches science and botany to the kids, it gets everyone out and exercising, it saves money, there are fewer chemicals and toxins placed in the ground, and eating veggies is much more slimming than ingesting those weight loss pills.

I have my “seed stash” all set this year. I bought extra seeds, too, for emergency planting if necessary. I just don’t trust the government or the food supply (those nasty CAFOs) anymore. I’m a long way off having a bomb shelter, but I really believe we need to prepare for the worst (at any time, really), and it’s high time to get off relying on the government and their Big Business Buddies for our food and basic needs.

Another thing to think of is that gardens and local food supplies can benefit the entire community– you can always trade your freshly-grown cantaloupe with your neighbor, for his eggs from his chickens, or your other neighbor’s apples from their fruit trees.

I can’t see anything but good that can come with independent gardening: good for the gardeners, good for the community, good for the nation!

Victory Gardens are “In” Again

Original eloquence at New York Renovator.com. This content is copyrighted, so no stealing! Don't make me angry, you don't want to see me when I'm angry!

This video details exactly what has been on my mind– and what I have been blogging about for a year now: that the materialistic consumerism is a direct agenda by government and business linked together; is unsustainable; and is fatal for the “serfs” (that’s us). This system is creating a serfdom where consumers, while thinking they have “liberty,” are actually slaves to a system that is eliminating their worth in the system when the resources have expired. We MUST return to community-based, sustainable living and local economies.

Really– give your children and grandchildren the gift of watching this video. I found a few teaser trailers to give you a taste of what the video is about.

Just Stop the Stuff!

Original eloquence at New York Renovator.com. This content is copyrighted, so no stealing! Don't make me angry, you don't want to see me when I'm angry!

On Saturday, May 10, Campbell Soup Company will join forces with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) to Stamp Out Hunger! across America. Now in its 16th year, the Stamp Out Hunger! effort is the nation’s largest single-day food drive, having collected more than 836 million pounds of food since its inception in 1993.

To help Stamp Out Hunger! this year, simply leave a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods, such as canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal next to your mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on May 10. Food items should be in non-breakable containers, such as boxes and cans. The nation’s 230,000 letter carriers will then collect donations from homes across the country and deliver them to food bank members of America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network and other hunger relief organizations in more than 10,000 local communities.

We all know gas prices and food prices have gone through the roof. For some, this may mean not getting that second car, but for others it could mean no food for the day! Where I live in Upstate New York, there are numerous food banks in my own community who rely completely on local donations from food drive campaigns such as this one. I’ll be blunt: there have been hard times for us when we have received help from food banks. We’ve tried to return the blessing by donating food when we can, too. And my husband is a part-time rural mail carrier, so he helps by donating his precious time (mail carriers do not get paid for the extra time it takes to pick up the food and take it back to the post office).

Please help out with this campaign. It means so much to so many people, and it requires so little effort on your part. All you have to do is put a grocery bag of non-perishable food at your mailbox. Even one little can of corn or a box of rice helps! Since I have been both on the receiving and the giving end, campaigns like this mean so much to me! There is no excuse for our neighbors to go hungry. If you want to help out even more, join your local food bank and help distribute food to needy families, or check out this community page for Stamp Out Hunger.

Stamp Out Hunger Campaign

Original eloquence at New York Renovator.com. This content is copyrighted, so no stealing! Don't make me angry, you don't want to see me when I'm angry!