The Lowdown on Lawn and the Upside to Edible Gardens: Some Food for Thought

Says Bill Mollison

(co-originator, with David Holmgren, of permaculture)

“Let us now say that every society that grows extensive lawns could produce all its food on the same area, using the same resources, and that world famine could be totally relieved if we devoted the resources of lawn culture to food in poor areas. These facts are before us. Thus, we can look at lawns, like double garages and large guard dogs, as a badge of willful waste, conspicuous consumption, and lack of care for earth or its people”

“It is now probable that the lawn cultures of affluent nations use more water, fertilizer, fossil fuels, biocides, and person-hours than either gardens or the formal broadscale agriculture of that country…”

“To reform the lawn, new permaculture businesses are evolving, using natural (non-irrigated) ground covers, berry and small fruit shrubberies (salal, blueberry, cranberry), flowering meadows of native bulbs and perennials, copses of small trees, ponds, marsh or fen area, and rock gardens or speciality gardens of perennials. Even vegetable gardens are slowly becoming more respectable as values change from the production of waste to the production of food for the home”

Says David Holmgren

(co-originator, with Bill Mollison, of permaculture)

“Rental tenants turning lawns into productive food gardens are doing a service to society by radically reducing their consumption of fossil fuels, fertilizers, pesticides and water while maintaining their own health and reducing their costs of living. Positive examples like this are urgently needed across our suburbs to show how home owners and tenants can adapt to the looming crisis that will flow from continuously rising fuel and resource costs over the next few years.

“Within this decade, productive food gardens may become a rental market asset while water and resource consuming lawns may be seen as socially irresponsible and undesirable. I strongly encourage the landlord of [the Thomas Street] rental property to negotiate with the tenants and recognize the market opportunities which could flow from this improvement to the property. Local and state governments should reduce the impediments and facilitate the spread of these positive examples of householders taking responsibility for their own needs in a socially and environmentally desirable way.”