Even though expected, the news yesterday morning shocked me. What an unbelievable turn of events the GM bankruptcy is for those of old enough to have lived through its storied history. It was hard for me to believe the NY Times headlines, even more difficult when I followed this timeline. It mirrors much of my life.
Sadly, the GM bankruptcy reminds me of much of the U.S. horticultural industry as related to urban agriculture and urban gardening. It reminds me that some of us still like to drive around in vintage Caddies with tail fins. More power to them if they can find it.
There are also those in the back-to-the-land community who still believe in “tail fin” gardens powered by dirt. More power to them too if they can find it.
The problem is that most of us now live in the city with scarce and often contaminated land. Tilling this land if you can find it is not the smartest thing to do. This is particularly true with the advent of portable sub-irrigated box, bed and bucket planters.
So, why are we still planting “tail fin” gardens when the proven technology is here to create modern “food efficient” and portable urban gardens. All you need is a sub-irrigated box, bed or bucket and six or more hours of sunlight. You don’t need access to tillable land to grow contaminant free vegetables...no crane, no rototiller, no shovel, no hoe or rake, no backache...no worries.
A tailfin urban farm on a roof - 150,00 pounds (75 tons) of soil and a crane
Brick City Urban Farms - A modern food efficient city farm - 500 EarthBoxes
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