Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighbourhood into a Community is a powerful rallying cry to reclaim land. Who would have thought that the plague of green lawns in North America would become so divisive, so emblematic of our destructive practices.
Everyone has an opinion on the seemingly benign lawn – whether they choose to nurture it like a sickly toxic baby or definitely scour it from the house, yard, and neighbourhood. The lawn has become a flashpoint of rebellion in suburbs throughout North America as individuals strive to reclaim balance with the land and promote food security.
Commercial agriculture remains one of the most polluting, destructive industries in the world, with an estimated 2.5 billion pounds of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides used each year. The lawn is the most irrigated crop in North America.
We have got ourselves into a hell of a mess and much of it seems to be through mindless consumption and disregard for environmental consequences. Food Not Lawns offers a non-preachy, engaging (and often a tad earnest) guide to turning the world from a dying planet into a growing paradise.
Frankly, Food Not Lawns is a radical text and much more complex than the title suggests. H. C. Flores clarifies that her book is about how we can each become healthier, foster community and grow beautiful bountiful food. “Gardening may seem like a hobby to many people, but in fact growing food is one of the most radical things you can do,” she writes in the chapter Free Your Lawn. So put down those spray-paint cans and Molotov cocktails, it is growing time.
Food Not Lawns is laid out in easy to follow sections covering why we need to grow food, how to find land (just in case you don’t have a lawn), the practice of urban gleaning (free food from leftover or unpicked harvests), water conservation, keeping soil healthy, crop rotation, adding urban animals to the mix, what to plant, seed saving, garden design, spreading the ‘grow gospel’ in the community, and even great tips on how to make children part of the creative garden process.
Food Not Lawns is a great book for anyone wanting a how-to guide to reclaiming your land and reconnecting to the earth. We would have preferred a bit more factual info and a little less of the anecdotal, but overall a good solid read.
You grow girl!
Order this book on Amazon.com Food Not Lawns
Visit: http://www.chelseagreen.com/
Publisher: Chelsea Green
334 Pages
GreenMuze.com Rating: 
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