Eating locally and seasonally is more than just a foodie trend. It’s actually one of the most important movements in food and environmental security today.
Yardsharing – Connecting Landowners with Gardeners
While lots of people want to grow their own food on the land they have, they don’t always have the expertise. Others know how to do it but don’t have the land to grow on.
Almost any yard space can be used beautifully for local food production.
Few people have it all, and that’s where “yardsharing” comes in. It’s a cottage industry that creates win-win partnerships that reach far beyond in-town garden plots.
From opposite sides of the country, we visit with groups doing this in a big way and reaping the rewards of these symbiotic relationships through their journey. These are the young urbanites who are changing the way we grow and eat.
Eating Locally at Your Favorite Restaurant
More and more restaurants are embracing the locavore movement and are sourcing a lot of their fresh produce from local farmers.
But some, like the one we visited in Atlanta for this episode, are growing their own herbs, fruits, and vegetables in a garden they maintain right on sight.
More and more restaurants are embracing the locavore movement. Some are even adding their own food gardens on sight. How’s that for eating locally?
Meet restaurant owner Jenny Levison. She started her own 1-acre no-till raised bed garden in downtown Atlanta on an old bus depot parking lot right next to her restaurant, Souper Jenny. A food garden right next to the restaurant? It doesn’t get more local than that!
Jenny’s sidekick, Farmer Jeff, showed Joe around the raised bed garden that was once a parking lot.
Jenny’s restaurant garden not only provides fresh seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs to her customers, but she also uses it as an educational tool to teach the community how easy it can be to grow their own fresh food.
She says having the garden on sight sparks conversations about the price and origins of the food we eat.
Links & Resources
Growing a Greener World YouTube Episode 1208: Locavores & Yardsharing
Growing a Greener World Newsletter sign-up
The Online Gardening Academy and Master Seed Starting Notification Signup
The joe gardener Amazon Storefront
10 Steps to Becoming a Locavore
City Ordinances Changing to Allow Sale of Homegrown Foods
*Disclosure: Some product links in this guide are affiliate links, which means we would get a commission if you purchase. However, none of the prices of these resources have been increased to compensate us. None of the items included in this list have any bearing on any compensation being an influencing factor on their inclusion here. The selection of all items featured in this post and podcast were based solely on merit and in no way influenced by any affiliate or financial incentive, or contractual relationship. At the time of this episode, Joe Lamp’l has professional relationships with the following companies who may have products included in this post: Rain Bird, Corona Tools, Milorganite, Soil3, Exmark, Greenhouse Megastore, and Territorial Seed. These companies are either Brand Partners of joegardener.com and/or advertise on the website and in podcasts and Growing a Greener World. However, we receive no additional compensation from the sales or promotion of their product through this guide. The inclusion of any products mentioned within this post is entirely independent and exclusive of any relationship.
About GGWTV
Growing A Greener World is a national gardening series on Public Television that features organic gardening, green living and farm to table cooking. Each episode focuses on compelling and inspirational people making a difference through gardening. This gardening series covers everything from edible gardening and sustainable agriculture to seasonal cooking and preserving the harvest.
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