During World War II, 40% of the nations produce was grown on small local gardens called Victory Gardens. The gardens lowered the cost of fruits and vegetables, fed troops, and brought communities on the home-front together.

In a time where we as American’s are eating ourselves to death and where climate change could cause unprecedented food shortages, the Victory Garden might be an old idea worth reexamining. If you haven’t already heard, the incoming administration is asking for ideas and the victory garden has been proposed.

Submit your own idea for the Obama administration or vote for the victory gardens at Change.org

With a 21 percent jobless rate in Motown, many people have taken advantage of empty lots to build community gardens. This AP article reports that within the city of Detroit, hundreds of urban vegetable gardens have popped up on abandoned properties. This kind of land grab has become common in the city where a house was famously purchased for 1 dollar.

In Los Angeles, a much more contentious story played out in the ashes of the 1992 Riots. The Garden Movie documents the story of an urban farm in South Central and the fight to preserve it from development. Here is a preview:

Conscious rap is world-wide and being used to inform farmers of new tools. In Africa, Maasai rapper Mr. Ebbo is the spokesperson for The MoneyMaker,a foot-powered pump developed and marketed by the non-proft KickStart. The pump is insurance against drought, helping small farmers irrigate crops. I wish all rappers sold out in this way:
(via Justin)

I got a chance to join more than 1000 volunteers on Hands On Bay Area’s Be The Change Day. There were 22 projects to choose from and I was lucky enough to do invasive plant removal at the San Francisco Zoo.

I stayed away from the Tiger cages, wielding a rake just in case. I was in high demand for my wheelbarrowing skills as we transferred ice plant into a huge compost dumpster. There were a lot of cool people and if you’re in the bay area and want to volunteer, you should definitely check out HOBA’s programs.

In this episode, C-diddy gets hungry and is confronted by a supernatural egg shell. We are then transported to the Greater Portland Oregon area to visit Nigel and Angie, a couple who have a garden on their 3rd story apartment porch. We learn how to create a space-saving worm bin to process compost as well as some all-natural methods for fixing nitrogen.

Diversion of our nations food to biofuels has led to rising food costs and cuts in food surpluses. Low income workers and food banks have been hit the hardest. The Grassroots Garden is a huge community effort to supplement the diets of Lane County’s poorest citizens with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. With support from local government, corporations, and community groups, the Grassroots Garden and Food For Lane County have addressed this challenge head on.

In Episode 11, we chat with Merry of the Grassroots Garden in Eugene, Oregon and we find out how this community effort has energized people from all walks of life to address this increasingly serious issue.