WHAT WENT WRONG??
during WWII …..
……. today.
“For 17 years, Tom Carroll and his wife Hermine Ricketts tended an organic garden in the front yard of their home in Miami Shores Village, Florida. They grew everything from arugula to zinnias, mostly for home consumption. Then, one day in August 2013, disaster struck. It wasn’t a hurricane, a flood, or a drought. It was the government. Armed with a newly amended zoning ordinance geared toward home aesthetics, Miami Shores ordered the couple to uproot their vegetable garden or pay $50 a day in fines.”
http://govtslaves.info/government-cracks-down-on-gardening-as-self-sufficiency-becomes-illegal/
The govt finally realized that because they required people to pay property taxes, they (not the people) owned the land and it was in the govt best interest to keep the people subserviant and dependent on the govt and the orgs/corps that controlled them.
Many do-gooders and lovers of nazi-esque control schemes were happy to oblige and further enslave their neighbors via the ballot box for the greater good.
Governments at all levels are like boa constrictors, constantly tightening their grip on the public. Every year new laws and regulations are enacted. Seldom are any repealed.
The real vegetables are ensconced in the regulatory functions.
The natural reaction to a story like this is outrage. How can a community tell you that you can’t grow your own food on your own property? I know there are covenants that don’t allow farm animals in urban and some suburban areas but to not allow plants and trees for food production is extreme. It seems that the government will not be happy until we have Stepford communities where we are all docile and submissive to the government. Another pathetic example of local government trying to instill their will and power over the populace.
“Home aesthetics”!! Nearly all the vegetables I eat are homegrown and the day some “aesthetics” geek tries to get some sort of anti-truck-garden ordinance passed in this village is the day I begin brandishing my pitchfork with intent.
“Victory Gardens” were as much a psyop as they were a help to the family food budget after WWII. Planting a victory garden was a patriotic act and affirmed that the USA!USA!USA! was the victorious shining star of virtue on the planet.
In the fifties, supermarkets and Big Agra was the new wave in food for the masses which over time eroded the need for the family garden. More and more food was imported from around the world as shipping systems improved. More selection in food appealed to the consumers and continues to today.
To be fair, the couple in Florida are another example that I have seen where there are restrictions on growing vegetable gardens in the front yard. I doubt there would have been a big uproar if they had done their gardening in the rear portion of their property. To be sure, gardening is important knowledge for survival and keeps you centered and connected to nature. I would warn those who have no ability to produce their own food that this could be a deadly mistake. TPTB have ways of creating shortages, be it through war, EMP or even other natural disaster. Malthusian schemes have and will be used against populations so it is always a good idea to learn a few gardening techniques.
Bitch Lever is my evil twin. Above was me.
Some states make it a criminal offense to even gather rainwater on your OWN property. Stop growing tomatoes or we will fine you, or arrest you. Fucking with my food is one of my hot buttons. I think state goons that come to take away your garden … should be shot on sight.
There, I said it. Who will come knockin’ on my door now?
Is the implication that democracy “works”? I would say libertarianism is the only philosophy that can work. It’s a philosophy so simple that even star could understand it, when sober: don’t hit people and don’t take their stuff.
Sorry, that was intended for Stucky’s other question of the day, on Libertarianism.
Stucky- Noble statement coming from the guy who announced he could not survive if he were to move where he was not within a five minute drive to Trader Joe’s. So…….when will you start growing your own food?
Bea
I have a large clay pot with a tomato plant … lots of tomatoes. The other day I went out to water the little bitch … and it had fallen over, pretty much snapping the main stem. I guess I didn’t secure it well enough to that skinny green rod I bought?
I have two pepper plants in two clay pots. One has about 8 peppers on it. Big. The other one — which I named flash — has one lonely tiny little pepper that will never amount to much. Both came from the same source, watered the same, fed the same …. I have no idea what the fuck is going on it.
My herb plants are doing OK … but I really hate the constant weeding … and I can’t keep the fucking squirrels from eating my mint.
I’m pretty much done growing my own food at this point. Nevertheless, if some FDA fucker comes to take my plants .. especially the flash … I might stab the fucker in the head.
Stuck- please make an appointment with Ms Freud as I think your attitude toward gardening is just a little too violent in nature. This should be a relaxing experience, just try to relax and go with the flow.
Lately, I too have developed a similar attitude toward Flash.
In other news…………………………..
It is almost August but the snow piles in Buffalo, NY are still not melted. Snow dumped at a defunct train terminal is still in the process of melting in piles that are almost ten feet in height.
Gotta Love That Global Warming. heh
Gov Brown just trumped all the CC&R’s here in CA that prohibited “brown” lawns due to the water shortage. Looks like many of the “old” rules/laws are subject to change. And if I were this couple I’d call the ACLU.
At the risk of sounding like Kunstler…..
big shitties can’t exist if everyone has enough space to grow some of their own food, or hold onto their own water.
A big city is absolutely dependent on keeping people as needy as possible.
omg Bea I laughed out loud again at your alter ego thing beer on monitor again I needed the laugh major inspection tomorrow and I need to calm down from the stress . so ty vm))
The problem with the inspection is it is largely subjective based on opinion and so being outspoken as I am I hope I havnt pissed off the people above me tooo much lol
Kicking back grilling a steak listening to music and in the pool then bed wake up and hope I have a job by the end of tomorrow
on the growing veggies I think that is fucked up and would tell the statists fucks to get lost .
ya I threw a govnt drone off my porch before and they never came back and I still have that fire and hopefully never turn into a sheep because they WILL NOT STOP unless you stop it every single time I prefer dangerous freedom to government mollycoddling
Mrs ragman and I just returned from our three week working vacation in western NC. All of the veggies we bought were from local farms at about 1/3 third the cost of the GMO shit we get from Publix here in So Fl. Fresh eggs, fresh range raised chickens, locally grass fed beef , ETC. A lot of the hillbillies have a garden in their front yards and I’d like to see some fuckin’ city slicker come out here and tell ’em that they can’t have a garden.
Stucky- Lemme give you a brief history lesson. The whole “victory gardens” during World War 2 were a sham. There was a strong agriculture industry on the West coast during that time. Unfortunately, most of that industry was from Japanese immigrant farmers. The government instituted the propaganda of victory garden to make up for the losses of interring the Japanese. It had nothing to do with good ole’ Americans doing their part for the war effort.
bullshit Stephanie I have too many oldsters in my family that I summered at that had working farms from the great depression on till now .they barely got by …. and I saw it , I took baths in fucking washtubs and it was normal .my folks and me live on the EAST coast and I saw it firsthand unsure about west coast tho ,I give you that from my ignorance of that side of the country during that time .
you are usually spot on but if you didn’t live it ummm careful bout your history lessons .and more importantly ,where you get your history lessons from . the victors determine history and you better learn that aspect peace out good Stephanie I mean no real offense but I will challenge you to learn some more ,
Clammy- That must be the common core version of “Victory Gardens”.
Bea- Yes, i am referring to the government propaganda of victory gardens. GM is losing his shit because he can’t tell the difference of the 1930s dust bowl small guy farmer vs. government propaganda of victory garden/ration war effort.
Stuck – sounds like maybe transplant shock on your peppers. I love growing peppers. Habaneros and jalapenos by the bucketful Always way too many habs, as those little bastards are almost too hot to eat.
El Coyote probably dips them in chocolate. It is the Mexican version of chocolate covered cherries.
It sounds outrageous but…as we know… the news media lies and attempts to generate controversy by leaving other facts unreported. Playing the devil’s advocate here, that’s an impressive garden. Maybe the neighbors were tolerant for 17 years until, oh, I don’t know, the 5 hp rototiller appeared on the scene or some other issue developed. The barking dog, the illegally parked car, the smell of manure.
Neighborhood issues can be complex.
Out in California they are trying to make water conservation a class war issue. You see new articles that claim some snotty rich people don’t want go along with the water districts conservation scheme. It sounds outrageous unless you put yourself in the shoes of the property owner who may have invested $100,000 in landscaping and plantings and to have the government just tell him to let it all die… well how is that not an illegal taking, particularly if the property owner is willing to pay the penalty rates for his extra water? If he’s got trees and they die is the water district going to pay the tree service to take down the dead trees?
I tried habaneros, I had to look twice because they are too mild for their mean ass reputation. The yellow peppers are hot and Serranos are decent, jalapenos come in hot some years. I recall a year when I went to the Rio Tijuana grocery store, a dude there was happily packing a few and he tells me, they are hot this year. Indeed.
Unit, I suppose if the rich can buy all the water, it is only capitalism at work. We can’t draw the line at fresh air either. Let them buy up everything with their printed paper, right? Go ask the Greeks how that’s working for them.
Shame what this site has become, all the familiarity and conversational tone detracts from the original intent of the Admin.
El Coyote,
I mentioned I worked for a utility so I know a little about water. Larger properties with extensive grounds had two water meters. One was for the house and the other for irrigation. The reason for this was because most of the cost of delivering water to a home was not the cost of the water, it was the cost of treating sewage. We had a base rate that accommodated most homes water needs then we’d put in a separate meter for homes that had large lots and sprinkler systems so they would not be charged for water used for irrigation as this water did not have turds, soap or other pollutants in it and did not enter the sewage system. It watered their lawn and shrubbery.
Mr and Mrs Big Shot could still be required to conserve water for their personal use and take quick showers, use paper plates, not leave the water running while they shaved or brushed their teeth the same as everyone else but their plantings could be treated differently. In fact, a reasonable solution might be to sell them ‘non potable water’ from the sewage treatment plant delivered by tanker truck to water their lawns IF they are willing to pay for it. As a bonus their lawn service people don’t lose their jobs.
EC- Peppers are high in vitamin C, great for keeping the stomach in shape. I personally love the peppers you mentioned and they are useful in unconventional food combos.
Try this out sometime- Put quality peanut butter on 9 grain bread
add quality blackberry jam (one side)
3 slices of applewood bacon (crisp)
sliced jalapeno peppers (seeded)
Grill like you would a grilled cheese
Yes, I saw they had to do that in Malibu because their water source in Ojai dried up.
Little sister are you having another nervous breakdown.?You get a pint of Jack Daniels.That’s a big help in time of need. Your loving older brother.
I’ve got a buddy who grows the worlds hottest pepper, the maruga scorpion. He sells seeds off a little website. http://www.seriouslyhotpeppers.com/HotPepperSeeds.html
“The whole “victory gardens” during World War 2 were a sham. ” —– Stephanie
Sources?
From what I was able to find, at its peak in 1944 there were 20 million such gardens … providing FORTY PERCENT of all vegetables grown in America.
Stucky, you are having problems with your MINT?
Pressed “enter” by accident.
Stuck, my neighbor has a thriving mint crop that has thrived despite her best efforts to eradicate it. She says come and get it before she poisons it. The whole neighborhood picks mint from her back yard, and that just makes it grow better. There is no stopping that stuff.
I was thinking of starting in our ornamental garden, but the stuff has this way of totally taking over. It is very invasive, so I settled for transplanting some into pots in my apt.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/farmers-341701-japanese-victory.html
Alert reader Don Hull from Costa Mesa pointed out a bit of untold history regarding the Victory Gardens I mentioned in last week’s Garden Trends column.
Although Victory Gardens were touted as the patriotic thing to do, he wrote, “Victory Gardens were the propagandistic answer to the chaos created by FDR’s roundup and imprisonment of 120,000 Japanese-Americans in early 1942.”
It was Feb. 19, to be exact, as we remember the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 issued by Franklin D. Roosevelt this month.
The only source that has a bit of news about the Japanese internment/Victory Garden connection is the San Francisco Museum at sfmuseum.org that says Japanese truck farmers in California were responsible for a $40 million a year industry in fruits and vegetables.
By March, 200,000 acres had been confiscated, sold off or given away to “non-Japanese” farmers mostly from Dust Bowl regions. Those farmers weren’t nearly as efficient or experienced at growing crops in California. Food and labor shortages followed.
In a San Francisco News story dated March 9, 1942, the government asked that rural schools adjust their vacation schedules so children could help out during the harvest seasons.
These were called “Victory Vacations” and promoted as not only patriotic but also good for health, exercise and fresh air.
Although Japanese internment wasn’t mentioned in the report, a photo caption stated that the evacuation of the Japanese farmers resulted in shortages.
A Victory Garden handbook for home growers from 1943 explains, “Our farmers produced a record amount of food in 1940, then broke that record in 1941 and ’42. Their goals are still higher in 1943, but civilian and fighting demands keep mounting, while farmers must make out with less labor.”
It is interesting to note those Victory Garden pamphlets and other government messages leave out the fact that thousands of experienced farmers were locked up at time.
Gary Hayakawa, a nursery consultant in Irvine, was born in an internment camp in Crystal City, Texas.
“My father was arrested by the FBI because he was active in the Japanese School,” he said. “Three of my sisters were interned in Arizona. We lost everything – my parents only took what they could carry. ”
Hayakawa’s family was in the nursery business and not directly related to the food supply, but thousands of other farmers were.
Still, nurserymen could be relied upon to supply the seeds, fertilizers and tools that 20 million Americans needed in the 1940s to grow more food at home.
Thanks, Bea. Our new lead lives alone and likes to make experimental snacks, he gave me a burrito once, it wasn’t bad. He loves to make trays of oven poppers: jalapenos he stuffs with lil smokies, a bit of cheese then wraps them in bacon.
EC – if you tried a habanero and it was not light your ass up and burn your butthole for days hot, then you got something that was not a real habanero.
A habanero is between 20 and 70 times hotter than the hottest jalapeno.
Even you pepper bellies would be hard pressed to eat a habanero by itself. Get one that looks like this, take a bite and chew well – and hold on, the ride is going to get rough:
[img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQLi8oJwdOXTdWimE6Sm1PqSfNH5oxiMtv8Kctsjw7meKMf7F57mQ[/img]
I bought them at the local Vallarta Market, they know what a Habanero is. the skin is soft, wrinkly and quite thin, it has lots of seeds, and it’s not hot, it is almost sweetish. I’ve tasted Serranos that are real killers.
Once in a while I do feel a burning in the nether region but not often. Although the crushed pepper you find at the pizza place is not particularly hot, there was a time when I felt a persistent burning in my butt and later I found a seed from the crushed pepper had glued itself to my anus.
I have had to cut back on the hot stuff because my gut doesn’t like it. I do not want to ever provoke an irritable bowel event condition or worse, diverticulitis.
BTW, I never thanked you properly, LLPOH, but THANK YOU for your land and all the wonderful food it produces, peppers, corn, potatoes, beans, cactus, yuca, garlic, tomatoes, avocado, persimmons, apples.. We ought to have a national holiday in honor of Native Americans so we can thank you guys for everything.
EC – no kidding, if it did not light your ass on fire, it was not a real hab. That orange sucker above makes a serrano look like candy corn in comparison. A full mouthful of that sucker and you can blow flames out your ass.