Thursday, April 30, 2009

"What's going on in your house?"

This is a question that I've got from ALL of my neighbors at this point. It's unfortunate that the first thing that people assume is something illegal (before I started doing this I would have thought that too) but there are a couple of things that you can do to quell these concerns.

The first and foremost I've found is placing your garden is a very conspicuous place. As long as you are sticking to vegetables you've got nothing to hide (well, a little tobacco is okay too). My garden is placed next to the largest windows in my house and gives anyone interested a view. This helps people notice something and makes it easier to lead into a conversation about your garden.

The second thing that I would recommend is talking with your neighbors and inviting them to visit your garden. This is actually extremely beneficial for many reasons. Not only does it let them know what you're doing but I've found that people are very interested. Just from people coming over to see my garden many of them have expressed an interest in trying something similar in their own home. And the more people growing food the better!

Finally I recommend that you start a blog. It is a good way for people to become familiar with the process and then it doesn't seem so weird. It also then allows you to share your knowledge with the rest of us. (If you already have or start a new indoor gardening blog, hit me up in the comments so that I can follow you).

By taking these easy steps you can dispel any concerns people might have and hopefully encourage them to start growing more of their own food.