Even though the weather in my area has been absolute crap for about a month on end now, I am surprised and happy with what I've been seeing around me.

It seems that in the face of an economic collapse, or a "recession" if you want to sugar coat it, people are turning to their yards for what they need.

There have always been the people who like to garden and grow vegetables in their yard when the weather is right, but then there are the people who didn't really care for all that work. But now that people have begun to feel the stinging of a failing economy, more people are doing what they can to be more self-reliant. This manifests itself in more people gardening and growing their own food, in whatever amounts, than what we've typical seen in recent years.

For instance, near my house there is a family whose front yard is so small it can't possible be more than 6 feet wide by 3 or 4 feet deep. Most people wouldn't consider using that for anything other than a small plot of grass and maybe some flowers. This year though, despite it's small size and awkward location (it's raised from the sidewalk quite a few feet and could be potentially dangerous to do any real work on) they are growing rows of crops. I'm not yet sure what they are growing, but it looks like they have a good 3 or 4 rows of plants already staked and on their way. They are also building a small wooden fence around the area to keep neighborhood jokesters out of their food.

In my own yard I'm growing a bigger variety than I have in recent years, which now includes berries, sage, and eggplant in addition to the usual assortment of peppers and tomatoes. I've got enough right now to last me until the Fall, and I can harvest the herbs as I need them and the other food as it grows in. I'm even trying to grow some Stevia, which is the hottest rage right now as a sugar substitute. The great part about Stevia is that it's a sugar substitute that isn't made from all kinds of scary chemicals that wreak havoc on your body. You can dry the leaves and then proceed to prepare it in a number of different ways, most of which I will at least be attempting before the Winter hits.

The point is that more people are learning that we in fact can be self-reliant, and take matters into our own hands when given certain circumstances. Sure, you can't grow everything you eat all year long, but think of how much you spend on groceries each week, now imagine if you could cut that down by a quarter, or even half, by just investing some time and elbow grease into the yard you're already paying for anyway.

And don't fret, if you don't own your house, or don't have a yard because you live in an apartment or condo or townhome, there are always potted gardens. There are many other alternatives out there, all you have to do is look for them, and if you don't find them ,just be creative. You can even grow plants indoors using an inexpensive fluorescent light fixture that plugs into a regular household outlet as a substitute for the spectrum of light that the sun gives off.

That's all for now, happy gardening!

-Rob