As if it wasn’t hard enough growing food out of the concrete jungle, consider the plague of the two-legged pest.

Most of us have lost food at some point to the urban ingrates. Thieves may not not be our most destructive pest  — slugs take more from me every year — but for mental [...]]]>

As if it wasn’t hard enough growing food out of the concrete jungle, consider the plague of the two-legged pest.

Most of us have lost food at some point to the urban ingrates. Thieves may not not be our most destructive pest  — slugs take more from me every year — but for mental aggravation they’re public enemy number one.

Criminals hate exposure, so try to bring more community into your community garden or farm. Get the neighbours on side so they know the difference between the real growers and the freeloaders. During harvest season schedule work times so there’s always someone on site who can approach intruders with a friendly, “Hi! Are you here to help? What’s your name?”

The more people know about and watch for veggie robbbers the better off we’ll be, which is why it’s encouraging to see the New York Times cover the issue. It’s also gratifying to see who they quoted:

Garden theft is by no means unique to New York. In 2007, David Tracey, a Vancouver journalist and environmental designer, published “Guerrilla Gardening, a Manualfesto.” Tips from the book appear on Ecolife, a Web site devoted to green living. He says yellow tomatoes are less enticing than red ones; protective fencing and belligerent signs are acceptable; and hiding desirable fruits like raspberries behind beets or parsnips is smart strategy. He also has a Zen-like attitude to dealing with stealing. “Invent some better scenario,” he wrote, “where the stolen food somehow ends up in the stomachs of people who need it.”

Community Gardens Find Theft Is a Fact of Life – NYTimes.com.

The U.K. government plans to launch a “grow your own” revolution by encouraging people to set up temporary allotments or community gardens on land awaiting development or other permanent use.

via Grow your own food revolution plans to seed unused land | UK news | guardian.co.uk.