Invention Idea: Suburban Lawn Farms
I'm from Colorado, and I've seen the exponential growth of suburbs in my life time. Arcade Fire's thoughts on the issue aside, the suburbs provide a lot of irrigated land which could be used as a local food source. A single lawn garden for an individual to maintain can be a lot of work with a reward that probably wouldn't provide enough food for a full winter. It's currently much easier to go to the store and get all the produce you could ever want. The variety available within a short drive makes a garden seem like a whimsical venture.
However, if it were possible to farm multiple front lawns or an entire neighborhood of lawns at once it might change the game. Imagine setting up a non-profit organization of knowledgeable urban farmers in local neighborhoods devoted to the crops that best grow in the area. Instead of home owners spending money on landscaping, they could have a food garden that's pleasing to the eye and to the community. Crops could be sold at local farmer's markets or donated to food banks. There's a disconnect from the land that surrounds us, and this might be able to bring a connection back even for those of us who do not have the time to run the garden ourselves.
Maybe you can share this idea with someone who has more knowledge on gardening/farming. I suppose I'll be learning a lot this summer as Amy and I will be working and developing more of the yard for food growth.
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