Local Firms Take Root, Aim To Assist People Raising Their Own Food

By Bryan McKenzie

When the world was at war, Americans went to their backyards, rooftops, porches and porticos to plant vegetables for family consumption in Victory Gardens.

Two local companies are hoping the current economic malaise will encourage Central Virginians to fight tight finances, be healthier and even reduce their carbon footprint by digging in their own dirt.

C’Ville Foodscapes and Blue Ridge Backyard Harvest are offering area residents a chance to enjoy fresh food by setting up gardens in their homes or on their properties. Both companies, run by experienced gardeners, offer services that include designing, building, tilling, planting, fertilizing and even harvesting the fruits of the homeowners’ soil.

C’Ville Foodscapes will toss a party Sunday celebrating its opening. The event, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Random Row Books, across from the bus station, will feature music, garden crafts, food and the swapping of seeds.

“We came out of the local foodmovement and, about a year ago, a couple of us were talking and we thought that what Charlottesville needed to do was grow more food in the city,” said Wendy Roberman, one of six founding partners of C’ville Foodscapes, a worker-owner cooperative. “We realized there was an alternative way to landscape someone’s property and that it could include growing food.”

The three partners of Blue Ridge Backyard Harvest have grown groceries on small area farms and vineyards, raised chickens for eggs and raised rabbits for food. Although they offer to help build chicken coops, their focus is on crops.

“When you grow your own food, you know it’s quality, you know it isn’t subject to being recalled, you know it wasn’t harvested by workers at slave wages,” said Guinevere Higgins, of Blue Ridge Backyard Harvest. “At the end of the day, it’s not just what you eat, but what you grew.”

Both companies base their concepts on Victory Gardens popular during World War I and World War II.

While the government bought up food supplies for soldiers, it encouraged Americans to grow vegetables, fruit and herbs. Communities set aside garden areas in public parks and people dedicated portions of their yards, basement or homes to growing their own food.

By the end of World War I, millions of gardens were being tilled. At the end of World War II, there were an estimated 20 million gardens, including one at the White House.

In 2008, a civic effort in San Francisco attempted to bring back the gardens as a way to decrease carbon emissions.

Because each garden is tailored for each homeowner, company officers say the costs vary depending on how large of a space is being planted and the specific needs of the homeowner. Basic set up of a garden can cost as little as $75 to $150 while larger gardens can run from $400 to $700 or more.

The companies may be contacted through their Web sites at http://www.blueridgebackyard.com and http://www.cvillefoodscapes.com.

“A lot of people want to garden, but they don’t know how to go about building one up or what to plant or when to plant it. We can help,” Higgins said. “Other folks don’t really want to have to do anything but want to have fresh vegetables. We can do all of it or just some of it.”

Higgins noted that Charlottesville residents are allowed to have chickens, providing the birds are enclosed.

“We’re lucky here because you can have chickens and have access to fresh eggs,” she said. “A lot of times neighbors go together to take care of chickens and then share the eggs.”

Roberman said the garden growing idea works similar to local landscapers who take care of yards and shrubs.

“We’ll do as much or as little as the owner wants. If they want to do very little, we’ll come by on a regular basis and keep everything running,” she said. “The idea is to help people eat healthier.”