Michael Pollan, the preeminent writer on food, champion of the small organic farm and a favorite writer of Jim and Debbie (because he so ably expresses the ideas why they do what they do) has a lengthy article that just appeared at www.newyorktimes.com:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html

CSA farms and farmer’s markets get more and more popular and so are home vegetable gardens.  They are all antidotes to the problems of our industrialized food production system.  One problem being, the food often doesn’t taste good, other problems being, eh…I won’t get into it, as others have.

Vegetable gardens are also getting popular, for the same reasons as guns, because of the uncertain times we live in.  People are considering the possibility are that our whole system may collapse.  It may be a good hedge to be able to rely on yourself.  Dimitry Orlov who wrote about the collapse of the Soviet Union, describes how small vegetable gardens got people through the disorder and upheaval.  Russians, because of the slim pickings available in Soviet era stores had a history of small gardening.  (By the way, our Farmer in chief, Jim is currently reading Orlov’s book.)

Books on gardening are often found lacking because because it is so location specific.  Luckily for us in Central Oregon, a local longtime expert gardener has written a book.  When Jim first got interested in farming 20 odd years ago, he actually took a class from the author.  The book is available free on her website!

http://www.juniperandsage.com/garden/book.htm

Of course, we have another great local resource, right here, too.