by David Nuttle

Created on: August 16, 2008

During World War II, many Americans on the home front had so-called "Victory Gardens" to grow much of their own foods, and thereby help to prevent food shortages. Today, we have so-called "guerilla gardening" as a form of protest against: 1) Higher food and energy prices; 2) Food shortages for the poor; 3)Less healthful foods for all; and 4) A general waste of land resources in and around urban areas. The new buy local, buy fresh, buy organic food movement is another reaction to higher food/energy prices, and less healthful foods being offered in grocery stores. This latter movement has acted to encourage even more guerilla gardening.

When guerilla gardening first started, urban resident were often illegally growing food crops on vacant lots, and growing on other unused lands owned by the public or unknown individuals. This protest movement and new food production method has grown to include those persons converting lawns to gardens and edible landscapes, and gardening in pots, tanks, and growbeds located on roofs, balconies, porches, decks, and inside homes as well as apartments. Growing food crops indoors requires the use of grow-lights, and many growers are now using solar power (photovoltaics) to provide electricity for these lights.

There is more guerilla gardening now because the public is more aware that factory farms and giant food corporations are providing foods low in nutrients because foods were grown with the aid of chemical fertilizers that kill natural soil microbial activity needed to provide many "key" nutrients. The public is also more aware that grocery store foods may contain hormones, antibiotics, steroids, chemicals, heavy metals, and/or harmful bacteria. These food production and marketing monopolies use part of their considerable wealth to employ hundreds of lobbyists, and pay "political payola" (large, sustained campaign contributions) to influence or "buy" the votes of Congressmen. Such corrupt practices were, and are, undertaken to facilitate making maximum profits (for these special interests) by selling inferior foods/food products. Guerilla gardening therefore has the added feature of being a protest against such political corruption in the U.S.

My first guerilla garden was located on our enclosed porch, and it required grow lights that we powered with photovoltaic panels. The garden included an algalculture tank to grow algae to feed tilapia fish in an aquaculture tank (tilapia are filter feeders that prefer algae). There was an

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