Why don't Americans plant trees and bushes of stuff that they can eat in their houses instead of having useless grass?
-
This post did not contain any content.
Plenty of people have these things called "gardens". You can grow food right in the ground with them. Fruit baring trees are also a thing people enjoy in thier yard.
Is your entire property filled with bushes or something?
-
Probably against HOA rules in many places.
Ok, but why?
-
Ok, but why?
Ismt that the universal question with moet things americans do these days?
-
This post did not contain any content.
Grass is easier to maintain by itself
-
This post did not contain any content.
This is why:
https://youtu.be/EwVovJgwbJQ -
This post did not contain any content.
They're all golf players wannabe.
And it's always greener than your neibours one
-
This post did not contain any content.
A lot of people are secretly cows and they actually eat that grass. Next time you say hello to someone and they respond âmooâ youâll know why.
-
This post did not contain any content.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Most people have both. A lawn is good to play on.
-
This post did not contain any content.
We do, though? I have mulberries and gooseberries instead of decorative plants, along with various edible cabbages and herbs, and clover for bees.
And that's not unusual for my neighborhood. We're always swapping for mint and zucchini and squash and eggs with our neighbors, and one time even maple syrup!
-
This post did not contain any content.
My landlord would get a fine from the city and it would be tacked on to my rent.
-
Plenty of people have these things called "gardens". You can grow food right in the ground with them. Fruit baring trees are also a thing people enjoy in thier yard.
Is your entire property filled with bushes or something?
We do tomatoes, tons of peppers, and blackberries. Baby avocado and lime trees aren't fruiting yet. Someone ate our cucumber plants as soon as they sprouted.
-
This post did not contain any content.
The answer is they were a wealthy European concept brought to the colonies as a status symbol. They are still associated with wealthier people which raises property values, so are enshrined in local ordinances and HOA rules.
-
This post did not contain any content.
I've lived in 9 states and in every neighborhood many people have food producing plants. It's one of the healthiest hobbies you can have.
I love gardening and have a small orchard and have other food plants all around my house, but I still maintain a lawn because it gets my kids outside playing sports, it's a very multifunctional space, and because covering every square inch of my property in food bearing plants would be way more work and time than we have to give. In every home (except Arizona) I've kept at least some portion of the property as grass lawn.
Some people latch on to your idea but then a few years later end up with an unmaintained berry bramble of a yard full of invasive food plants that is totally unusable. Moderation and common sense in all things.
-
I can imagine a few reasons.
I have a dog, she needs some running around space in our yard, so we make sure she has it.
Otherwise we do have a raspberry... Thicket? In the corner of our yard, and some smaller raised beds along the edges. Every year the local squirrels steal the veggies we plant, but not the raspberries, no matter what we do.
Every year the local squirrels steal the veggies we plant
This has been my experience as well, along with raccoons decimating all but one season's attempt at a water garden.
-
This post did not contain any content.
I know exactly what you mean, I lived in a small town in Eastern Europe and the streets are literally lined with fruit trees and everyone has a walnut tree in their yard, itâs literally free food. The cherries were the best.
-
This post did not contain any content.
We do? Some ppl dont, we have sugarcane, oranges, lemons, eggplants, peppers, and I forget the rest, my dad/grandpa are more into gardening. Its just not realistic to do a lot, cheaper and a lot faster to go the grocery storec more variety, hoemgrown stuff is ususlly more of an addon.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Iâm tryinâ, man. Fruit bearing plants take a lot of work compared to the manicured suburban steriscape. Theyâre not super easy to grow (depending on where you live), require pruning and fertilizer, soil amendment, and unfortunately pesticides or fencing if you donât want insects or deer destroying your hard work.
Thatâs way more effort than most people want to expend. HOAs or even local ordinances may also restrict what can be grown.
-
Every year the local squirrels steal the veggies we plant
This has been my experience as well, along with raccoons decimating all but one season's attempt at a water garden.
We get them all. Deer, birds, chipmunks. The entire garden needs to be protected by hardware cloth. The chipmunks got through the original chicken wire we had. We had to enclose the top as they climbed over. Plus the small birds eat any berries. A constant battle to be able to harvest anything.
-
Every year the local squirrels steal the veggies we plant
This has been my experience as well, along with raccoons decimating all but one season's attempt at a water garden.
When I first started gardening I had this idealistic view of, "I will just grow a surplus, if the animals take some I will still have enough." Nope. They eat everything, to the ground. They can do it in one night. There are different pests that specialize in eating the seeds, the roots, the stems, the leaves, and the fruit. Deer will "sample" entire plants just to confirm they don't like them. Squirrels will take a single bite out of every tomato. Bears will push down an entire fruit tree just to get one fruit. Energy is scarce in nature and these organisms aren't fucking around.
Took me awhile to finally admit that barriers aren't just nice, they are required.
