Dorothy Pohorelow wrote:
We are not just talking about plants we can sneak past an HOA or other over reaching organization/gov. Some of us want a source of food that most folks in our area would think are just pretty plants... if we make them look like "normal" landscaping or flower gardens they are less likely to be raided by hungry people. I just planted seeds in a beautiful purple grow bag. I put in Rainbow Chard, Bullsblood Beets, carrots, shallots, and a version of Lacinato kale that has a lot of colors. If all goes as planned that bag will be full of colorful foliage in different shapes and textures making it look like a wild riot of color to most folk but will be a nice source of salad greens for us.
Thanks for clarifying, you were right: I was thinking of those pesky HOA stories you hear on the internet.
I am not a conservative gardener and don't think ornamental and vegetable garden should be separate. BUT due to slug pressure I put most of my edibles in my specific veggie beds where I can better control them. I do have some flowers in my veggie beds and some edibles throughout the garden - raspberries, alpine strawberries, topinambur and of course fruit trees, as well as tomatoes, garlic, lettuce, herbs and cucumbers on windowsills and on the terrace which sometimes surprises visitors.
As regards to sneaking for other reasons: I am not afraid of raiding people, for several reasons. Not even in the pandemic have we encountered any food shortages. Supply is good, we have local producers, and before things turn nasty I guess many more people would turn to gardening (many single family homes with gardens around here). People who are knowledgeable would start a garden. And then there are people who would not know how vegetables look like in unprocessed shape (or how to prepare them for eating) - no need to be afraid of those!
The allotment garden is a different story because nobody watches the veggies. We had to experience loss of some tools already (now we have a shed with a lock). Everybody could go there and steal stuff, either people from outside or even one of the co-gardeners. One neighbour told us she had her peaches disappearing first one after the other and then by batches.
Let's see how things work out in the long run. Last year we had no losses (except the tools).
I am very intrigued about my chinese "the thief won't take them" tomatoes which I had mentioned before (I got the seeds from my chinese SIL). They remain grean like an unripe tomato (not like a green zebra, but paler). I have six little plants this year and might expand if necessary!