View From The Ditch Bank

JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE HEARD IT ALL, you realize you haven't. There are head gates, fence gates, Watergate. But have you heard about Cabbagegate? You haven't. Well, even if you have, I'm going to tell you about it. It seems that a man, Steve Miller, in Clarkston, Georgia, has been fined $5,200.00 for growing too many vegetables in his back yard. Yep, you read that correctly. Why did they fine him. Well, his garden is 1 and 1/4 acres. And the area is zoned against urban agriculture. But still, it is his back yard. And it is his garden. He has been raising a garden there for 15 years, giving away veggies to friends and selling some in farmers markets. But last September the Dekalb County Code Enforcement officer cited him for doing this. Cause it is against the law. A zoning law. So he got the zoning changed to allow him to garden. While getting that done, he quit working the land, and allowed it to lie fallow. Then he was fined for hiring workers to clean the weeds from it while it was lying fallow. A landscaper by trade, he said he does not garden as a living, and would have to sell his house if he tried to do so. Many are up in arms about this, and laws are being looked at and changed around the country. Such as backyard beekeeping allowed in New York and backyard chickens in Seattle and New Haven, Conn. Mr. Miller is happy that the people helped him get the zoning laws changed, but he is still having to pay the fines. He has appealed, and the County refused to comment as the case is still pending. Well, We would sure be in trouble if this law applied to us. All though we haven't sold any products, we sure have given a lot away. If we were to be fined, we may be calling on those who received the fruit and veggies, for assistance. :-) And that's The View From The Ditch Bank