WE FARM THE RIGHT OF WAYS

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When the price of fertilizer went out of sight a couple years ago (about the time we became avid MOTHER enthusiasts), the Phillips family began to search for alternative ways of fertilizing our garden. At first, we were stymied for lack of ideas, since there were no piles of decaying sawdust or animal refuse close by. But then one morning while I was driving to work I noticed a street sweeper cleaning up the autumn leaves from the roads . and I began to scratch my head.

Without further ado, I went straight to the Fairfield City Hall to find out what happens to all the leaves that are swept up by the city's street cleaners. I learned that the excess leafage is normally carried to a dump and mixed in with other rubbish. Once I explained to the Street Superintendent that the leaf truck had to pass right by my garden to get to the dump—and that the distance to my garden wasn't half as great as the distance to the dump—he was more than happy to see that I got all the leaves I wanted. Ever since then, my compost pile has provided plenty of "soil conditioner" for the good folks who grow food on my 13 acres . . . and has yielded fishing worms for many an enjoyable afternoon on the lake.

YOU CAN DO IT, TOO

Four years ago, we would never have believed it'd be possible for us to have 13 acres of tillable land to use for our own gardening purposes ... but now we know better. Fact is, there's an abundance of good agricultural land (and compost materials) to be had free (or nearly free) for the asking around the edges of many metropolitan areas. All you have to do is open your eyes, see the possibilities, and stake your claim. With a little effort, you too can farm the right-of-ways!

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