Here is an update on The Victory Garden in San Francisco. We read about it at Garden Rant, where Amy rightly said it was a publicity stunt as opposed to a real attempt to encourage sustainability. She said, "Any Friends of Rant in San Francisco want to keep an eye on that garden for us? I can't wait to see what $180,000 worth of produce looks like come September." Well Amy, I can't report on what $180,000 in vegetables look like but here is a report. It appears the cost keep rising. According to SF Gate "San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is paying thousands of dollars a week in city money for private security guards to play scarecrow over the 'Victory Garden' growing in Civic Center Plaza." It seems that The  Mayor decided that the garden shouldn't come down until December, at the cost of $2,200 a week in security.Very sustainable. Why? What purpose is there in keeping the garden up? What an incredible waste of taxpayers money. Where is the outrage? What do the volunteers who kept the garden going think of this?

What's next for the Victory Garden space. Not a vegetable garden. That was to0 much trouble. Instead,  "Newsom's new acting Rec and Park director, Jared Blumenthal, has been asked to work up plans to give the plaza a bit more European flair - possibly with a Parisian-style cafe, a flower stand, a travel kiosk or other amenities." Gee, I thought The Plaza already had a European flair.

So we went from growing vegetables on concrete, in soil trucked from 40 miles away, and protected by security guards to a European style plaza. Where is the sustainability in any of this?

The moral of the story. Keep politicians out of the garden.