Online poll results for home gardening in the Willamette Valley

by Nate Rafn

Last week we asked our readers if they plan to cultivate a home garden this year.

Gardening is very popular in the Willamette Valley. The climate is mild, water is plentiful, and soil is good in most areas. These favorable conditions allow us to grow a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, flowers, and trees.

The following poll results show that the majority of our readers grow gardens, along with many of their friends and neighbors. It also shows that they're interested in a variety of garden projects that significantly reduce waste and increase self-sufficiency. Here are the results:

Poll Results: Thanksgiving Holiday

We were curious how our readers and viewers felt about Thanksgiving this year. So we came up with a few questions to get a feel for how people choose to celebrate the holiday.

We also wanted to know, given the struggling economy, if the overall mood of the holiday would be any different this year. Do we have more to be thankful for, or less? Have our priorities changed in any way?

Here are the results.

Q: What do you like most about Thanksgiving?
spending time with family 53%
delicious food 38%
watching football 6%
having the day off 3%

Poll Results: Is raw milk safe?

Raw milk has been in the national news quite a bit lately. Raw milk dairy farmers have been harassed, spied upon, or even shut down; retailers have been raided, and the FDA, in cooperation with the dairy industry, is pushing to ban raw milk throughout the United States.

Under Oregon law, raw milk can be purchased at farms with no more than three milking cows. Retail sales have been banned. Advertising the sale of raw milk is also illegal.

Latest poll results.

Last week we asked readers about their food-shopping habits and priorities. Our poll tallied 125 votes. Here are the results. 

Q: How often do you shop at farmers' markets?
Once a week 37%
Once a month 44%
Once every six months 15%
Once a year 0%
Never 4%

Q: How often do you buy direct from farmers?
Once a week 36%
Once a month 23%
Once every six months 5%
Once a year 23%
Never 14%

Q: What foods are you most interested in buying locally?
Fruit and Vegetables 65%
Meat and Eggs 35%
Seafood 0%
Grains and Beans 0%
Dairy Products 0%

Q: Where do you live?
Portland Metro 11%
Salem/Mid-Valley 83%
Eugene Metro 0%
Oregon Coast 0%
Central Oregon 0%
Columbia Gorge 0%
Other 6%

My Thoughts

I was surprised and delighted to see that most respondents purchase foods direct from farmers (at markets or at the farm) at least once a month. That's very encouraging!

Wednesday farmers' market in Salem, Oregon.

What do Living Culture viewers think about chickens in Salem?

The poll results are in.

Last week we asked viewers what they thought about Salem's chicken ordinance. The polls were open for 5 days, and 100 votes were cast. Here are the results.




Q: Should Salem allow chickens?
yes 89%
no 5%
voters should decide 5%

Q: Do you plan to keep chickens?
maybe 31%
yes 28%
no 28%
already do 14%

Q: Where do you live?
Salem/Mid-Valley 83%
Portland Metro 10%
Other 7%

I was a little surprised by the fact that 89% of respondents believe chickens should be legal, yet 28% don't plan to raise chickens, and 31% are undecided.