betmo, betmo, how does your garden grow?

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells, and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row.

nursery rhyme

actually, not that bad. i ended up with mostly tomato plants through not having the time to really adequately plan the plot- and i will probably put some tomato plants here at my new digs too. it is more important than ever that we learn how to grow some of our own food- and that we change the way we eat. the news from around the world is not good- flooding and drought has shortened the supplies of grains and vegetables and this will directly impact not just our food prices- but the fact that some on the planet will starve. my thought is- why should i get the bag of rice because this country can afford the high prices- and folks in haiti and elsewhere starve?

anyhoo- many folks are getting into the act- even in urban settings.

from new york city; to philadelphia; to maine; to cuba- urban farming is growing:

in an era where giant corporates are pushing genetically modified seeds at every turn for a profit- and whose seeds don’t work in every situation and may even be causing bigger problems- we need to support heirloom projects and really downscale. the question is usually- local or organic? well, both when possible but always check out your locally grown foods because you don’t want to support pesticides and growth hormones and whatnot. also, look for fair trade membership before you buy- especially coffee- it takes a few extra moments- but my morning cuppa tastes a whole lot better

my own thought is that we all need to just stop and take a moment to think about how we live our lives. not everyone can farm- but everyone can grow a few plants to eat- whether it be square foot gardening, container gardening, raised bed gardening, or old fashioned back yard gardening. we all have freezers with our refrigerators- and can store some of the food we grow with simple blanching and freezing techniques (and the plastic freezer bags are washable and reusable). it won’t solve all of our issues but it will get folks thinking and reconnecting with how we live our lives here in the west.

Sphere: Related Content

how i spent my summer- and other such tales

i decided to get into gardening as a way to lose weight initially. i thought being outside and tending my harvest with the digging and tilling and pulling weeds was good exercise. problem was- i didn’t really have a yard. what to do? i did what i always do- i started googling like mad! and i actually came up with a few really good ideas. who knew you could have a compost bin in the city? not only did i make a rubber maid bin full of lovely compost from shredded junk mail, toilet paper rolls and veggie peelings- but i had a porch garden that actually produced veggies. i was very proud. it was my grand experiment. i have to say, living on the second floor was tough when i had to haul bags of dirt in order to plant- but i felt like mr. green jeans- that’s for sure.

this year, i am going to till up a part of my mother’s backyard- and i already have a bigger, better compost bin ready to go. i have been looking into heirloom seeds in order to save them year to year- i would rather not have any of monsanto’s genetically modifieds thank you very much. i have also looked at catching water in a rain barrel- and may add that in when i actually get something planted. what i thought was a good idea- especially for folks who don’t have much room- square foot gardening. my gardening cohort, jim, tells me not to make raised beds from pressure treated wood- as the chemicals can leach into the ground. i did not know that- so thank you jim jim also pointed me in the direction of weaseldog- who is making a go of permaculture. take a peek at his videos- it’s kind of cool.

Sphere: Related Content