Fremen
MathyotterDo something Revolutionary
May 6th 2008 04:11
Today was another normal day at home. The kids enjoyed the sunny weather, but not the work associated with it. Gardening is a blessing and a curse in this house. It is an all out non-stop whole hearted effort to feed ourselves every year. Most years we do well. Last year we did poorly. Hence, I have taken on many more jobs and businesses this year. I had to make up for the groceries we would have grown, but didn't.
I took soil samples this year and applied the correct natural soil amendments. However, they take time to work and I may not see the effects until next year. Our in ground crops consist potatoes, lettuce, turnips, radishes, cabbage, and beans. All 5 lbs of potatoes have finally been planted.
Next we have about 10 lbs of corn, 3 lbs of beans, 1 pound of squash, hundreds of tomatoes, and peppers to plant. Goddess help me. All with 5 kids under foot trying to help. Oh they help, but the help decreases as their years on earth decrease. For example, my 2 year old son "helps" by pulling out the food plants. However, my 11 year old helps by moving compost and making hills. We grow every thing in hills. It makes life easier trust me.
Why do we try to make everything from scratch? Besides being extremely budget concious, it is better for us, the earth, and our children's education. I have already related how my children learn a lot from just growing potatoes. Imagine that with every single unique heirloom seed they plant. Gardening is an extension of our way of life. We live in a way that is very eco-friendly, inexpensive, holistic, and religious.
I'm going to stray from topic a minute, do hang on. When I moved to my home 5 years ago, all of my neighbours came over to introduce themselves. It felt more like a judging session. They said, "Oh that house is too small for four children." "How will you ever survive on such a small income in a small house?" "You need to garden with chemicals if you want anything to grow here." "Gardening might be the only way you can feed your family, but fertilizer will cost almost as much as food." Not very neighbourly if you ask me.
I think what they were trying to express is their disapproval of my large family coming into their up-scale neighbourhood. They also asked how I could pay my mortgage etc... I informed them I had none. Then it became the "you'll never survive here." "You'll need a church family to survive" song and dance. Granted their advice was probably out of concern some. I mean a 23 year old woman with four kids and virtually no income comparatively would seem inexperienced and too poor to make headway.
They were wrong though. I am an avid reader and a survivor of childhood abandonment. I know how to survive. I have lived in many places, travelled this country alone, and had my own apartment all before 18. I was wise beyond my years. However, back to the story at hand. That winter the neighbours came and went. They watched me work my fields shaking their heads and tsking about the grass being ripped up, the diseased trees cut, or me planting the "wrong" crops in "the middle of winter". One lady brought me boxes of food, because she was certain we were all going to die.
Imagine her surprise when in the middle of April I had a full crop of lettuce, turnips, and radishes. "How on earth did you grow those!" I explained how I used fish guts, sea weed, and DE. With each "ingredient" I listed the disgust and horror crept over her face. "Fish guts? I didn't know you could use that." That year I harvested a lot. My neighbours seeing I could indeed grow a good garden my way left me alone, until we got more neighbours. Then the cycle started all over.
My point is this, I have shown time and time again, how my way works to everyone around, but no one will do it the way I have shown. My whole life I have done things "differently". I am an organic gardener, I home school, I am Pagan, I work at home, etc... Every single time you hear, it's wrong, won't work etc... Every single time I have succeeded at least in part. Think about that.
Our society is doing things wrong. I know it, you know it, we all know it. We are poisoning the soil and calling it fertilizer. We poison ourselves and call it medicine. We poison the air and call it emissions. Why don't we call it poison? That's what it is. We garden the way we do to keep as many poisons out of children's bodies as possible. We garden to keep from adding poisons to the air when possible. We garden to have healthy food to eliminate the need for some medicines which can act like poisons. This one act is so revolutionary. Gardening in an organic sustainable way caused such a stir in my neighbourhood. It was so unbelievable, so revolutionary they said it couldn't be done. Since when has gardening been revolutionary before! Our fore fathers grew food the same way I do, yet people say it can't be done!
Do something revolutionary today. Plant a garden and reduce emissions, fertilizer dependence, and health problems later in life. When the simple act of placing a seed into the ground to produce food and expecting it to grow as Mother Nature designed it do is considered outrageous, we live dark times.
I took soil samples this year and applied the correct natural soil amendments. However, they take time to work and I may not see the effects until next year. Our in ground crops consist potatoes, lettuce, turnips, radishes, cabbage, and beans. All 5 lbs of potatoes have finally been planted.
Next we have about 10 lbs of corn, 3 lbs of beans, 1 pound of squash, hundreds of tomatoes, and peppers to plant. Goddess help me. All with 5 kids under foot trying to help. Oh they help, but the help decreases as their years on earth decrease. For example, my 2 year old son "helps" by pulling out the food plants. However, my 11 year old helps by moving compost and making hills. We grow every thing in hills. It makes life easier trust me.
Why do we try to make everything from scratch? Besides being extremely budget concious, it is better for us, the earth, and our children's education. I have already related how my children learn a lot from just growing potatoes. Imagine that with every single unique heirloom seed they plant. Gardening is an extension of our way of life. We live in a way that is very eco-friendly, inexpensive, holistic, and religious.
I'm going to stray from topic a minute, do hang on. When I moved to my home 5 years ago, all of my neighbours came over to introduce themselves. It felt more like a judging session. They said, "Oh that house is too small for four children." "How will you ever survive on such a small income in a small house?" "You need to garden with chemicals if you want anything to grow here." "Gardening might be the only way you can feed your family, but fertilizer will cost almost as much as food." Not very neighbourly if you ask me.
I think what they were trying to express is their disapproval of my large family coming into their up-scale neighbourhood. They also asked how I could pay my mortgage etc... I informed them I had none. Then it became the "you'll never survive here." "You'll need a church family to survive" song and dance. Granted their advice was probably out of concern some. I mean a 23 year old woman with four kids and virtually no income comparatively would seem inexperienced and too poor to make headway.
They were wrong though. I am an avid reader and a survivor of childhood abandonment. I know how to survive. I have lived in many places, travelled this country alone, and had my own apartment all before 18. I was wise beyond my years. However, back to the story at hand. That winter the neighbours came and went. They watched me work my fields shaking their heads and tsking about the grass being ripped up, the diseased trees cut, or me planting the "wrong" crops in "the middle of winter". One lady brought me boxes of food, because she was certain we were all going to die.
Imagine her surprise when in the middle of April I had a full crop of lettuce, turnips, and radishes. "How on earth did you grow those!" I explained how I used fish guts, sea weed, and DE. With each "ingredient" I listed the disgust and horror crept over her face. "Fish guts? I didn't know you could use that." That year I harvested a lot. My neighbours seeing I could indeed grow a good garden my way left me alone, until we got more neighbours. Then the cycle started all over.
My point is this, I have shown time and time again, how my way works to everyone around, but no one will do it the way I have shown. My whole life I have done things "differently". I am an organic gardener, I home school, I am Pagan, I work at home, etc... Every single time you hear, it's wrong, won't work etc... Every single time I have succeeded at least in part. Think about that.
Our society is doing things wrong. I know it, you know it, we all know it. We are poisoning the soil and calling it fertilizer. We poison ourselves and call it medicine. We poison the air and call it emissions. Why don't we call it poison? That's what it is. We garden the way we do to keep as many poisons out of children's bodies as possible. We garden to keep from adding poisons to the air when possible. We garden to have healthy food to eliminate the need for some medicines which can act like poisons. This one act is so revolutionary. Gardening in an organic sustainable way caused such a stir in my neighbourhood. It was so unbelievable, so revolutionary they said it couldn't be done. Since when has gardening been revolutionary before! Our fore fathers grew food the same way I do, yet people say it can't be done!
Do something revolutionary today. Plant a garden and reduce emissions, fertilizer dependence, and health problems later in life. When the simple act of placing a seed into the ground to produce food and expecting it to grow as Mother Nature designed it do is considered outrageous, we live dark times.
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Comment by Harry
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Comment by Dody Bush
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Hills make it easy for the kids to find the GOOD plants and not step on, pull up, or fall on them. Plus I am clumsy too. Hill can have more variety than row planting as corn, squash, and beans work well in hills.
Hills prevent over planting and soil exhaustion. Hills take a lot of dirt, for one or two plants.
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