It's pouring now. We're expected to get a large storm with dense, soaking rain and possible flooding tonight and tomorrow morning. Earlier this afternoon, though, the rain hadn't yet arrived. I dashed out right after lunch and began digging. It began sprinkling. I kept digging. It started to drizzle. I finished digging the paths around two beds, then raked them and the perimeter beds smooth. By then, it was actually raining, so I headed in, visions of pea trellises dancing in my head.
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| Our Garden Plan, already obsolete. Click on the image to view a larger plan. |
My husband, among others I'm sure,
thinks I'm insane to be digging in the rain. What's so urgent that I
need to be digging now? I feel time slipping through my fingers. The
peas should have been planted a month ago. Leeks and lettuce and
braising greens should be seeded. Broccoli and cauliflower are ready
to be planted. Of course, I could just buy all these things at the
store. I don't need to be doing any of this. Why stress about it?
Well, why do it at all?
When my husband and I realized that we
were going to have to move away from Cambridge, to find a more
affordable private school for our children in a more affordable
suburb of Boston, we recognized that we had an opportunity and a
choice. We could choose a standard suburban lifestyle with a house
and a yard and two cars, or we could strive for something a little
more. We wanted to grow our own food, and so we looked hard for a
home that was close to the school we chose and also had a good chunk
of land for a garden.
We want to grow our own food for five
reasons:
- Sustainability
- Nutrition and health
- Cost effectiveness
- Community-building
- Spiritual well being
This being Earth Day, the
sustainability aspect should be self-evident. With food grown in my
garden, I don't drive to the grocery store for my produce. It was not
shipped to the grocery store from California or Chile. I grow my
produce using organic methods; no artificial fertilizers, pesticides,
or herbicides will contaminate the local watershed or my food. By
using a no-till growing method, I use almost no fossil fuels to
maintain my garden, and I support the delicate ecological balance of
my soil. By composting my kitchen and yard waste, I keep that waste
out of landfills and fertilize my garden naturally. By using rain
water as much as possible, I reduce the burden on the local water
system and storm drains. By growing heirloom varieties and saving and
swapping their seed, I support biodiversity. By producing more food
than my family strictly needs, sharing it with friends and neighbors
and donating some of the proceeds to Beverly Bootstraps, I improve
the food security of my local community.
I do this because I can. I spent most of my childhood on one grandfather's farm or the other's cattle ranch, and I've been growing things myself for as
long as I can remember. I know that not everyone has the talent or
the inclination to grow their own food, and I don't believe that
anyone who doesn't grow their own food is somehow evil. We all
contribute to the world according to our individual talents and
abilities. I can grow food, and therefore I should, for my own good,
for my family's good, for my community's good, and for the good of
the community of Earth.
In future blog posts, I'll address our
remaining four reasons for starting a microfarm. For now, I'm going
to take a nice hot bath and look forward to a restful day of rain
tomorrow.
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