Planting the garden has never been more relevant.  People garden for many reasons ~ for beauty, food, hobby, even exercise.  But now, when we look at our simplified, quarantined lives, the need to take care of ourselves and future possible food shortages, it is skill turned to necessity.  And it’s also just the way we are intended, to harmonize with the earth.

The baby plantings of May have turned bounty in August.

 

Homeschooling included a lot of planting and garden math this spring and summer. My six year old planted 100 onions and all our carrot seeds. He double counted all our tomato plants and peppers. Now with raspberries and carrots to snack on as we water each day, the digging, planting and sweat equity is satisfying for him, his experience coming full circle.

It’s awesome to try growing all kinds of nutrient rich plants, interesting tastes.  But I’ve honed the garden growing over the years to those that we’re guaranteed to eat in large quantities.

Naturally we won’t to be able to eat everything fresh, and as abundant harvests should never waste, the choices of what to grow also hone to what can be canned and preserved.

 

The plantings 2020: 12 raspberry plants (a patch begun!), 73 tomato plants (fresh slicing, marinara, salsas), 33 sweet peppers (raw salads, salsas, curries, bean dishes), 14 hot peppers (curries, salsas, drying), 100 onions (all of the above), beaucoup de beets (raw salads, pickled), many carrots (for fresh crunching), and basil and thyme to flavor the lot.  There’s a healthy corner of four robust rhubarb plants and grape vines crawling the fence like gang busters.

As I look out over the garden, I note that no money exchanged hands to produce it.  I spent on nothing–not a single seed, not a single plant–all were traded for or given.  The gift and my thankfulness is overwhelming.

Outside the garden lines, old fruit trees will produce apples enough for the year, plus many quarts of sauce and dried apples, and all you can eat pears for the same.  One fantastically healthy cherry tree makes my favorite jam we eat and gift throughout the year.  And new baby plumb and apricot trees hold their promises to come.

Without animal livestock, living in town limits, bartering is gold.  So when offered many pounds of local beef for grape picking in the fall, I jumped to trade.  We receive eggs for fruit, garlic for canned goods.  We need not all grow it all, if we can share our work.  Richness in barter is the way.

I like to operate as though the stores will all close.  Given food shortages through purchase or even industrial complex collapse, we will comfortably survive through winter on what’s stocking the pantry.

I grew up respecting those who produced their own food, but even more so, those who live in harmony with our natural world.  There is no illusion of people verses nature in the garden.  There rightly is our natural place within Natural Law.

Choose to co-create! We are gifted this life of harmony.

~Love from our garden to yours! Gina @ Soul & Stomach~