Corn
Sweet potatoes and okra
Squash
One of Two tomtoes
I obviously have to weed and side dress, but thankfully that's all!
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Sunday, June 18, 2017
If you love it...
When I was a kid, everyone had this saying, "if you love it, set it free." It mostly referred to wild animals, romantic partners, and generally things or people they wanted to keep. I am about to turn that wisdom on it's head.
I argue, if you love it, preserve it. Who doesn't love summer blackberries ripened by the sun? Who doesn't love apples warm and crisp off the tree after the first tinges of cool have come to fall? What do we homesteaders do with such delights that I dare say we all love? We preserve them.
Why do gardeners save seed from their favorite vegetable? Why do grandmother's save seed from the perfect pickle cucumbers? To preserve it? Yes, but why? Because someone, special in their life, or even they themselves love, that cucumber made into pickles.
I am going to ask you to preserve just one thing that you love. I don't care if what you love is lemon cucumbers. Save seed from your lemon cucumbers every year to make sure that vegetable has a place to call home.
Outside of seeds, recipes, and generally all things related to homesteading, I want to talk about preserving something more...for our kids...our grandkids...and their kids. I want to talk about preserving as a social institution. Say What???
Our private social institutions are dying. I'm not just talking Unions. Those are quasi private. I am talking about the local church or temple, the garden club, the bridge club, etc... How many people in their 30's are in a club? How many in their 30's go to church or temple?
Our knowledge is dying. Books are no longer filling our schools, but laptops connected to the internet. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but when the power goes out ...how do you study for a test without a book? What if we have a prolonged black out? How do you educate without books?
So, while, preserving the seeds from your favorite cucumber is doing a lot, consider preserving a social institution you love by getting involved. Volunteer to be on the Farmer's Market board. Run for city council. Help bake cookies for the local church bake sale. Donate your old clothes that no longer fit thanks to too many apple pies over the years to a local clothing drive. Donate your time to teach kids how to fix their bikes.
Give back to that which you love by keeping it safe and alive...don't let it go.
I argue, if you love it, preserve it. Who doesn't love summer blackberries ripened by the sun? Who doesn't love apples warm and crisp off the tree after the first tinges of cool have come to fall? What do we homesteaders do with such delights that I dare say we all love? We preserve them.
Why do gardeners save seed from their favorite vegetable? Why do grandmother's save seed from the perfect pickle cucumbers? To preserve it? Yes, but why? Because someone, special in their life, or even they themselves love, that cucumber made into pickles.
I am going to ask you to preserve just one thing that you love. I don't care if what you love is lemon cucumbers. Save seed from your lemon cucumbers every year to make sure that vegetable has a place to call home.
Outside of seeds, recipes, and generally all things related to homesteading, I want to talk about preserving something more...for our kids...our grandkids...and their kids. I want to talk about preserving as a social institution. Say What???
Our private social institutions are dying. I'm not just talking Unions. Those are quasi private. I am talking about the local church or temple, the garden club, the bridge club, etc... How many people in their 30's are in a club? How many in their 30's go to church or temple?
Our knowledge is dying. Books are no longer filling our schools, but laptops connected to the internet. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but when the power goes out ...how do you study for a test without a book? What if we have a prolonged black out? How do you educate without books?
So, while, preserving the seeds from your favorite cucumber is doing a lot, consider preserving a social institution you love by getting involved. Volunteer to be on the Farmer's Market board. Run for city council. Help bake cookies for the local church bake sale. Donate your old clothes that no longer fit thanks to too many apple pies over the years to a local clothing drive. Donate your time to teach kids how to fix their bikes.
Give back to that which you love by keeping it safe and alive...don't let it go.
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