I know that I have written before about filling barren empty public spaces with gardens to meet the needs of all of us. I can tell you, if my community would give me a huge space to grow a garden that would feed anyone that needed it, I would totally be building a community of gardeners to help me turn it into a powerhouse space.
I loathe going through areas filled with broken, desolate, barren spaces. Especially when I know so many people basically live in food deserts. Even in affluent neighborhoods there is hunger. There is also a critical shortage of healthy food available to people at a reasonable price. It is far less expensive to buy junk filled with chemicals and questionable ingredients than it is buy fruits, vegetables and herbs.
For a very long time I have questioned the reason that we no longer have large gardens, or even garden spaces like are abundantly found in Europe. Children are completely disconnected from their food sources, often believing that the only place to get something to eat is a grocery store or fast food restaurant. They don't know the joy of growing their own beans, picking a piece of fruit from a tree, or eating something fresh from a field.
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| This is a powerful statement! |
All of our food has become so commercialized that far too many believe the food from the grocery is nourishment. Failing to know that all of the processing, chemicals and treatments are taking all of the nutrition away from that very food. Making it easy, has definitely made it bland and unhealthy.
Doubt that? Go pick your own berries, fresh. Not only do they taste better, because you've picked them ripe and fresh. But you have far greater appreciation for them because you are the one that stood under the blazing sun, carefully harvesting the ones that were ripe at the moment you picked them.
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| low sugar blueberry jelly - from the berries |
Can you imagine the difference it would make to people's health, physical and mental if there were large community gardens. Where there was no fee to have a basket of fresh, healthy food? What if we taught seed saving, or growing from the part that you would have thrown out? Or maybe how to root a sucker branch from a tomato plant? There is no cost involved in that. And then think about the ability to learn to can and put that food away.
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| do you see all those buds... new jalapeno's will be ready to harvest soon. |
I get a bit passionate about this. Because the truth is, I firmly do not believe there is any reason under the sun for hunger in this country, or any country for that matter. I believe it is simply a form of control.
Can you imagine if a community was allowed, ah... there is the rub... to use all common space for gardens? All that food, with large, vast swatches of vibrant pollinators spread all around. Sure there would be an abundance of things like zucchini, isn't there always? But if you can grow zucchini you can make soups, breads (did you know you can dehydrate it and grind it and add it to flour to extend the amount and nutrients of flour?), you can make jams, and salsas. Some folks have pickled it, or fried it, you can saute' it... I mean the possibilities are almost as abundant as the zucchini's it produces.
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| hopefully these pear scraps will soon be vinegar. |
But... imagine the health that is gained by working in that garden. Imagine the strength of our bodies from bending, lifting, working the soil or harvesting the plants. Imagine the pride that comes from putting a meal on the table that your labor helped produce. It improves your mental health as well, and I have mentioned that before.
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| these corn cobs became not only jars of healthy corn, but also jars of yummy jelly waste not, want not... |
As we are dealing with these increasing prices on everything and I have decided to stop purchasing food that is heavily chemicalized (yep... I know not a word, maybe it should be) as I work on my cantry, I am learning so very much. I am also questioning more. Did you know that back around the time of WWI and WWII that our government encouraged using all of the public lands to create victory gardens, to feed the masses at home? Did you know that they provided canners to people? Because it allowed for everyone to eat and not put further burden on the "commercial" supplies.
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| processed and ready to put in the cantry |
Why on earth did that ever stop? Right now we have farmers that are being incentivized to not plant their land, to not have their livestock, to not produce milk, and being penalized for doing so. Why? No one to buy it? Hardly seems true when we have people that are going hungry.
And it definitely should not be considered stealing. To pick from a community garden should be one of the biggest blessings there is. A living blessing box. Do I know that people might abuse the process? No, I don't. We can assume, because that is how we have been conditioned to think of people.
I guess I have more faith in humanity. Because I believe that while there might be some that initially appear to abuse the honor system, I want to believe that most would gladly trade their own skills to be able to have a healthy, sustainable supplement to their daily diets.
Maybe not everyone could do the manual labor. Health factors, age, caring for very small children, working a job that requires incredibly long hours... there are many reasons. Maybe they are afraid they don't have the skills, maybe they are concerned that they have a "black thumb". I can't think of all of them, although I am sure those reasons are legion.
I have faith. I personally believe that people want to learn new skills. They want to be responsible for their own health and well-being. Maybe those that can't work the garden become the ones that shell the peas for the ones that gather them? Or that do some of the cooking, preserving, distributing... oh the possibilities are endless.
I loathe green, perfectly manicured yards. You never see the butterflies fluttering through them, there are no firefly's blinking about in the early evening lighting the incoming darkness like stars here on earth. So much of what we have been taught are falsehoods. We don't need the poisons that we spread on the grass. We don't need modified seeds that only grow when soaked in chemicals. We don't need so much of what surrounds us.
I am sure some of that has made farming easier. I don't know, I'm not a farmer. But at the same time, it has eliminated the family garden, the community gardens. There are so few now providing for so many and all of it seems to be controlled by an even smaller number of people that are getting very wealthy.
Imagine the global wealth and health that could happen if we all gave up a small bit of our fancy manicured yards and spent some time planting something to share. Imagine the utopia that would be created.
The other day our friends had an abundance of lettuce. It was pure joy to come home to a bag of fresh from the garden lettuce sitting on our door step. My little garden doesn't produce an abundance, it's all in small containers, but I use all of it in ways to expand on what is there. I will eventually have something to return to them as a blessing back.
What if we were all able to do that? Can you envision it? I am definitely lost in this day dream. Anyone want to do some guerrilla gardening? Find some vacant unloved lots and turn them into food paradises for any and everyone... If I had the money to buy a plot of land and do that... I completely would. If you have the land and want to create that vision... I would be happy to help!
I'm not an expert at anything, but I am definitely willing to be part of a solution...
It's time to get busy on my own little homestead. The garden needs watered and there are still quite a few batches of current produced waiting to be canned. Right now, my little fur balls (yes, I know they aren't technically physically little anymore, but they are babies still) are both wanting some of mommy's love and attention.
love, peace and day dreams for a better tomorrow for all...
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