This post resonates with my own experience. I have been planning a similar post describing the difficulties growing when you live in a colder environment and have 1 cm of topsoil over 30 meters of very dense clay. I started this process over 20 years ago and I am still not self sufficient with food. One problem I have with the recommendation to connect with the community around you is that literally everyone in my community who grows or raises anything relies heavily on gas/diesel, imported fertilizer, and other external sources of energy and supplies. One key reason is that people here think climate change and the looming end of fossil fuels will simply be an inconvenient blip. (Also, I woke up to -32C temperatures today and although I enjoy it you will find most Canadians cheering for climate change around this time of year) When the crisis does hit home here there is not one farm I know of that will be able to operate. Action is required but the inertia to overcome is phenomenal. I can relate to Sisyphus.
Brad, hand on my heart, I conceed. You are one of the few who my call to embrace community is totally useless in your current circumstance. And, I can relate. It was that way here too, until the wildfire tore through, and all the beliefs about fire behaviour were wiped away, and ⅔ losts thier homes and farms in a night. It's only been in the post disaster space that the discussion has been able to begin. I suspect that will be your experience, too. Living remote, in hard, rusted on communities, is a level of difficult few understand, unless you are there.
I would love to read about your grower journey. 20 years in those grower conditions is epic tenacity. Respect
I grew up in South Africa with an 8-member foster family, on slightly less than 2.5 acres of land. We grew a lot of our fruit and veg - some experimentally, others on a regular basis. We had our own artesian water and were able to water our plants even in times of drought, when we did not water our lawns. We used only chicken manure from our own poultry, cow manure from a local farmer, and apart from bone meal, used no commercial fertilizer. We had plenty of wildlife (this was back in the 60's), and plenty of birds to eat the pests - and our produce was delicious! Sure we had some opportunistic pests, but by and large our produce was relatively unscathed. I suspect climate change and human invasion of the habitats formerly occupied by those "pests" are to blame for much of our current hardship :(
Without romanticising a childhood that was probably tough, it sounds like the grower-skills you grew up with were a great foundation for life. Thank you for sharing.
My possum mauraders serve mostly as a humorous anecdote, in truth. As intelligent, problem-solvers, they are difficult to outwit, but this is thier land, too, so I will find a way. I always do ... it's just this time they whacked a slow growing crop which was hard to swallow. Still, it propelled me to my desk to write, so there is that!
You are spot on with your comment about 'pests' and climate change. Many of the insect and nematode incursions into commercial crops are directly linked to climate pressures and over clearing of landscapes. In truth, it's humanity who are the pests.
I learned to plant carrots by mixing some seeds with some sand in the palm of my hand, and slowly, between two or three fingers, easing the mix into place. Agreed, they're persnickety. They want only a little soil cover and must be kept moist till they germinate. (It helps to lay a board over the row till they germinate.) Great title!
My experience vegetable gardening after ten years can be summarized as, the $200.00 tomato. Which I no longer grow because the varmints take one bite out of them and throw them away, and I can't stop the beasts from getting in. All these books that tout "grow enough food to feed your family in X square feet" are pipe dreams. I'm sure some can do it, but most cannot.
Damn. Lol. I've grown carrots with great success and not many issues in the absolute worst soil too. Unsure what I did right 🤔 As to the possums, I got nothing. Lol.
Yaaaas. I'm growing food for the last 5 years and connected with another neighbor yesterday. Inch by inch. Carrots are really hard to grow! I haven't done it yet. But I will keep planting seeds. Solidarity <3 Thank u for your writing and for being you.
Great post, carrots are always hit or miss for me, too, but now that I found out about the carrot/water monopoly between Cal-Organic/Breakstone/Grimmway in California I am more determined than ever to grow my own! And THANK YOU for sharing the Network at the end - subscribing to that list!
Recent book which is highly recommended for urban gardeners: Epic Homesteading by Kevin Espiritu. From small container to large yard garden, plus chickens, bees and orchard care.
I haven't really had trouble with carrots, just with soil!
We were sitting on hard clay. Our carrots went down, and stopped. They were bigger around than they were long!
No one would ever buy such beasts, especially since our neighbour at the market had *perfect* carrots!
The farmers market rules said our value-added content had to be 50% from our own farm. So we came up with a carrot cake recipe that was 50% carrots! Those big, fat carrots turned out to be just the thing for a food processor grate for carrot cake.
So, we got branded. We had 30 varieties of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, and nearly as many heirloom peppers, and favoured raw goat cheddar, but we became known as the "carrot cake people".
I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of "preppers" who have a "seed cache" but who have never grown anything. Those who don't view growing food as a skill to learn are going to be the first to starve.
That must have been mighty carrot cake! At least you were branded by your ingenuity, Jan!
Raw goat cheddar ... wow, that takes me back to my childhood. Thank you for the flood of memories.
The skill of learning to grow, in place, in season, and at scale, especially when there is no alternative (supermarket, corner store, food delivery ... whatever) to fall back on, is a serious thing and it startles me to hear people 'sprout' how zen and blissful the life of a market gardener must be.
Similar experiences here with carrots, very hit and miss when sowing the seeds but the ones that germinate, do well from then on. The most successful germination technique I have found is laying black plastic down over the row of seeds although I admit I only do that during the cooler months. I am also very fortunate that I do not have an ongoing problem with wallabies, possums etc although one or two bandicoots test my patience. I have been controlling cockatoos with pretty good success to stay away from a plentiful passionfruit harvest. Do you Marji have an interest or acceptance with Biodynamic gardening?
I am glad someone wrote about whose land are we actually on. A few months ago I went to a lunch at a market garden (fabulous garden) at Bilpin on the Blue Mountains. During the tour one person asked what to do about the cockatoos etc swooping in to enjoy a harvest. I cautiously volunteered the thought that maybe we should think about whose land we are on and are we encroaching on their territory? With some that went down like a lead balloon, but the market gardener did say it was something to think about.
We have had a couple of good falls of rain lately and the tanks are nearly all full. still need about another 40 to 50 mls in one or two falls. Last year we received falls of 20mls + on 7 days and some of those falls were 2 consecutive days so there is limited opportunity to get good tank filling falls of rain. From my recordings over 4 years (very tiny sample), 75% to 80% of my daily readings are less than 10mls and this includes 2 la nina years..
So since the falls of rain, the garden has been growing well so lots of produce for here and the local community food group that also cook meals.
I have just finished a book by Gabrielle Chan titled "Why we should give a f*ck about Farming". A thought provoking read. Now its time for The Serviceberry which like Braiding Sweetgrass is a thought inspiring read and this is being read whilst trying to grasp what is in "The Untethered Soul".
Wishing you a calm year ahead and what will this revolution around the sun bring on.
I use the black plastic method too. Works a treat. In the warmer months its cardboard. But, I have silage tarp being shipped to me this season, so that'll work even better - heavy and with a white and a black side.
Our rainfall is down by half this year, which is alarming. We still have more than we need, but growers in our orbit have started coming to our farm to fill ICB tanks to keep their gardens going, because half of less than we annually get is worse. We're going to have a grower meeting in a few weeks to talk about how we adapt, shifting our crops around to better grow through the drier conditions of the future.
I love the principles of biodynamics, and for years we were essential biodynamic here, just not certified. But, in more recent years I've been drawn deeper into the regenerative soil and agroecology space far more. The science is deeper and less inclined towards rules that had begun to feel very 'European'. Also, I'll admit I struggled with the moon phase planting. It'd be fine if that all you were doing, but trying to fit those cycles into a life that is governed by a 7 day week and an accepted 9-5 work day, and all the ripple of ramifications and forcing that come from society being constructed this way.
I hope the meeting goes well and I would enjoy listening to all the discussion.
Yes Marji, I was introduced to the conflicts about the European nature of biodynamics with a mentor, Barbara Hedley who questioned the introduction of European elemental spirits through the preparations when used in Australia. I have a recollection that Alanna Moore quoted Barbara in one of her books. And I am with you on following the BD planting guide and I am 24/7 working with my garden. I mentioned biodynamics because of the practice of peppering which has been what I have been using to work WITH the cockatoos. I don't seem to be having the same success with resident bandicoots.
And on another thought. About 6 months ago through different yoga practices and therefore teachers, I was introduced to the concept of the Five Seasons and because of feeling tired and lethargic now but still keeping active, I have started to question this southern hemisphere copying of northern hemisphere traditions on the calendar dates and while I want to slow down and recover, it is suggested that I start thinking about all I want to do this year. Christmas that use to be a celebration of the winter solstice, the Chinese New Year. The latter is celebrated here as the earth is starting to breathe in and we are getting ready for the resting period of winter, the sun is in descension whilst in the northern hemisphere they are embracing the new year as spring approaches and all is growth and renewal. The sun is in ascension. I mentioned this to the yoga teacher last night after a yoga session and her reply was to do what feels right for you.
No doubt commercialisation has a lot to do with these celebrations.
Did I tell you I went to the Elsegood Harvest? Your energy has triggered active Harvests across the Island with another two in the pipeline. The atmosphere, the sense of connection as people came placing vegies, seeds, fruit, recipe books and mags, jars, flowers, cuttings.. to share. Here you talk about grass root realities of learning to grow vegies, skills lost to many of us and help us frame our thinking about our very changed future. How are we to live? - and you are a guiding light.
Yes, all good points! I’ve just started gardening in the last year, for relaxation, save some money, get more nutritious food, and most importantly to see what works well in my zone.
Carrots came out great for me (beginners luck?) but my peanuts were a total waste of time, and my spinach seeds were dug up by mice. Figuring out now what grows well, and how to deal with pests (without extensive measures) is wise.
Run with that bigginers luck and enjoy! Glad to know you are experimenting now. Mice digging up your spinach seeds is a bit rough! That's a new one for me.
This post resonates with my own experience. I have been planning a similar post describing the difficulties growing when you live in a colder environment and have 1 cm of topsoil over 30 meters of very dense clay. I started this process over 20 years ago and I am still not self sufficient with food. One problem I have with the recommendation to connect with the community around you is that literally everyone in my community who grows or raises anything relies heavily on gas/diesel, imported fertilizer, and other external sources of energy and supplies. One key reason is that people here think climate change and the looming end of fossil fuels will simply be an inconvenient blip. (Also, I woke up to -32C temperatures today and although I enjoy it you will find most Canadians cheering for climate change around this time of year) When the crisis does hit home here there is not one farm I know of that will be able to operate. Action is required but the inertia to overcome is phenomenal. I can relate to Sisyphus.
Brad, hand on my heart, I conceed. You are one of the few who my call to embrace community is totally useless in your current circumstance. And, I can relate. It was that way here too, until the wildfire tore through, and all the beliefs about fire behaviour were wiped away, and ⅔ losts thier homes and farms in a night. It's only been in the post disaster space that the discussion has been able to begin. I suspect that will be your experience, too. Living remote, in hard, rusted on communities, is a level of difficult few understand, unless you are there.
I would love to read about your grower journey. 20 years in those grower conditions is epic tenacity. Respect
I grew up in South Africa with an 8-member foster family, on slightly less than 2.5 acres of land. We grew a lot of our fruit and veg - some experimentally, others on a regular basis. We had our own artesian water and were able to water our plants even in times of drought, when we did not water our lawns. We used only chicken manure from our own poultry, cow manure from a local farmer, and apart from bone meal, used no commercial fertilizer. We had plenty of wildlife (this was back in the 60's), and plenty of birds to eat the pests - and our produce was delicious! Sure we had some opportunistic pests, but by and large our produce was relatively unscathed. I suspect climate change and human invasion of the habitats formerly occupied by those "pests" are to blame for much of our current hardship :(
Without romanticising a childhood that was probably tough, it sounds like the grower-skills you grew up with were a great foundation for life. Thank you for sharing.
My possum mauraders serve mostly as a humorous anecdote, in truth. As intelligent, problem-solvers, they are difficult to outwit, but this is thier land, too, so I will find a way. I always do ... it's just this time they whacked a slow growing crop which was hard to swallow. Still, it propelled me to my desk to write, so there is that!
You are spot on with your comment about 'pests' and climate change. Many of the insect and nematode incursions into commercial crops are directly linked to climate pressures and over clearing of landscapes. In truth, it's humanity who are the pests.
Gee those possums really partied ! I agree carrots are hard, but daikon radishes are easy!
That is true ... and they are delicious!
I learned to plant carrots by mixing some seeds with some sand in the palm of my hand, and slowly, between two or three fingers, easing the mix into place. Agreed, they're persnickety. They want only a little soil cover and must be kept moist till they germinate. (It helps to lay a board over the row till they germinate.) Great title!
I agree that carrots are hard, but you can eat possums.
My experience vegetable gardening after ten years can be summarized as, the $200.00 tomato. Which I no longer grow because the varmints take one bite out of them and throw them away, and I can't stop the beasts from getting in. All these books that tout "grow enough food to feed your family in X square feet" are pipe dreams. I'm sure some can do it, but most cannot.
Damn. Lol. I've grown carrots with great success and not many issues in the absolute worst soil too. Unsure what I did right 🤔 As to the possums, I got nothing. Lol.
Yaaaas. I'm growing food for the last 5 years and connected with another neighbor yesterday. Inch by inch. Carrots are really hard to grow! I haven't done it yet. But I will keep planting seeds. Solidarity <3 Thank u for your writing and for being you.
Great post, carrots are always hit or miss for me, too, but now that I found out about the carrot/water monopoly between Cal-Organic/Breakstone/Grimmway in California I am more determined than ever to grow my own! And THANK YOU for sharing the Network at the end - subscribing to that list!
Carrots are the bane of my gardening existence. I gave up.
🤣
Recent book which is highly recommended for urban gardeners: Epic Homesteading by Kevin Espiritu. From small container to large yard garden, plus chickens, bees and orchard care.
Thank you, Jacqueline. I'll check that out.
I haven't really had trouble with carrots, just with soil!
We were sitting on hard clay. Our carrots went down, and stopped. They were bigger around than they were long!
No one would ever buy such beasts, especially since our neighbour at the market had *perfect* carrots!
The farmers market rules said our value-added content had to be 50% from our own farm. So we came up with a carrot cake recipe that was 50% carrots! Those big, fat carrots turned out to be just the thing for a food processor grate for carrot cake.
So, we got branded. We had 30 varieties of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, and nearly as many heirloom peppers, and favoured raw goat cheddar, but we became known as the "carrot cake people".
I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of "preppers" who have a "seed cache" but who have never grown anything. Those who don't view growing food as a skill to learn are going to be the first to starve.
That must have been mighty carrot cake! At least you were branded by your ingenuity, Jan!
Raw goat cheddar ... wow, that takes me back to my childhood. Thank you for the flood of memories.
The skill of learning to grow, in place, in season, and at scale, especially when there is no alternative (supermarket, corner store, food delivery ... whatever) to fall back on, is a serious thing and it startles me to hear people 'sprout' how zen and blissful the life of a market gardener must be.
Brilliant!
Thanks also for affirming that I am not an utter failure, that every attempt at carrots has, in fact, been hard.
Thank-you Marji.
Similar experiences here with carrots, very hit and miss when sowing the seeds but the ones that germinate, do well from then on. The most successful germination technique I have found is laying black plastic down over the row of seeds although I admit I only do that during the cooler months. I am also very fortunate that I do not have an ongoing problem with wallabies, possums etc although one or two bandicoots test my patience. I have been controlling cockatoos with pretty good success to stay away from a plentiful passionfruit harvest. Do you Marji have an interest or acceptance with Biodynamic gardening?
I am glad someone wrote about whose land are we actually on. A few months ago I went to a lunch at a market garden (fabulous garden) at Bilpin on the Blue Mountains. During the tour one person asked what to do about the cockatoos etc swooping in to enjoy a harvest. I cautiously volunteered the thought that maybe we should think about whose land we are on and are we encroaching on their territory? With some that went down like a lead balloon, but the market gardener did say it was something to think about.
We have had a couple of good falls of rain lately and the tanks are nearly all full. still need about another 40 to 50 mls in one or two falls. Last year we received falls of 20mls + on 7 days and some of those falls were 2 consecutive days so there is limited opportunity to get good tank filling falls of rain. From my recordings over 4 years (very tiny sample), 75% to 80% of my daily readings are less than 10mls and this includes 2 la nina years..
So since the falls of rain, the garden has been growing well so lots of produce for here and the local community food group that also cook meals.
I have just finished a book by Gabrielle Chan titled "Why we should give a f*ck about Farming". A thought provoking read. Now its time for The Serviceberry which like Braiding Sweetgrass is a thought inspiring read and this is being read whilst trying to grasp what is in "The Untethered Soul".
Wishing you a calm year ahead and what will this revolution around the sun bring on.
I use the black plastic method too. Works a treat. In the warmer months its cardboard. But, I have silage tarp being shipped to me this season, so that'll work even better - heavy and with a white and a black side.
Our rainfall is down by half this year, which is alarming. We still have more than we need, but growers in our orbit have started coming to our farm to fill ICB tanks to keep their gardens going, because half of less than we annually get is worse. We're going to have a grower meeting in a few weeks to talk about how we adapt, shifting our crops around to better grow through the drier conditions of the future.
I love the principles of biodynamics, and for years we were essential biodynamic here, just not certified. But, in more recent years I've been drawn deeper into the regenerative soil and agroecology space far more. The science is deeper and less inclined towards rules that had begun to feel very 'European'. Also, I'll admit I struggled with the moon phase planting. It'd be fine if that all you were doing, but trying to fit those cycles into a life that is governed by a 7 day week and an accepted 9-5 work day, and all the ripple of ramifications and forcing that come from society being constructed this way.
I hope the meeting goes well and I would enjoy listening to all the discussion.
Yes Marji, I was introduced to the conflicts about the European nature of biodynamics with a mentor, Barbara Hedley who questioned the introduction of European elemental spirits through the preparations when used in Australia. I have a recollection that Alanna Moore quoted Barbara in one of her books. And I am with you on following the BD planting guide and I am 24/7 working with my garden. I mentioned biodynamics because of the practice of peppering which has been what I have been using to work WITH the cockatoos. I don't seem to be having the same success with resident bandicoots.
And on another thought. About 6 months ago through different yoga practices and therefore teachers, I was introduced to the concept of the Five Seasons and because of feeling tired and lethargic now but still keeping active, I have started to question this southern hemisphere copying of northern hemisphere traditions on the calendar dates and while I want to slow down and recover, it is suggested that I start thinking about all I want to do this year. Christmas that use to be a celebration of the winter solstice, the Chinese New Year. The latter is celebrated here as the earth is starting to breathe in and we are getting ready for the resting period of winter, the sun is in descension whilst in the northern hemisphere they are embracing the new year as spring approaches and all is growth and renewal. The sun is in ascension. I mentioned this to the yoga teacher last night after a yoga session and her reply was to do what feels right for you.
No doubt commercialisation has a lot to do with these celebrations.
Did I tell you I went to the Elsegood Harvest? Your energy has triggered active Harvests across the Island with another two in the pipeline. The atmosphere, the sense of connection as people came placing vegies, seeds, fruit, recipe books and mags, jars, flowers, cuttings.. to share. Here you talk about grass root realities of learning to grow vegies, skills lost to many of us and help us frame our thinking about our very changed future. How are we to live? - and you are a guiding light.
So glad to hear you went, my friend. That one will grow onto something important, I think.
Thank you, for your generous words.
Yes, all good points! I’ve just started gardening in the last year, for relaxation, save some money, get more nutritious food, and most importantly to see what works well in my zone.
Carrots came out great for me (beginners luck?) but my peanuts were a total waste of time, and my spinach seeds were dug up by mice. Figuring out now what grows well, and how to deal with pests (without extensive measures) is wise.
Run with that bigginers luck and enjoy! Glad to know you are experimenting now. Mice digging up your spinach seeds is a bit rough! That's a new one for me.