What Are You Doing to Prepare for the Unexpected?
The time to learn and prepare to grow your own food is before you need to grow it. If a situation arises that prevents you from purchasing the food you need from the store or local produce stands, it’s a little late to start growing a garden. Now is the time to start, and in temperate climates gardening can be a year-round activity with food growing almost all the time. In colder climates when winter gardening is not an option, storing the excess food from your spring and summer gardens can fill your shelves for the winter and bring a sense of comfort, accomplishment and peace.
Understanding Why Sustainability is so Imporant
There are many aspects to sustainability including but not limited to medical care, employment, education, clean drinking water, shelter, and nutrition.
Here the focus will be on sustainability as it relates to food and nutrition and a little on giving back to the Earth. As in
any situation, if supplies are taken and not replenished, the supplies will disappear. Soil must be replenished, or the supply of nutrient rich food may diminish in quality and quantity. Replenishing is a requirement of sustainability. Missouri Botanical Gardens offers practical suggestions on sustainability including more than just vegetables. Check it out.
Since there is no crystal ball, and what lies ahead is unknown be it war, illnesses, financial setback, unemployment, etc., a garden full of fresh, delicious, nutrient filled food could bring a sense of peace and relief when you know your family won’t go hungry.
Nutrient-rich foods provide the fuel you need to be strong and to better handle
stress in any situation. When a challenging situation rears its ugly head is not the time to start planning.
For sustaining your food supply, now is the time to learn how to prepare the soil, to keep it rich, to
harvest seeds as well as the food, to have all tools and necessary equipment on hand to continue to grow your garden and to increase this corner of sustainability in your life.
Some may feel this is unnecessary worry until it becomes a necessary one. Others may love the feeling of comfort experienced from being prepared. Gardening can also be a fun and unifying family activity as children learn to engage with the Earth and do their part to replenish. This is truly a family affair.
There are many types of disasters that can strike all over the world, and being prepared can bring peace of mind. For great information on easy and simply plans for preparedness, check out Ready, a website of the Department of Homeland Security.
Giving Back - This is a Give and Take Relationship
Sustainability, as it relates to food, is a process where necessary elements are taken from the Earth which she shares with us in abundance, and we give back what is needed to re-establish the necessary elements in the soil to re-create those wonderful gardens.
Nature provides a perfect example of how this works. I’ve hiked the John Muir Trail where the soil is so rich it’s almost black. The trees and plants in the natural surroundings are gorgeous.
Nature is allowed to live its life cycle in this environment. The plants shed their leaves, needles, and seeds which fall on the ground and, over time, they decompose going back into the soil providing rich nutrients giving back to the plants what they need to thrive.
Earthworms love this type of soil. It’s richness in nutrients and moisture is ideal for the earthworm’s needs, and in return they add their castings to the soil again enriching the soil with needed nutrients that allow all in its surrounding to thrive.
And the dropped seeds, well that’s how nature continues to replenish itself, growing new trees, shrubs, grasses, etc. The cycle keeps going without the interference of man. A walk through nature can feed our souls as well as our minds.
It's Never too Late to Start NOW!
Hopefully, I have provided food for thought in deciding if a garden is something you want to pursue. If the answer is yes, then is NOW a good time? Check out my post on The Advantages of Using Raised Vegetable Garden Beds Can Make Your Gardening Experience Much More Rewarding to learn how to make this new adventure an exciting, rewarding and enjoyable one.
Also read my post on Composting – Nature’s Way of Enriching the Earth and Us! to learn how to get started enriching the Earth using scraps for your kitchen and much of the clean up from your yard.
It All Adds up to This
- Sustainability as it relates to food includes your ability to provide food for yourself and your family if situations occur that prevent the purchase of food in the usual fashion.
- Never knowing what is going to happen in the future from major disasters to loss of a job (which in many cases is major), preparing in any way you can to take care of your own needs and the needs of your family can bring a sense of peace. You many even consider adding a little extra to help your friends and neighbors as well.
- Learning the cycle of gardening from soil to harvest and reclaiming seeds is a cycle of personal sustainability. Learning the process and recognizing valuable assets gifted by nature makes this possible.
- Giving back is important in every aspect of life, but as it pertains to providing your daily sustenance, you need to replenish the soil’s nutrients through composting or other amendments so the soil is prepared to give back to your garden and to your health.
- The first step is simply to start.
If you have any comments or anything to add that might enrich other readers’ knowledge of the importance of gardening as it relates to sustainability, please leave it below. I’d love to hear from you!
To Engaging With Nature – as we learn to become self-reliant!
Linda Rose
Far too many people take it for granted that the grocery store will always be there and that the farms will keep growing our food. Your article is much needed for all to read. I grew up on a farm in Oklahoma and I agree with everything you say here.
Great job!
Thank you for your comment and support on this subject. We do need to be mindful of what we are taking and be willing to replenish. The earth gives back tenfold, but we have to replenish her cup.
Thank you for your insight into the necessity of gardening for your family’s sake. Too often we get out of balance by taking more than we give back. I look forward to more posts from you in the future.
Thank you Eric for your comment. I feel working together brings more awareness and helps us to keep that balance.
Your post really opened my eyes and reminded me how important it is for us to be self sufficient, especially when it comes to food. I will admit that I do NOT have a green thumb and I am very dependent on the grocery store and other food sources to feed my family. Your post made me consider starting a small garden this year to get my feet wet and teach my children how to be more sustainable as well. I look forward to checking out your other posts as I get started. Do you have any advice for a newbie?
Jennie
Hi Jennie,
Thank you for your comments. Start small and work your way up to a larger garden. Small successes in the beginning is what gives us the motivation to do more and to learn more. If you have the space, plant one or two fruit trees. Maybe start with one 4’x4′ garden bed. Make sure your soil is rich. This is a good place to start experimenting and learning how to feed your garden, how much water it requires and to experience the wonderful full flavor you rarely get from the grocery store. Be sure to check on the mature size of the vegetables you choose to plant. For example, one tomato plant could take up 25% of a 4’x4′ bed. I wouldn’t start with corn. Corn would take an entire 4’x4′ space because of the need for cross pollination. Zucchini and yellow squash are easy to grow but also take up a lot of space. Lettuce, kale, radishes, spinach, onions, beans and peas on trellises could be a great place to start. Maybe one tomato plant in one corner. A garden just doesn’t feel complete without at least one tomato plant. Best of luck and let us know how it turns out.
Jennie, one other thought – herbs!
This is a great article! I truly think gardening in general is good for the mind and body. The soil in my yard is generally pretty rocky and dry, so it needs a lot of help.
But I remember one time in my yard we tried to grow corn and corn we had! So much corn. We couldn’t eat it fast enough! Most of my family members also grow spices, like sage and parsley. It might not be as readily available like it would be in the store, but it’s nice to just walk out my door and pick some.
Yes, it is very rewarding to walk out the door and pick fresh food from the garden. The best corn I have ever grown is Silver Queen. It’s like eating candy!