Why Grow Vegetables That You Can Buy Cheap?

No one wonders why the most popular home-grown vegetable is the tomato; it's expensive in stores, even in season; it's relatively easy to grow; homegrown tastes 1000% times better because you can pick it fresh. Red peppers make sense because those are usually $2.99 a pound. Leeks? Only for special occasions. If you like them, it makes sense to grow your own.

But why on earth would someone grow their own potatoes? Russets are 3 pounds for $1.00 in my store. I've seen garlic as low as 25 cents each. Yellow onions, carrots, iceberg lettuce - with all the effort you put into them to grow them yourself, why bother?

Because, there are almost 4,000 (no, there aren't extra zeros there) varieties of potato. Garlic, leeks and onions make up a group that has over 400 varieties. Mexico alone boasts 300 varieties of corn. Carrots come in purple, red, yellow and white.

Look in your grocery store, and at most you probably see 4 types of potatoes, 3 types of onion, and 1 type of carrot. My organic food coop had 4 varieties of garlic. That's still more than the standard white soft neck kind one usually finds, but still limited.

We've developed such a monoculture of food, with our one white cauliflower and 3 red tomatoes (roma tomato, cherry tomato, and large slicing variety) that we're completely unaware of an entire universe of tastes.

Vegetables bound for the supermarket are chosen for their uniform, recognizable shapes and long shelf life, at the expense of flavor and often nutrition. That tomato, orange or melon is picked before it is ripe so that it can travel thousands of miles to your store and wait in your produce aisle. Corn starts to lose sugars and hence flavor the moment it leaves the stalk. If you've never liked corn, this is probably why.

You also now have genetically-modified foods cross-pollinating with heirloom varieties. Mexico has banned GMO corn but found it cropping up and breeding with heirloom corn fields, anyway. The more people demand that one orange carrot or one soybean resistant to Roundup, the more we start to lose our fruit and vegetable heritage. Yellow cauliflower, pink tomatoes, purple beans - all of these with their own tastes, storage qualities and growing habits, almost impossible to find in a regular store, all threatened by the spread of GM crops, and a ubiquitious indifference from a population accustomed to a limited selection of perfectly symmetrical, mild-flavored fruits and vegetables.

Yesterday I visited a friend to swap seeds. She showed me purple corn seeds she had no intention of sharing (which was fine; I'm growing popcorn this year, anyway). She attended the annual Bellingham Seed Swap and met a gentleman who brought exactly one ear of this rare corn variety and shared a few kernals on a first come/first come basis. Save some seeds from your harvest each year, he instructed. This variety is going extinct.

So here is my garden, and my choice of what to grow. If I had a large plot of land, growing my own food would make economic sense, with enough tomatoes to can my own tomato sauce and enough strawberries to make my own jam. Instead, I have just under 60 square feet of space, which is smaller than it sounds.

Do I pick the foods we can readily buy at the store? They will certainly taste better grown at home, without any pesticides, herbicides are artificial fertilizers. If I am going to dig and mulch and sew and harvest, I might as well grow something spectacular; flavorful, colorful, and not likely to show up anywhere except possibly the farmer's market.

Starting Seeds and Preparing The Garden Bed

Despite how discouraged I have felt lately, I feel compelled to return to the blogging world after only a short hiatus because it is GARDENING TIME. Aaaaah, yeah.

I've had friends asking me about seed starting and planting so I figure pictures and explanations are in order, especially since home gardening brings me almost only happiness (with a little bit of frustration thrown in with regards to the general use of chemicals and unethical seed companies). Today I will concentrate on the happiness.

This photo is our garden plot in a community garden maintained by our apartment complex here in Bellingham, Garden Zone 7. It's not quite 5 feet by 12 feet, as you can see by the narrow strip down the middle. We have marked out squares 2 feet by 2 feet with sticks and black yarn.

Over the winter, I grew cover crops on the soil. These act as "green manure," adding nitrogen and other nutrients back to the soil. I recently used a shovel to dig them up and turn them over, but as you can see by scattered bits of green, the kids have been practicing the kid-friendly art of raking.

The green things in the top right corner there are my sprouting garlic.

To learn more about using cover crops, CLICK HERE.

If you haven't planted garlic yet, you still can.

This is my humble seed starting station, on our kitchen hutch which has become our entryway shelving system, complete with keys hanging where mugs used to hang, and a patootie picture of my nieces and nephew that my kids wanted up. I put screws in the top to hold up the grow light, which I bought at Lowes a year ago. I bought the seed tray at a local feed store for $1.69. Peet pellets are my personal preferred way to grow seeds. It might not be as cheap as other methods, but it's more kid friendly. They like watching them pop up in the water, and it's easy for them to hold them and help plant them in the ground when the time comes.

Those seedlings are all yellow storage onions. Yes, I have started them already. I can put them in the ground here in the middle/end of March. I will also be starting my broccoli and pok choi very soon. Hurray for mild winters!

The biggest disadvantage to growing seedlings on a shelf is that they will grow weak without a little daily agitation. I know some people recommend putting a small fan on them during the day, but Bryan and I just brush the palms of our hands over them whenever we pass them.

If I Can Only Convince You of One Thing....

...please let it be this.

Please stop blaming poor people for being poor.

If you care about me and are my friend, you will read this post, because it may be my last.

There are many things in this world that cause me severe sorrow and anger, and bring me to tears if I think about them too much. I am upset that some of you still cut your helpless infant sons' penises without their consent. I am depressed over how many of you put your babies on feeding schedules, even in the summer when it's hot and you yourself probably drink something every hour. I am devestated by how many of your babies cry themselves to sleep because you think a baby that doesn't even have object permanence or the ability to even roll over should be able to soothe itself to sleep. I am furious with those of you who still insist that spanking is not the same as hitting, even though both hurt.

It angers me that Monsanto successfully sued a seed saving business because they argued it encouraged some of their customers to illegally save their patented seeds.

It devestates me that our US military turned away airplanes with life-saving supplies in Haiti because they prioritized their own military planes and said they had to make the area "secure" first.

It baffles me that my own nephew ended up in the emergency room because of an allergic reaction to a flu vaccine, was diagnosed with egg and dairy allergies, and then his own doctor tried to give him the MMR without checking the ingredients first.

It is infuriating that a Utah school district superintendent earns as much as the President of the United States while teachers have to send their students home with "please buy these school supplies" lists.

I am still hurt and scared that when I went to the ER last year for a follow up to my surgery, the doctor sent me home and told me to wait it out instead of doing the test my surgeon told me to ask for if I still felt a specific kind of pain, because he said he didn't want me to have any "unnecessary tests" without insurance, and then he billed me $400.

But what really hurts is the number of you who think it is neither your responsibility to take care of your employees nor your responsibility to allow your government to do it when you won't. It hurts me personally that you think poor people just don't have a good work ethic. It shocks me that you think everyone should be like your grandpa who came to America with nothing and built a successful business for himself, when you completely forget that 80% of all new businesses fail, and it has as much to do with luck as it does hard work.

Consider the argument that raising the minimum wage just causes employers to hire less employees or make more of them part-time. Consider the practice in many hospitals of limiting the hours a nurse can work each year so that she never gains seniority or earns benefits. Consider how many of the good paying jobs, jobs people go to college for, have been outsourced. Consider that Reagan believed in trickle-down economics, that if we cut taxes for businesses, then businesses would finally pay their employees more and create more jobs. Instead the gap between CEO pay and average employee pay went from an average of 40 times to an average of over 1000 times.

Consider that over 70% of our gross domestic product comes from small businesses, and that 80-90% of all private jobs come from small businesses. That's the majority of our economy, relying on a work force that is not often paid a living wage and is constantly losing health and retirement benefits.

Consider that the majority of people on welfare are non-whites and single mothers. Do white people really work harder than black people? Are they smarter? When parents divorce, why does the husband's quality of life often go up and the wife's often go down? Why DO YOU think that often the families who have generation after generation on welfare are also minorities? Last I checked, Latin Americans are NOT lazy. It is HARD WORK harvesting your food and building your fence.

The poor work hard. The poor are employed. In normal years, unemployment is only at 3-4%. That means everyone else has a job. Sometimes 2. During those same years, 10-15% of Americans live at or under the poverty line. Substract the unemployed, and you still have millions of Americans working but still not earning enough to afford housing without help. They get sick because junk food is cheaper than healthy food. They live in substandard housing. They go to college only to find their new employer only gives them 39 hours a week so that they don't have to give them benefits.

Reality does not support your prejudice that poor people are lazy, or even stupid. It takes math to fix your car and make your couch.. It takes algebra to repair your electricity. It takes knowledge and skill to draw your blood or even bill your medical insurance. I should know, I temped for a medical billing department for 3 months.

Some of you have read this blog and decided to start gardening without pesticides. Some of you have decided to co-sleep. Some of you have decided to breastfeed for longer than one year. Some of you have considered alternative schooling. Sometimes, something I write or copy or link to inspires one of you.

If you care about me at all, and you are my friend, then let go of the idea that poor people stuck in a cycle of welfare just don't care or aren't working hard enough.

Open your mind, just for one week, and pick up a copy of Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By In America.

For just 10 minutes, read and consider this article, which cites actual evidence of what happens when the minimum wage is increased. CLICK HERE

For just 5 minutes, peruse this website on poverty in America at change.org CLICK HERE

For 5 seconds, read this sentence: "There is no county in the U.S. where a person working full-time at minimum wage can afford the rent on a one-bedroom market-rate apartment." CLICK HERE

Read this sentence, and then consider your answer for only 1 second: Are there REALLY enough good jobs in America that no one who is willing to work should be poor or need assistance? REALLY?

"So how can poverty be eliminated under the capitalist system? Many say this can be done through improving education. However, if everyone is better educated, there will just be smarter workers holding minimum-wage jobs. Education can put one person ahead of another, but it alone cannot improve the system as a whole. There will always be more demand for janitors than for lawyers."

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2005/tc20050318_9373.htm

Garlic Sprouting in January

I planted 4 different varieties of organic garlic in November. This week I checked on them for the first time, and some of them are already 3 to 4 inches tall!

One of my varieties is just now pushing through the soil, and another one didn't come up at all. I can't remember which ones I planted where - not smart! - so I'll just have to wait patiently and find out at harvest.

I have found mixed advice on whether or not to mulch them at this point. Some sources say yes, to protect them from the cold, but some say no because if you live in a rainy area it could make the bulbs rot.

Bryan said we have dog nose weather - cold AND wet.

We're using a raised bed, so we have excellent drainage. One of my friends said definitely yes do it, so since they won't be sitting in water, I probably will when Bryan's next paycheck comes in.

There are lots of sources online for growing garlic organically, but I've been using this book:

This is one of the greatest purchases I have ever made. I bought it a year ago and made sure it made the move. Storey Books publish little booklets on almost everything you could ever want to know how to do to be self-reliant, and this enormous 480 page book has all of them, from raising livestock to building a smokehouse, sewing a quilt to making furniture.

There's an entire section on garlic, and it has all the information I need, including how to make a garlic braid.

The downside is, the writing is very small to fit it all in. The upside is, everything else.

I've decided to follow their advice about growing potatoes under straw when my seed potatoes come in February. I'll take lots of pictures when I do it.

Thoughts On Finally Weaning My 4-Year Old

I took this photograph just a few months before Connor turned 4.

It was not my original intention to breastfeed a preschooler. My initial plan was to breastfeed all my children until they turned 2, because that is when a child's own nervous system is finally complete. I would provide much needed nutrition and anti-bodies until then.

From Kellymom.com:

In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:

29% of energy requirements

43% of protein requirements

36% of calcium requirements

75% of vitamin A requirements

76% of folate requirements

94% of vitamin B12 requirements

60% of vitamin C requirements

And there's a whole lot more about the increased fat content and reduced illnesses on Kellymom's Extended Breastfeeding Fact Sheet.
 
But that's not why I'm writing this post. I'm writing this post to share my breastfeeding story, not argue the benefits of breastfeeding, which are many and undisputable.
 
Connor and I got off to a rocky start because of a hospital "lactation consultant" that handed me a nipple shield instead of actual usefull advice on breastfeeding. For 4 months, we were on that stupid shield. He would not breastfeed without it. If I was caught on an errand without it, the screaming would get worse and worse until I got home and found one. If I couldn't find it in the middle of the night, there was violence.
 
All the consultant really needed to tell me was that I was engorged and should pump a little, and be patient because Connor was drugged up on c-section anesthesia and would take several days to really get going.
 
Finally getting Connor off the nipple shield was a life-saver, because then it only took him 20 minutes to breastfeed instead of 45. Nipple shields are not efficient. They're good if you need them, but they are second best.
 
When Connor was 14 months old, our breastfeeding relationship hit another snag - I became unexpectedly pregnant. My menstruation had returned once, 5 months prior, so I didn't even know I was ovulating. My nipples became sore, and I felt nauseated every time Connor breastfed. So, I tried to cut him back. This engraged him.
 
I took him to a playground at my sister's townhome complex one afternoon and he was particularly ornery. My sister said, "I don't think I've ever seen Connor in a bad mood before." That was very poignant. Breaking off Connor before he was ready had a major impact on his personality, and it was noticeable to other people. He also stopped listening to us as much, and had temper tantrums when he hadn't had them before. Denying him access to my breast was a serious breach of trust.
 
In the middle of my pregnancy, my milk dried up. To compensate, Connor would lie next to me with a sippy cup of rice milk. He suckled a breast, then sipped from his cup, then suckles a breast, then sipped from a cup. Once the child can ask for it, it's time to wean? After a year, it's only for the mother? Nothing could be farther from the truth. Besides the documented nutritional benefits of extended breastfeeding, Connor had a deep emotional need to still suckle at his mother's breast. Cutting him off was the selfish thing, not the other way around.
 
When my colostrum came in a month before Deirdre was born, Connor suddenly looked up from my breast, smiled, and said "Yummy!"
 
When Deirdre was born, I often breastfed them simultaneously, and Connor would stroke Deirdre's head and cheek, and when she was old enough, she started to hold his hand and smile at him. At night, I had one child in one arm and one in the other. I won't lie - this was not comfortable for me. But, both children would fall asleep within 10-15 minutes, and there was almost no crying in the night.
 
Bryan and I know that the continuation of breastfeeding and cosleeping for Connor helped him bond with his sister instead of compete with her. he adored her. Still does.
 
At 2-1/2 years I finally starting night-weaning Connor. It was a slow process aided by the book "The No-Cry Sleep Solution." I started by timing the breastfeeding sessions, and then slowly made them shorter and shorter, until I was only nursing Connor once before bedtime and once in the morning, except when he was sick.
 
On his 3rd birthday, I decided that it was exhausting to breastfeed two active children and it was time to wean Connor.
 
I breastfeed him for the "last" time before bed on his birthday, and told him this would be the last time. And he was fine with it, which surprised me.
 
Then one week later, he became very sick.
 
A few weeks later, he was losing weight and had dark circles under his eyes.

After his third bout of illness in only two months, I breastfed him. He lost the dark circles and remained healthy for the rest of the winter.

I tried pumping milk and putting it in a cup, but he wouldn't drink it that way. I even added chocolate syrup. he wanted mommy or none at all. Our compromise was, once before bed, and once in the morning. He stayed healthier.

A few months before his 4th birthday last November, I started resenting him breastfeeding. Nothing had changed, it didn't hurt, in fact as a big growing boy, it took him 3 minutes to drain a breast, then roll over peacefully and fall asleep. I just - didn't like it. I started making up excuses and hoping he'd fall asleep before I got to him. Like clockwork, he got sick, and spent his birthday with pink-eye and a bad cold. Nevertheless, I just felt it was time, and on his 4th birthday, I weaned him for good.

2 weeks later, I conceived our 3rd child.

I do miss breastfeeding my boy. I miss using that instant comfort when he is sick or hurt. I miss him popping off and saying "Thank you, mommy, that was delicious."

His dark circles are still there, but I had my doctor take a look at him, and she said he looks vibrant and healthy. She then confessed that she breastfed her own son until he was 4, which just endeared her to me even more than she already is. I give him a multi-vitamin and have to get after him to drink water and eat something. Unlike Deirdre, who will eat anything, including hot salsa, Connor very rarely eats a piece of fruit or vegetable unless I bribe him, and would prefer to live off of plain noodles and fruit bars.

Now, did I do all this just to meet my own needs? Did I keep him from gaining some arbritrary independence?

Not if you know my Connor.

It was an honor and blessing to feed you with my own body, my son. I love you forever.

Why You Should Listen To Your Mommy Guilt

This post has been rattling around in my mind for several years. At the risk of losing friends, I've decided it needs to be written.

Guilt is not the enemy.

Your conscience is a warning system, like your engine light or a fire alarm, and the more you ignore it, the less it can help you.

Society has decided that guilt is unecessary and useless. It has decided that anything that makes people feel guilty, especially moms, is bad. It ignores that guilt is an inspirational tool, not a whip. It helps people feel comfortable exactly the way they are so that they don't feel that innner drive to change something for the better.

You can be patient with yourself and still use the feeling of guilt.

I'm going to use Church as an example.

Someone stands at the podium and talks about the importance of doing our family history. We shift in our seats. Yes, we know this. We've heard it before. We really should dedicate more time to this. But, we have a newborn/two jobs/a demanding Church calling/an ill family member/whatever. We really don't have the time or resources to add one more thing to our plate.

Well, no one is perfect. Don't the scriptures say that no one need run faster than they are capable? I do a lot for my family, I don't need this guilt.

Thus we talk ourselves out of doing anything about that nagging feeling we have that we could do more.

Or, we go to the opposite extreme. We make elaborate plans. We're going to spend 2 hours every Sunday doing family history. The first Sunday we are sidetracked by a sick baby, the next Sunday we are sidetracked by dinner guests, the third Sunday we give up and tell ourselves, we knew we couldn't do this.

Is there really no compromise? No middle ground? Couldn'twe use those feelings inside that there's something more we could be doing, and just pick ONE thing to do about it? Help the kids color a family tree and put it up on their bedroom walls? Ask one relative to dinner and ask them stories from their life? Pick one night this summer that we will get a babysitter and go to the temple to do one night of temple work?

Why does the guilt have to be bad? The dictionary defines it as remorse for committing a crime. Is that it? Is there a better word we can use for that feeling without making the feeling the enemy?

There was a huge backlash a year ago over a breastfeeding campaign because it made formula-feeding moms feel guilty. Why is that wrong? If a mom has to formula feed, shouldn't she use her knoweldge to compensate for what formula feeding lacks instead of getting mad at breastfeeding for making her feel bad?

I let my kids watch several hours of television each day. SHOULDN'T I feel bad about that? Instead of reminding myself that I'm only human, shouldn't I start slow and limit the tv watching to 3 hours and then 2-1/2 and then 2, or make sure I balance it with more play time outside, or do SOMETHING other than feel sick and tired and entitled to be this way without feeling bad about it?

If I yell at my kids, do I want to stop feeling bad about that, or do I want to keep it to remind myself that there are better choices, and I shouldn't give up until I get a little better at not losing my own temper?

Do I ever want to get to a point where I never feel guilty about anything? Will that really be healthy for me? Is it good, mentally, to feel like you don't have to change anything about yourself, that you don't need to try and improve anything, because you do too much already?

Wouldn't it be healthier and more productive to ask, "Well, what CAN I do with what's already going on in my life? Read one book with my kids each night? Make sure I always hold the baby while bottlefeeding instead of just propping the bottle up on her chest? Use television as a bribe to get the kids to eat carrots? What is one small thing that IS within my power? Just one?"

Mommy guilt is a message to ourselves that there is a different choice we could be making that is more in line with our chosen values. There is always SOMETHING we can do with that guilt, even if all we can do is make sure we say "I love you" one more time each day than we usually do.

If there truly is nothing more that we can do, then don't kill your conscience. Don't ignore it. Tell it that what it is asking of you is not within your grasp, or truly is not your responsibility. And then, either through a quiet moment with yourself, or through prayer, come up with an alternative feeling.

It's not your fault if your partner hits you or verbally abuses you, but they will go out of their way to make you feel guilty. Instead of taking responsibility, tell your guilt that it has made a mistake, and instead it should turn itself into the courage to get help.

It's not your fault if you get laid off and have a difficult time supporting your family, but you will feel guilty for not being able to contribute financially to your family's welfare. Tell that guilt that this is beyond your control, and it would be better if it helped you take stock of your chosen career or circumstances and helped you stay strong while you get through this crisis.

It's not your fault if you can't breastfeed. It's okay to mourn this, the same way I mourn my two c-sections. Tell your guilt that these are things you can't help, but it can help you search for ways to get as close as possible to breastfeeding, such as skin to skin contact and not resorting to a feeding schedule.

It is your fault if you hit your kids when they disobey you. You are control of yourself. Don't tell yourself that's just the way you are. Use that guilt as motivation. Make the feeling go away by changing instead of rationalizing.

Does any of this makes sense, or am I just alienating people again? ;-)

Have a Monsanto-Free Garden: Buy Seeds From These Companies

I first posted this almost 2 years ago. Now that it is seed catalog season, it is worth reposting. My personal favorite is Bountiful Gardens, except they don't have seed potatoes, so I'll be shopping two catalogs this year.

Here is a list of seed companies that do not have links to Monsanto and/or genetic modification.

Sand Hill Preservation Center
Seeds of Change
Seed Saver's Exchange
Renee's GardenBaker Creek Seed Co.
Peaceful Valley Farm Supply
Abundant Life Seeds
Underwood Garden Seeds
Bountiful Gardens
Kitchen Garden Seeds
High Mowing Seeds
Heirloom Acres Seeds
Garden City Seeds
Tomato Fest
Mountain Rose Herbs
Southern Exposure
Amishland Seeds
Tiny Seeds
Local Harvest
Heirloom Seeds
Fedco Seed Co.
Diane's Flower Seeds (she has veggies now, too)
Wood Prairie Farm
Victory Seeds
Wildseed Farms
Horizon Herbs
Heirlooms Evermore Seeds


Companies to avoid


Territorial Seeds
Totally Tomato
Vermont Bean Seed Co.
Burpee
Cook's Garden
Johnny's Seeds
Earl May Seed
Gardens Alive
Lindenberg Seeds
Mountain Valley Seed
Park Seed
T&T Seeds
Tomato Growers Supply
Willhite Seed Co.
Nichol’s
Rupp
Osborne
Snow
Stokes
Jungs
R.H. Shumway
The Vermont Bean Seed Company
Seeds for the World
Seymour's Selected Seeds
HPS
Roots and Rhizomes
McClure and Zimmerman Quality Bulb Brokers
Spring Hill Nurseries
Breck's Bulbs
Audubon Workshop
Flower of the Month Club
Wayside Gardens
Park Bulbs
Park's Countryside Garden