For many years, I've wanted a garden. My grandma, Lillian, kept a garden, and would stand in her kitchen, smoking cigarettes and canning produce. She kept so many cans of food in her basement back on the farm. I've always wanted a garden.I've container gardened practically everywhere I've ever lived, and I planted tomatoes, peppers and herbs around my beds at my house. But this year, I read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and she wrote about how she and her family produced or traded for what they needed, and tried to live as a localvore for a year. So, in July, I decided that I would start. I got All-Season Landscapers to rototill a 18X20 foot garden, I put spikes and wrapped it in bunny wrap. I went to Bostdorf's and bought peppers, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprout, onions, cauliflower, and basil. I shop every week at the Farmers Market. I make my own bread and cheese.
And I like what's happened. I know the farmers who produce my food. I have a routine and see my people each week. The lady who sells me peppers. The young guy who sold me so many cherries I can hardly believe it, and then sold me concord grapes. My beef and egg people. My Hungarian mustard lady. The gentleman with the carrots and okra.
I bought a freezer and filled it with my own garden produce. And I filled it with chicken, tamales, and beef from my Farmers Market crowd. Chicken without antibiotics nor hormones from the Amish. Beef from a farming family in Weston whose wife shows miniature horses. And there are happy chickens who produce my weekly farm fresh eggs.
And I canned, and canned, and canned. And dehydrated. So, far, and this is without my sauerkraut which is fermenting in my kitchen right now, I have 235 cans of food for this winter. I canned 20 kinds of things, 21 when the sauerkraut is done in a few weeks. I canned cherries, corn relish, pickled okra, pickled dilled green tomatoes, dilly beans, 3-bean salad, peach chutney, peaches, beets, blackberry jam, chow chow relish, apple sauce, apple butter, tomatoes, raspberry jam, curry apple chutney, sweet yellow tomato chutney, tomato salsa, freezer slaw, and dixie relish. And I dehydrated peaches, nectarines, cherries, herbs, herbal tea, apples, tomatoes, and peppers. And I froze so many wonderful vegetables. I am trying to see if I can get through the winter eating mostly local. I want to decrease my Kroger's dollars.
Also, this summer, I put up laundry lines in my backyard and in my basement, so that I don't need to use the dryer anymore. I try to wash my clothes less frequently too. And I walk to work and most places where I can run errands on my own energy.
It was fun this summer. I felt like I was channeling my grandma Lillian. I have to face it. I went overboard. I so enjoyed shopping at the Farmers Market, bringing the food into my kitchen, and getting so sweaty and hot, canning all day long. I enjoy bringing my Violet her organic carrots. And I enjoy knowing that my own canned food tastes wonderful! I just love using my own canned tomatoes! And vice or not, I enjoyed smoking cigars when my canning was done and walking Zelia in the neighborhood.
And this summer, I built a compost bin from a kit -- I have three holding bins and one active hot composting bin. Violet helps produce matter for it, and Hailee will too in the spring. And my garden and kitchen clippings go in too. I love aerating it, and watering it, and feeling the heat coming off it.
And this summer, I didn't use air conditioning; I kept my home open to the breeze. Yes, sometimes it was hot, but I didn't mind. And I'm going to try and restrict my use of heating fuel this summer, to the extent that I can.
I enjoy this journey. Toward the end of canning season, it wasn't much fun, but now it's the Fall and soon this year's garden will be done. I've only got sauerkraut to can, and cauliflower, bell peppers, hot peppers, and brussel sprouts to process and freeze. This weekend, I canned Chow Chow Relish with cabbage, cauliflower, and peppers from my own garden. That was very satisfying! And I've been eating cabbage with creole slaw sauce, and fried green tomatoes in my own bread crumbs and Remoulade sauce practically all summer. AND, get this, I make a wonderful Mozzarella. Sometimes I even buy local wine and beer. And there's nothing quite as nice as walking to my class with tea heated from mint herbs from my own garden.
And even this summer, my mentor, Lynn White, sent me a book that her mentor had given her about gardening and going organic.
Now, it's Fall, and I bought Alpaca yarn from the Elliott family of Bowling Green to make local scarves for me and my nieces. And I bought yarn from local producers in Pennsylvania to make an afghan.
So, I encourage everyone to read Kingsolver's book. I know that having my own garden, cutting down my energy use, eating locally more won't stop our problems with global climate change, won't help the polar bears, or discover what's going on with our bees, etc. But it helps me. I know my own farmers. I grow my own food. I am getting myself ready for the big changes we'll need to make on earth to show that we care for her. I want to be ready. After all, the readiness is all!
http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/
