The Good Life – March-April 2021

Regardless of your
living situation, you
can grow some of your
own food each year.
Larger gardens yield more food and more work. It's
easy to get excited and plan a large garden in a backyard
in the spring, with the warm sun in your face and your
hands in the fertile soil. Reality hits in mid-summer,
when the weeds seem to be growing by feet each day,
the heat hangs in the damp air, and mosquitos try to
drain the gardener of every drop of blood. Too often,
the garden is abandoned to the weeds.
My significant other Melanie and I garden over a halfacre
of land on our rural homestead, Cottonwood
Bend Farm. As we both have full-time jobs, along
with summer kid's activities that seem to consume a
large portion of every week, we struggled to keep up
with the garden. That is, until we started using woven
landscape fabric.
The same fabric we use at the Soil Conservation
District for newly planted tree rows, it allows water
to filter through and smothers weeds. After laying the
fabric down in the Spring, we simply cut holes and
plant transplants into the soil. For crops that grow
from seed, such as okra, green beans, carrots and
many others, we cut rows a few inches wide by many
feet. Using a triangle garden hoe, a furrow is dug for
the seed bed and the seeds are introduced to their new
home.
Moisture is the key to a lush garden. The fabric keeps
the soil from drying out prematurely, especially on
hot, windy days. While we still water when the skies
remain clear for weeks at a time, it is better than
watering every few days. When Mother Nature smiles
and provides abundant moisture, our work is even less.
For the most part, people today are cut off from
their food source. We simply go to the grocery store
and buy what we consume, giving little thought to
how difficult it is to grow fresh, healthy crops. By
investing time and effort into growing our food, we go
from being a bystander of the natural process to an
active participant. Digging in the soil, planting a seed,
nurturing the crop as it grows and finally harvesting
the fruits of the labor not only nourishes the body but
also the soul. It also reminds us of the work required
to feed our country and our world. This spring, I
encourage you to plant a garden and grow some food
for your table. I can guarantee you will gain a new
appreciation of the natural world!
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