Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Food, off the grid

We got our Seeds of Change catalog in the mail the other day, and already Rich and I have looked longingly through it's pages, circling and putting stars by way more varieties than we could ever hope to fit in our little plot of earth. It is so exciting, how as the weather grows colder, we can look through the pages of seed catalogs and envision what we could possibly have accomplished by this time next year.

We have decided to forgo growing corn. I am hoping to preserve something of the variety of plants that grow here and corn is on almost every lot near here. It's impossible to tell whether it is intended to be used for ethanol, or feed, or if it is the yummy edible sweet corn, that if we are patient, we could buy at hundreds of farm stands that will spring up around harvest time. Although we could grow an heirloom variety and might try sometime, Rich and I both agree it is less expensive and a better use of our land to support our local food systems and grow other things.

Oddly enough, the one produce item we seem to have the hardest time narrowing our choices on is lettuce. So many of them look so fascinating and tasty, it is very hard to choose. We still have all the containers we grew in this last year though, so we very well could grow our lettuce on the porch, do more varieties, and have it more convenient for frequent harvesting anyways.

I am so excited and anticipating all that is coming in the next year: the garden and landscaping, learning to can and preserve food from the garden, and the upcoming fiber festival in May. Add to that if I am able to secure any decent paying writing gigs, and this coming year is shaping up to be a whirlwind of activity.


Image from here.

1 comment:

  1. Hello My Friend~ I LOVE seed catalogs, as well. And when in doubt as to which lettuce to buy, I say buy several to find out which ones you really like -- of course, I know garden space is an issue, and you could probably "plant" your entire property if you bought all the seeds you "really" wanted. BTW, thanks for the lovely Thanksgiving email - I love the idea of everyone sharing what they are thankful for this past year. One of the things I am thankful for is my new friend, Heather~ :O) All my Best, Teresa

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