May 24, 2013
Yesterday was my oldest child’s 7th birthday. We started the morning strawberry picking. She wanted strawberry shortcake for dessert tonight.
I hope we will have enough strawberries to last me throughout the year. I did last year. This is the goal – to eat locally and eat seasonally.
It is not normal to eat fresh strawberries in January. Just because it is at the grocery store, it is not ecologically or historically normal.
Why do we need to use ungodly amounts of petroleum (among other things) to get fruits and veggies from California in the dead of winter when all you have to do is wait until they are in season, grow/buy/pick as many as possible, and preserve them?
Is it more work? Yes. Do you have to think and plan more? Yes. Is it worth it? For the vast majority of Americans, sadly, NO!
But for me, it is. It teaches my kids
- They don’t get everything they want when they want it. Many times you have to wait. To learn that at a young age is invaluable.
- How to work hard for their food
- Food comes from the ground, not aisle 7. It is important to me that my kids see their food before it goes on their plate or enters our house.
I have been reading Joel Salatin’s ‘Folks, This Ain’t Normal’. Can you tell? 😉 Okay, off the soapbox.
After strawberry picking, washing, cutting, drying, freezing, and making jam, I spent the afternoon in the garden, planting more cantaloupe, snaps, and lettuce. I also transplanted the last plants from my mini greenhouses: pumpkin and tomatoes. And finally, I added more mulch to the potatoes and fertilized everything that was established (I have been making manure tea this week).
I am officially exhausted.
Gardening Without... 