August 24, 2004 link
Yesterday, I stepped outside to browse in the garden. I crouched down and looked underneath the big zucchini leaves. There were a few tiny fruits, but nothing big enough to pick.
Today, I stepped outside to browse in the garden. I crouched down and looked underneath the big zucchini leaves. The fruits were giant, begging to be picked. You wait for weeks for the plants to start producing, but once they get going they crank out the fruit so quickly.
August 22, 2004 link
Yesterday, I paid a visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden in suburban Glencoe. It was a beautiful afternoon, and they have an impressively large well-maintained park situated on a series of islands in the middle of a lake. I was very impressed by the landscape design and pedestrian flow, which encourages exploration. It’s impossible to see everything in one visit.
Of course, I was most interested in the Fruit and Vegetable Garden. They have 4 acres planted with 400 different edibles. In addition to standard garden beds, they have grape arbors, orchards, berry patches and nut trees. They also have a cool cutaway beehive, which you can look inside. If you live in Chicago, I recommend a trip.
August 20, 2004 link
Shame on me. I’ve been writing all these entries about ideas, but I haven’t said much about the day-to-day life of my garden—which is supposedly
what this site is about.
Prepare yourself for a massive update…
I took a vacation earlier this month to Washington, D.C., which included a visit to George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate and farm. I’m intrigued by the way in which Washington wove his farms and gardens together with his career as a general and politician, so I appreciated the chance to see his ideas in action.
While I was away, my friend Christine graciously volunteered to tend the garden. The squash vines and corn stalks grew in leaps and bounds during this time.
I also got some help from my buddies Karl and Tom, who spent their Saturday afternoon working on some miscellaneous tasks. Karl trimmed the hedges, while Tom pruned some trees and pulled weeds. Karl also released his aggression on the compost pile, which needed a good chopping and turning. We were pleased to find some nice black compost lurking at the bottom of the pile.
I ordered 3 pounds (1.4 Kg) of winter rye seed, which arrived in the mail today. I’m not growing the rye to eat, but as a “cover crop” during the winter. The idea of a cover crop is to protect the soil (from erosion, weed seeds, freezing). Bare soil is never a good idea. In the Spring, you till it under and it decomposes to enrich the soil. It might sound strange to grow something during the winter, but this cool-season grass actually thrives in the Fall and Early Spring. I’ll be planting it starting in October.
The food output of the garden has been strangely slow, but is on the verge. I’ve already been enjoying collards, green beans, herbs and zucchini throughout the summer. Within the next few weeks, everything else will start pouring in. Here’s the rundown:
- Tomatoes: The fruits are big and green, but none have ripened yet. I used the vertical method of tying them to poles and pruning off most of the side shoots. This makes them appear gauntly skinny, but improves the production of flowers (hence fruits).
- Pumpkins: Everybody who visits is fascinated by the gigantic pumpkin vines. I am too. The leaves are huge, and the vines stretch all over the place. I trained one of them to go up a ladder and over the top of an adjoining hedge.
- Cucumbers: These are going to be great. There are tons of prickly fruits ripening on the vine.
- Okra: The seed packets said to start them inside. I ignored this advice, and planted them directly outside. Now I understand why I should have started them inside: they grow really slowly. I have my doubts as to whether they’ll reach maturity before the frost.
- Collards, Zucchini, Basil and other herbs: Doing great.
- Sweet Corn: The ears are developing, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Corn is very demanding, because it’s been tamed (by breeding) so much. It doesn’t have the survival skills of other plants, and can be finicky. But even if it doesn’t work out, I love growing corn just for the sight of it. I love seeing a big stand of corn glowing in the late-afternoon sun.
- Radishes, Lettuce, Broccoli: I planted a Fall crop, and they look good. They’re still too tiny to eat.
- Onions: I almost forget about these, because they’re scattered all over the place. I usually don’t notice them. I should check on them.
- Jalapeno Peppers: Producing like crazy. I’m going to make some salsa.
- Sweet Peppers: Don’t seem too happy. They’re big and leafy, but not developing fruit. Hmmm.
- Raspberries: Done for the season. I need to prune out the old canes.
- Peanuts: I’m growing them as an experiment. So far, so good—but I haven’t noticed any peanut shoots yet.
- Green Beans: Producing steadily, but also disappointing. I planted six plants around each pole. But only one vine ended up growing on each pole. The others just never emerged from the ground.
How’s that for a massive update? I’ll try to do better. I like the shorter frequent entries better. What do you think?
August 15, 2004 link
This summer I’ve immersed myself in the inspiring and intelligent essays of Wendell Berry, Gene Logsdon,
Norman Wirzba and Brian Donahue. Along with many others, these guys compose a school of thought known as agrarianism.
For a long time, I’ve believed that civilization is progressing toward a better, healthier brand of science, economics, commerce and lifestyle. Taking the modern view of human advancement—which is to say that the depth of human knowledge is constantly advancing due to scientific discovery—we must assume that people will eventually find workable solutions for environmental destruction, global warming, poverty, trade inequities and disease.
In fact, many of these issues are addressed in the currently popular concept of “sustainable development”. The idea of sustainable development is that development (aka progress) can continue in a way which consumes fewer natural resources, and can thus be sustained indefinitely. Solar-powered homes and hydrogen-powered cars are examples of this train of thought.
It is my opinion that most of the sustainable development initiatives will eventually be found to be only slightly better than the current practices, prolonging the search for the great scientific discovery which will save humanity from itself. Along with the agrarians, I believe this discovery will not be found in technology, but by studying human history.
Throughout history, the decline of civilizations is always tied to poor agricultural practices—or more broadly, a widespread disrespect for the processes of life. This foreboding scenario is plainly evident in our current agricultural practices, in which we force poor soils to produce identical crops year after year. The commonly-known ecological principles of diversity, balance and self-contained systems are ignored, or thought to be made irrelevant by genetic modification, petroleum-based fertilizers, pesticides and growth hormones.
If one begins to study the ties between history and agriculture, it quickly becomes clear that food is the driving force in human history. One might also trace the connections between our current ills (obesity, world hunger, global warming) and our food system. There is much cause for pessimism.
I prefer to hold a more optimistic view, in which the same human imagination and intelligence which currently searches for a technological saviour, is instead applied toward implementing and refining a system which has already proven itself throughout the course of history. The venerable practices of farming and local economies have been shaped by thousands of years of research. They are successful because they honor both the cycles of nature—and the physical, spiritual, economic and social needs of human beings.
Because I believe in humanity, I believe that scientific thought will eventually draw the conclusion that agrarian philosophy is worth a second chance. Furthermore, I believe we can integrate a healthy agrarianism into our society in a way that allows us continue to pursue our cherised ideals of personal liberty, happiness, and equality.
What form will this society take? For many, the word “agrarian” conjures a society of peasants. I emphatically believe this is not the case, or at least doesn’t need to be the case. It certainly does not require a dismantling of the Internet, the Olympics, the arts, medicine, capitalism, tourism, social services, education or personal expression. We can still keep our iPods and our 401(k) plans.
I envision that the most fundamental change will be an erasing of the divisions between farming and everything else. Every person will have daily contact with agriculture from the day they are born. Large swatches of farmland will penetrate into the cities—providing convenient food, employment, recreation and beauty. Farmstands and food gardens will be an integral component of every neighborhood. Learning how to plant seeds and make compost will be a natural part of every child’s education. In every region, the specifics will be appropriate to the local culture and climate. Agriculture won’t be a specialized discipline that is far removed from the mainstream; it will be an everyday facet of life.
I like to think that these possibilities can be achieved within a few generations. Based on the remarkable changes we have witnessed in the past 50 years, I know we are capable of anything. I also know that agrarian authors like Berry and Logsdon might one day be hailed as visionaries.
I am toying with the idea of starting a discussion group in Chicago to talk about agrarian ideas and possibilities. If you read this site, you know I’m interested in the details of urban growing. But I think a discussion group could be widened to encompass politics, trade, food, philosophy, technology, law and much more. As any reader of Berry will know, they’re all inseperable components of the agrarian worldview. The group might eventually become a sort of agrarian think-tank for the Chicago region.
Ideally, this group would consist of individuals from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. Your input is valuable whether you’re a law expert, an economist, an environmentalist, a journalist, a gardener, a teacher or a concerned citizen.
If this sounds interesting to you, please let me know. As I said, I’m just toying with the idea—but if the interest is there, I will spearhead the discussion.
