Rethinking Lifestyle

Interest in gardening in the South East is growing. Participants in last week’s Urban Organic Gardening Workshop in Steinbach shared information and ideas on a wide range of topics related to gardening. These included raised beds, vertical gardening, composting, inter-planting, companion planting, crop rotation and many more. Lots of enthusiasm there!

Yet it seems that many in our region find reasons enough not to grow their own food, a habit that their parents and grandparents took for granted. What are those reasons and how can we keep them from becoming excuses?

Food is still relatively cheap in the grocery stores. Yes, this is true, but food prices are rising quickly. As the price of fuel and fertilizers continue to climb, which they undoubtedly will, so will the price of food, especially food imported from afar. The rich will still likely be able to buy what they want, but others will find it increasingly difficult to acquire the food they need. Getting a head start on growing your own food is a smart move.

I am too busy to garden. How true it is that our modern lives are too busy. But we really do have some control over how busy we make our lives and what priorities we choose. There is something about gardening that forces you to slow down, savor the beauty and bounty of nature and discover an amazingly generous and delightful community together with other gardeners.

My yard is not big enough for a garden. I am troubled by the fact that most of the housing developments in our area assume that people will not garden and so do not allow for more than a few square feet of yard space. This is a travesty in a land where we still have a lot of elbow room. But even in a small yard, you can raise an amazing amount of food in a small raised bed. Or you can find space in one of our community gardens where you will be warmly welcomed.

It is just too much work. Right, gardening takes physical exercise – and that is just what the doctor ordered. Our modern aversion to regular exercise lies at the root of many of our physical ills. So some of us run around town, cycle across the country, pump iron at the gym, etc., but can’t imagine doing some purposeful work like digging in a garden. Many have mostly forgotten the joy of actually “feeling” their muscles once in a while!

I don’t know how. I have met many people who say they just haven’t got a clue about gardening because they have never seen it done. But it’s never too late to learn, and there are still plenty of teachers around. Check with older family members or friends – they still know how. You could contact members of the South Eastman Transition Initiative or the Steinbach and Area Garden Club who are ready to help you transition toward growing some of your own food.

No excuses left! And it’s not too late to get started this spring.