HY-brid/

Some people have a knack for gardening. Ask the ghosts of all my dead houseplants and they’ll tell you I’m not one of those people. But gardening is something I’ve always aspired to, and the more I think about sustainability, the more I want to get past my hang-ups and start growing my own food.

Why am I compelled to grow food instead of flowers? I think the Whole Foods initiative Let’s Retake Our Plates sums it up pretty well: If you don’t know the story behind your food, don’t eat it. To me, this means not only knowing the story, but feeling good about that story. So one day I had a bit of an epiphany. I shop local, use canvas grocery bags, listen to community-supported radio, all that good stuff. I’ve got to start applying that sustainable spirit to my food consumption. It’s not just because I want to reduce my dependence on a system that consumes 7.3 units of fossil fuel for every one unit of food produced. It’s about taking care of my body is the same way I take care of the community I live in. (Somewhat ironically, this all means not shopping at nation chains like Whole Foods. Sorry, WF, but thanks for the inspiration!)

Knowing that you want to make a change is one thing, but actually taking action can be daunting. My husband Jim and I started by volunteering with the Victory Garden Initiative. Through the VGI, we’ve met experienced gardeners as well as newbies like us. Talking to people about it made us even more anxious to get started growing, and more confident that we could make it work.

So one weekend we (and by “we” I mean mostly Jim) built two 4×8 foot raised beds, based on this tutorial. Gathering the supplies and ordering soil was actually a lot easier than we expected. All the materials were pretty basic, and a nearby landscape company delivered the soil. All in all we spent about $200 for the materials and soil, with another $50 on seeds. When we got home, Jim got to work on the carpentry while I started transplanting seeds to seedling pots made out of newspaper (did someone say “reuse”?). Now we’re just waiting until the danger of frost is past to get some plants in the ground.

Not all of our food can come from the garden, of course, and not everyone has the time or space to do it themselves. Shopping at farmers’ markets is a great way to support local farmers and get fresh food that isn’t shipped in from across the country. Here’s a list of markets in the Milwaukee area; I particularly like the South Shore Farmers’ Market and Westown Market. Another way to make a change is to frequent restaurants that are part of an RSA, or Restaurant Supported Agriculture. RSAs make it easier for restaurants to purchase directly from local farmers. It just so happens that some of my favorite restaurants are part of Braise RSA. Score!

I’ll keep you posted on this urban agriculture adventure I’m on. Mother’s Day weekend is when we plan to do the planting. Wish me luck, and let me know what you’re doing to make your food consumption more sustainable.

Categories: gardening, home improvement

• 4 Comments
• Post Your Own Comment