What can we all do to feed ourselves?

Get this. You can either mow, trim, prune, edge etc., that space behind or beside your house, or you can beat fuel prices, pesticide contamination, or just plain old lousy food. Extra benefits include sweating (one of the healthiest things your body can do), toning, muscle-building, and yes, even dosing with vitamin D. Where do you think your vitamin D comes from, WalMart?

How's that for an "in your face" paragraph? Okay, now I'll settle down and talk. Wendy was relating a discussion she had yesterday with some friends about the food crisis we all think is upon us. The topics were things like "who will pick the stuff when all the illegals have gone", and "how will we be able to afford food shipped across the country with diesel costing over $4.50 already", and "will we ever be able to eat good food again". The standing joke on our farm now is that whenever anything seems to be heavier than it should, we call it Chinese. Thank WalMart for that slightly ethnic, mostly true, not-funny-at-all thought.

Here's the whole point I'm trying with little subtlety to make. If you have a flower bed, plant 3 tomato plants across the back. Instead of weeding that border, plant radishes. In 30 days you can eat the greens and the roots, they are attractive, and they crowd out weeds. Nothing is prettier than a small spot of curly mustard, or red giant mustard, or even a nice lettuce mix. I defy you to find a better ground cover - and it's edible. Farming is not an art, and it's not just for people with tens or thousands of acres. Do you know how much you can grow in borders, along walks, and among your flowers? Go get in your car right now and find a used bookstore. No, wait, read this first! Then go get Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. It doesn't matter if you get the original or the revised one, they're both good for the soul. Then look on line and find Two Acre Eden by Gene Logsden. If those two books don't make you go buy a new trowel and sunbonnet, something's wrong with you.

I said all that drivel to say this. We are in the beginnings of a food crisis that will become a food revolution. I'd like for all of us to take it on head-on. If you don't have seeds, Wendy and I will toss a small packet in your CSA basket. If you don't know what to do, or how to do it, it's easy. Stir the dirt with a stick, drop in a seed and cover it. If it doesn't rain soon, water the spot. In days you will see an absolute miracle. It never gets stale, never loses its magic power. And the sense of satisfaction you get when you pick, pluck or dig a meal that you started and nurtured is just as magical. It's not too late, not too hot, and not too hard Dig in and dig it.

And oh, by the way, we can use this blogspot for comments and commentary. It has started getting some hits from outside.