I can't say I've ever read Berry's book - something I feel I ought to rectify based on your essay - but I can say I've been enjoying the literal fruits of the labor of home gardening for a couple years now. Largely it's my wife who tackles that particular skill, seeing as I'm one of the greenhorn green thumbs you mentioned and seem to be stuck with a permanent incapability of wrapping my head around how much is too much or too little for this plant or that plant, but she handles it well and I still try to help her where I can. (Strawberries have largely been an unsuccessful grow attempt from us, but the tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers we get each Spring and Summer are delicious.)
It's difficult work and can certainly be tedious at times, but it's well worth it. And yes, you've only been doing it for six months, but that's enough time to learn the important lesson you did: you can't rush it.
It's a good one. The text that put him on the map of a more general audience and a gateway drug to his other works for many (myself included).
There really is SO MUCH to know when it comes to the garden. And, kind of to my own point but as a way of validating what you're saying, one patch of soil in your own yard might be different than another patch, meaning you could plant the same crop in both spots and one would perform better than the other. Like. That's so infuriating if efficiency is what you value! But if you're willing to take the time to learn, to be tutored by the earth, the be attentive to the needs of each plant, to slow down: it's really a beautiful practice.
Speaking of things to know, one of the things I've been interested in learning how to make to further improve our gardening output is terra preta, which basically involves boosting your soil with carbon. Basically, mixing particular amounts of charcoal into the soil to improve the richness of the nutrients. I need to do more research on the methods and see if I can find what would work best for home production, but alongside composting it seems like a promising and affordable way to potentially give our plants that extra edge to help them stay healthy. No life hacking required, either, since it's based in well documented ancient farming practices that had good success.
So good Nathaniel! That moment of cognitive dissonance really hits home with me. The past few months I've been feeling a similar physical pain within me as I realize how removed so many of my ideals are from my day-to-day habits. Thank the Lord for those little wake-up calls in Wendy's that we get at different points along the journey!
I recently purchased a cross online as a gift for a friend's wedding to go along with some kitchen towels as a representation of the home as the "domestic church," but when I received the cross, I was disappointed at the poor materials used and the fact that it had been mass produced in China. I was trying to give a meaningful gift, but the significance was greatly diminished when I realized I should have been supporting a local artisan who was using real materials (I know a few) instead of purchasing from a large online site and getting poorly made products from China. That moment has totally changed my perspective on gift giving, and served as a reminder to begin working harder on putting your money where your brain wants to be.
Oooooof, I feel that so hard. Thanks for sharing that with me. Yes! And see, these kinds of realizations are all around us just waiting to be...well, realized.
Really loved this. I read The Unsettling of America for the first time this year, and it's been incredibly impactful on how I think. I rent at the moment, but my wife and I are dreaming of what we can accomplish once we get a little plot of ground.
We rent too. I’m not saying that you have to do this, but we just decided that we’re not waiting for the economy to “get fixed“ so that we can finally buy a house or land so we can finally do the things we want to do someday (maybe lol). We just kind of went rogue and started gardening in the yard and built the chicken coop in the back and have chickens, and we’re probably going to clear some trees off the property and make room for some goats next year too.
Our house is owned by a property management company that has zero local presence, and we also don’t live in an HOA. Those factors definitely count.
Awesome! Not sure how much we could get away with, although there's no HOA here either. Definitely not waiting for a magic economical change of status—we're considering moving in with parents or going in on a place with someone we wouldn't mind living with in order to make it happen financially.
Welcome to the mud diggers! We wish you much joy and success.
What does weedom say about those beautiful raised beds? Too organized for us, because we are lazy. 😎. Keep them for sure, but go easier on yourselves for additional gardens. You did right to plant in a tight grid and not rows. (But we are too lazy to measure.) Your chickens are a super smart idea, and will be great help for your gardens if you control when they get in there.
When you expand, you could put cardboard on a patch of grass and wet it. Mound up some dirt on the cardboard, add composted kitchen scraps plus aged poo from your chickens, put your own yard waste covering on top, and plant.
We think mobile electric fence is the cheapest way to deter critters. It educates people too. 🤣 We run a single wire right over the lettuce, etc so we can have some for ourselves. We raise and relocate the wires as things grow.
Weeds will conquer all, unless you eat some. Shame to waste!! We chop and drop non-tasty weeds for cover. The lazy way of yard farming can bring you lots of food.
(We have noticed trouble with purchased soil products impeding growth of plants. Try to use your own products or a known good supply. )
I can certainly empathize with your sense of cognitive dissonance after reading Wendell Berry, though mine was less physical. For me, the realization that modern life - including the life I lived - had sicknesses that were far worse and more fundamental than I had any awareness of occured in late 2021. While working as a lube technician at a Chrysler dealership in my next to last semester for my physics degree, I found myself reading his, "Life is a Miracle" and I've never been the same since.
I also hope to start my own small garden come spring!
Keep your hands in the soil, Nate. As T. Jefferson said, "I am an old man but a young gardener", you will always be learning something knew. Or, in my case, over again.
Wendell Berry is a prophet for our times
I can't say I've ever read Berry's book - something I feel I ought to rectify based on your essay - but I can say I've been enjoying the literal fruits of the labor of home gardening for a couple years now. Largely it's my wife who tackles that particular skill, seeing as I'm one of the greenhorn green thumbs you mentioned and seem to be stuck with a permanent incapability of wrapping my head around how much is too much or too little for this plant or that plant, but she handles it well and I still try to help her where I can. (Strawberries have largely been an unsuccessful grow attempt from us, but the tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumbers we get each Spring and Summer are delicious.)
It's difficult work and can certainly be tedious at times, but it's well worth it. And yes, you've only been doing it for six months, but that's enough time to learn the important lesson you did: you can't rush it.
It's a good one. The text that put him on the map of a more general audience and a gateway drug to his other works for many (myself included).
There really is SO MUCH to know when it comes to the garden. And, kind of to my own point but as a way of validating what you're saying, one patch of soil in your own yard might be different than another patch, meaning you could plant the same crop in both spots and one would perform better than the other. Like. That's so infuriating if efficiency is what you value! But if you're willing to take the time to learn, to be tutored by the earth, the be attentive to the needs of each plant, to slow down: it's really a beautiful practice.
Speaking of things to know, one of the things I've been interested in learning how to make to further improve our gardening output is terra preta, which basically involves boosting your soil with carbon. Basically, mixing particular amounts of charcoal into the soil to improve the richness of the nutrients. I need to do more research on the methods and see if I can find what would work best for home production, but alongside composting it seems like a promising and affordable way to potentially give our plants that extra edge to help them stay healthy. No life hacking required, either, since it's based in well documented ancient farming practices that had good success.
So good Nathaniel! That moment of cognitive dissonance really hits home with me. The past few months I've been feeling a similar physical pain within me as I realize how removed so many of my ideals are from my day-to-day habits. Thank the Lord for those little wake-up calls in Wendy's that we get at different points along the journey!
It's truly astonishing that the dissonance didn't flatten the Wendy's.
What's an instance of dissonance that you've experienced? What changes or desires resulted?
I recently purchased a cross online as a gift for a friend's wedding to go along with some kitchen towels as a representation of the home as the "domestic church," but when I received the cross, I was disappointed at the poor materials used and the fact that it had been mass produced in China. I was trying to give a meaningful gift, but the significance was greatly diminished when I realized I should have been supporting a local artisan who was using real materials (I know a few) instead of purchasing from a large online site and getting poorly made products from China. That moment has totally changed my perspective on gift giving, and served as a reminder to begin working harder on putting your money where your brain wants to be.
Oooooof, I feel that so hard. Thanks for sharing that with me. Yes! And see, these kinds of realizations are all around us just waiting to be...well, realized.
Really loved this. I read The Unsettling of America for the first time this year, and it's been incredibly impactful on how I think. I rent at the moment, but my wife and I are dreaming of what we can accomplish once we get a little plot of ground.
We rent too. I’m not saying that you have to do this, but we just decided that we’re not waiting for the economy to “get fixed“ so that we can finally buy a house or land so we can finally do the things we want to do someday (maybe lol). We just kind of went rogue and started gardening in the yard and built the chicken coop in the back and have chickens, and we’re probably going to clear some trees off the property and make room for some goats next year too.
Our house is owned by a property management company that has zero local presence, and we also don’t live in an HOA. Those factors definitely count.
Awesome! Not sure how much we could get away with, although there's no HOA here either. Definitely not waiting for a magic economical change of status—we're considering moving in with parents or going in on a place with someone we wouldn't mind living with in order to make it happen financially.
Welcome to the mud diggers! We wish you much joy and success.
What does weedom say about those beautiful raised beds? Too organized for us, because we are lazy. 😎. Keep them for sure, but go easier on yourselves for additional gardens. You did right to plant in a tight grid and not rows. (But we are too lazy to measure.) Your chickens are a super smart idea, and will be great help for your gardens if you control when they get in there.
When you expand, you could put cardboard on a patch of grass and wet it. Mound up some dirt on the cardboard, add composted kitchen scraps plus aged poo from your chickens, put your own yard waste covering on top, and plant.
We think mobile electric fence is the cheapest way to deter critters. It educates people too. 🤣 We run a single wire right over the lettuce, etc so we can have some for ourselves. We raise and relocate the wires as things grow.
Weeds will conquer all, unless you eat some. Shame to waste!! We chop and drop non-tasty weeds for cover. The lazy way of yard farming can bring you lots of food.
(We have noticed trouble with purchased soil products impeding growth of plants. Try to use your own products or a known good supply. )
I can certainly empathize with your sense of cognitive dissonance after reading Wendell Berry, though mine was less physical. For me, the realization that modern life - including the life I lived - had sicknesses that were far worse and more fundamental than I had any awareness of occured in late 2021. While working as a lube technician at a Chrysler dealership in my next to last semester for my physics degree, I found myself reading his, "Life is a Miracle" and I've never been the same since.
I also hope to start my own small garden come spring!
Keep your hands in the soil, Nate. As T. Jefferson said, "I am an old man but a young gardener", you will always be learning something knew. Or, in my case, over again.