Editor, The Times:
Summer is supposed to be a relaxing time. For many, I suspect it is – however for many it is a time of glorious preparation for the long winter season.
Gardens are in full production. Fruit trees drip with goodness, delicious fruit adorns their branches. Tables groan under the weight of canning jars. Freezers devour still more ready to cook pies and blanched veggies.
In reading this morning’s BC Food Security Gateway newsletter I discover that in a 30 year USA study people are tooting the fact that organically grown multi-crop gardens are good for pest control and water retention. Ya think? We gardeners could have shared that information throughout the years to any whom would listen – but somehow it is more ‘believable’ when quoted from a 30-year study.
So, what is this gardening all about? Indeed it is difficult – all work is difficult, folks or else ‘they’ would have called it play. So, why not think of it as play? The tasks of taking a seed, having it germinate, grow. In many cases a plant will be asked to survive transplanting at the hands of amateurs. Then that same plant needs to be able to flourish when their gardeners can only water on odd or even days. It needs to have enough warmth and sunlight (open the greenhouse door – let the heat out and the bees in!) and it needs to have a loving gardener to remove the weeds and thin the plants so that the healthiest can bolt on to the finish line – otherwise known as our mouth.
My hat is off to all those who realize that the real ‘bottom line’ is their health. My hat is off to the mothers and fathers who choose to take their children to the berry patch and the garden before they gain the reward of a nice dip in the lake and a picnic lunch that they helped to prepare. You are the true hero’s!
By taking the time to prepare your family for a winter of eating local by preserving the harvest, and by sharing the skills with the next generations, you are guaranteeing survival of the species.
We humans will need to survive on very little in the very near future. Look around. The Earth is heating up. Water is scarce in many many countries, including ours, as we allow water privatization and profits to replace common ownership with corporate takeovers. The oceans are getting very sick. There are very few varieties of birds compared with when I was a child. Things are changing and those who go outdoors realize they are changing rather quickly.
We need to share our gardening and survival skills. Thank you to all who have taken this time-consuming step towards the survival of the species. My hat is off to each and every one of you!
Cheryl Thomas
Clearwater, B.C.