- Author: Rose Hayden-Smith
I've written a bit about gardening as an important part of civic engagement in American life. Not only in the past, as reflected in Victory Garden programs, but in contemporary American society. Programs such as The Food Project in Boston engage youth through gardening/urban agriculture, providing not only practical skills, but valuable life skills, as well. These kinds of efforts engage youth in creating a food future that is sustainable, healthy and just.
I call this "coming back out onto the front porch."
When I was a small child growing up in a bucolic community outside of Philadelphia, the return of warm weather each spring brought the screen door out from winter storage. The front door remained open nearly all summer, even late into the evening. The front porch was a favorite gathering spot. There, the business of the neighborhood, whether negotiating playdates, exchanging pleasantries or courting (I had older siblings) was transacted.
Each Fourth of July, our front porch became the staging ground for our family's participation in the neighborhood parade. In retrospect, it was a pretty simple thing: bikes, wagons and all the kinds of contraptions kids could create, decorated in red, white and blue. When I was five, I led the procession down our block, wearing a tall Uncle Sam hat. The day seemed to last forever, with lots of good food shared among neighbors (including tomatoes from our garden, salted watermelon, and incredibly sweet berries). Everyone came out onto their front porch to participate in the collective life of our block.
Two weeks ago, our CSA piloted delivery of our midtown Ventura produce boxes to my front porch. It was a great trial run. Two of the families to whom boxes were directed are close friends. The mother of the third family works at my daughter's school, and I know her. One box was to be claimed by a woman who is a friend of a friend. The other boxes were destined for individuals I had not previously met.
We left the front door open, and throughout the course of the late afternoon and into the evening, people dropped by to pick up the boxes. It was nice to say "hello," talk about the great food we had received, and just re-connect. Natalie and I stepped out onto the front porch into "deep community," where we shared with neighbors and new friends our intentional decision to participate in a different kind of consumption pattern.
Contents of our box included farm-fresh eggs, fresh-baked bread, lucious blackberries, fennel, carrots, potatoes, cherries, apricots, lettuce, squash, and the largest onions I've ever seen. Good stuff all. An extra box was left for sharing with neighbors and friends, and was distributed by early this morning. We had extra fennel...did a neighbor want it? No, but she'd call another neighbor and see if they did.
A lot can happen when we step out onto our front porch. Even more can happen when we move into our yards and garden.
Warmer weather provides a great opportunity to start a garden of some sort. Take advantage of the longer days, the slower pace, and reconnect with the soil. Grow something for yourself, something to share with a neighbor, or something to donate to a local food bank.
And after you've planted your garden, come onto your front porch, and see what happens. Community happens around gardens.
"A Garden for Everyone. Everyone in a Garden."
- Author: Rose Hayden-Smith
My family continues to enjoy an abundance of riches on the fresh, local, good food front.
This week's CSA box: 1 head Romaine lettuce; 1 elephant garlic; 1 lb broccoli; 1 head cauliflower; 1 lb yellow crookneck squash; 1.5 lbs Red Lasuta potatoes; 1 bunch rosemary; 1 pint strawberries; 1 lb pixie tangerines; 2 lbs Red Ruby grapefruit; and rosemary focaccia. The potatoes didn't last long: they were roasted the first night with olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. They provided a side dish for dinner, accompanied Natalie's omelet the next morning, and also ended up in her lunch box. (Apparently, she really liked them!).
The CSA box was supplemented by a visit to a local farmstand that culled a variety pack of locally-grown berries, cucumbers, and oranges. Additional bonus: what's growing in our own backyard...blood oranges, lemons, some tasty herbs.
What we're having difficulty growing this year is lettuce, usually a reliable crop for us. We know the reason. We recently added a new family member: a wonderful little dog found at a local rescue organization. (Like our food, we like our dogs locally grown). Winnie loves to lay in the lettuce bed. It's already raised up off the ground several feet, but she easily jumps into it. We're considering our options, but they appear somewhat limited, unless we resort to rooftop gardening. (Now that's an IDEA!).
Our Mother's Day outing was to the local nursery, and a fine gift it was. As a result, this week we planted cucumbers and some basil (indoors and out); the tomatoes will go in this weekend.
I fully recognize that Ventura is quite different from many other places. It enjoys some of the best weather in the world. (This is not an exaggeration). But my wish for you this week is to plant something. If you don't have an adequate space for gardening, find a good container and create a great container garden. If you have children, this will provide a great and memorable family activity.
"A Garden for Everyone. Everyone in a Garden."
- Author: Rose Hayden-Smith
Our family recently began subscribing to a CSA (community supported agriculture) venture. We live in Ventura, and have ready (and enviable!) access to an amazing array of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. We buy strawberries from a local farmer who operates across the street from my husband's office, or at our local farmer's market. We buy oranges from a farm stand near Santa Paula. We have our regular go-to people. But we wanted more, and we wanted to be more intentional in our purchases, to make an ongoing financial commitment to a particular group of local farmers.
So we joined an established CSA that was willing to extend their service a little south, if we could find a handful of subscribers. It was easy to do, and through various email lists and via word-of-mouth, a group of us found each other and began this experiment.
Wednesday is CSA day, and all of us look forward to it with excitement. Last week, my daughter Natalie had a minimum day at school, and joined me for the pick-up at Patagonia's corporate office. (Nice company...for no charge, willing to let boxes of produce be stacked in their lobby, under the stairs. The receptionist even offers to help us carry out the box!).
As we carried the box to the car, Natalie's eyes sparkled. As I drove home, she pulled every item out of the box, examined it with delight, and radiated excitement. Literally beaming. Eggs from cage-free chickens and fresh-baked organic bread are add-ons we've gotten, and Natalie is delighted. She tears off pieces of the bread in the car. When we arrive home, she wants a "snack." This ends up becoming a golden omelet seasoned with fresh basil, toasted cinnamon-cranberry bread, sliced sun-kissed strawberries and pieces of pixie tangerines, so succulent and sweet. Oh, and a tiny salad of the tastiest butter lettuce sprinkled with shredded cheese.
Dinner the next night is easy, thanks to the recipes provided with the box. Natalie helps to prepare wheat pasta with sauteed zucchini (flavored with the elephant garlic, which she says is the best thing she's ever smelled).
The next day, I've invited Natalie, a six-year veteran of school garden programs, to speak to our local Master Gardener trainee class about why it might be important for them to volunteer with youth in garden settings. She does talk about it, so eloquently that I am moved. She is particularly concerned about the oil situation, and the implications for her generation. She sees gardening as one part of the solution. What is the most moving aspect of her talk, however, is what she tells these adults about our family's subscription to the CSA. She describes the contents of this week's box lovingly. Many of them don't know what a CSA is, so she explains, very articulately.
While Natalie admits she doesn't want to be a farmer yet, I'm working on her. And she is becoming more interested in gardening and food systems: her summer crop this year will be cucumbers, her absolute favorite. And I definitely feel that the connections Natalie is making about farming and where her food comes from are becoming more real to her, and helping her to understand the larger context of the food system, what is sustainable, and what is not. The connections are made real several days a week, when she helps prepare and eats the good food produced by her neighbors, and can recite the memory of the taste, the smell, the feel of that good food to others.
"A Garden for Everyone. Everyone in a Garden."