Tell us Papa, how does your garden grow?

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Honestly, my main goal in gardening is simple… FOOD! To live, we must eat, and to eat, we need food. But, food usually costs money, and money can be hard to come by, even on steemit! Also, I believe that food should be one thing that you can trust… which is becoming less common these days.

I do enjoy ornamentals or some flowers, but mostly I garden for provide food for myself and my family.

GARDENING BACKGROUND

Growing up, we often had a least a small garden, but it wasn’t a main source of food for the family or anything. When it came to growing plants myself, I never really had any interest. Although I enjoyed seeing plants outdoors, I had no real interest in them.

In fact, it wasn’t until I moved to New Orleans that plants really caught my eye. First of all, there was such a magnificent variety. Secondly, you could see an interesting knee-high specimen of some variety and then turn the corner to see one towering over you! This is also where my interest in propagation began.

The vines, trees, and bushes that I began to grow at that point in my life were all ornamental, but I began to pick up skills that I am still using these days in my garden. So many of the plants that I met in New Orleans had an incredible will to survive, so they propagated easily. Many plants were used for landscaping. When the plants got too big, the person would just hack them back with a machete and toss the cuttings on the curb. The original plant would then just regrow.

I learned at this time that these cuttings could often be encouraged to root, so I began to collect all sorts of cuttings and started my own collection. When I moved out of New Orleans in 2005, my plants were one of the main things that I made sure to take with me. Some are still alive these days.

LET THERE BE FOOD

Once @mama-pepper and I bought our last house, I put in a 20’ X 30’ garden in the back yard and started planting some fruit trees. Since I was finally planning on being rooted for a while, I began to invest more long-term in being a faithful steward of the soil that I had access to.

Being a pepper fan and general “hot-head” peppers were one of the main plants that I began growing. I would get all sorts of varieties from all over the world. At one point, about 75% of my garden was just peppers.

But then, the @little-peppers started showing up… and they are still coming! Obviously you can’t just feed little children hot peppers! So, at that point I began to grow more “regular food” in the garden. From Peas and Beans to Carrots and Potatoes, from Tomatoes and Ground Cherries to Cilantro and Dill, I’ve been growing more and more of our food supply ever since.

Now, in Arkansas, I have a larger plot for a garden available at the moment, but we are planning on purchasing about eight acres very soon, and I plan on turning it into a permaculture farm with its own food forest and other features.

REAL FOOD

I don’t want to sound crazy, irrational, or paranoid, but I really don’t trust the “food” that is being sold on the shelves these days. When we consider the potential effects of pesticides, fertilizers, and GMOs, we should proceed with caution. When we look at the ingredients used to make processed foods, we may be wise to consider even further.

I know that I will never be able to control every variable in my food supply, but by choosing to grow more and more of my own food, I can keep a better eye on it and choose some of the things that the plants come in contact with.

In some ways, a garden or farm can be an act of protest, and perhaps it is in some ways for me too.

CONNECTED

I believe that there is a connection to the world around us that many people these days lack. Now I don’t worship the earth, but I do realize that it is my current home and I appreciate it. I love being able to dig my fingers or toes into the soil. I love being able to watch a fruit ripen and pick it at its peak.

There is a flavor and a freshness that no grocery store or super-center can compete with in the local garden. To enjoy the food from my garden, I don’t need to pick it premature so that it doesn’t rot in shipment. I don’t need to spray chemicals on it to make it turn from green to yellow, or coat it with wax to keep it firm and shiny.

When it comes to the @little-peppers this connection is also key. As I’ve said before, when the children plant, water, weed, and harvest the food, it cultures an appreciation within them that green beans in a tin can never could. The connection to their food produces gratitude and satisfaction, and that’s something that we can all appreciate.

GARDENING POSTS

Mixed in with the rest of my creative consistency with be my gardening posts. I’ll be doing updates on how the garden is doing, sharing favorite gardening tips, and trying new varieties and reporting on how I liked them.

Also, I’ll keep sharing my seeds, like the recent ones that I sent to @countryinspired & @generikat. When it comes to gardening, I’ll put my money where my mouth is and ship them for free to other steemians in the US to make it easy for them to get started or to try new varieties.

When I first joined steemit, it was in last July. I was hard at work in my garden when I did my introduction post, so right from the beginning gardening was one of the areas that I focused on. As I work other jobs and head through the seasons, the frequency of my gardening posts will vary, but I’ll keep them coming!

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FULL STEEM AHEAD!

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The long-term purpose of this account is to help provide the necessary funds to live a self-sufficient lifestyle at home with my family.