THE DILEMMA OF ONION SEEDS

When we moved out of the city 8 years ago we had all sorts of wonderful ideas about self sustainable living. We were going to live off-grid and off the land. We hoped to make a small income off what we were passionate about - for me that meant my goats. Three years in a flood hit. A year later we suddenly realized that it hadn't rained since the flood. We were now heading to a drought. Four years into the drought many things have changed. Many of our dreams of self sufficiency have disappeared with the elusive rain. We have been forced to make decisions to survive. One of which is growing onions for seed.

Now to most of you this may sound like a contradiction. Isn't onion part of a homesteading lifestyle? Not exactly. Our organic homestead was denuded by the flood. It is no longer watered by seasonal rain, which in turn keeps our dams and boerholes full. We have to put a lot more effort into organic living. Everything is suffering. Everything is hungry. Animals, plants and the very land we live on.

We have eventually been forced to do what we can to keep our home. We have joined many of the other farmers in the area who are planting onions and carrots for the big seed corporations. That means - and for family and friends who know me, this has been a heartbreaking decision I never thought I'd agree to - while not GMO crops the contract still requires poison. I hate that. It compromises the land. It is totally unnatural. It goes against what I believe and cherish.

Onion and carrot require far less water than the crops we grew before. Lucerne (alfalfa) grazing for animals (both fresh and baled) is an extremely thirsty crop. In the drought the limited water we have cannot keep the lucerne alive. When my husband explained that it was either sell the farm (IF we could sell in the drought) or grow onions it was a very, very hard decision for him to make. I supported his decision but I am grateful this is a burden that I do not carry. I don't think I could've made that decision.

So the onion and carrots grow on THAT side of our little farm. Our homes with veggie gardens and orchard are on this side. We're at the head of the very low well that still waters the land. We have been very blessed that, while not a profitable crop, the onion field provides enough to look after our homestead and those of us (parents and children included) who live here. When I am grieved by the very sight of the onions, especially when they are first planted and sprayed, the I lift up my eyes. Not too far from the green of the onions are all the rest of our fields. They are like a desert wasteland. Nothing grows. Just dirt blown by the wind. Bordering our land are mostly dead trees, including the deep rooted thorn trees. I love my home. This was a necessary decision. For the time being the onions keep us in the home we love.

This is now our third year and last week we started picking. We are truly blessed with a bountiful crop. As you can see the field is still white with a profusion of seed heads. The seed company is astounded that we've already filled our storehouses and the onions continue to head. How grateful we are for sufficient to sustain us another year. And how much we hope that it will be the last year of growing onions. And that the rain will come!