Is it just me or do you also find yourself surrounded by gardening inspiration lately? I’ve long been daydreaming about fresh garden beds full of juicy tomatoes, lettuce, cauliflower and climbing peas (anything Real Food related!) so after many umms and ahhs, we’ve finally begun! The only thing is, I wish we’d started sooner!
Personally, I’ve never had a green thumb (I’ve been known to have killed the odd potplant in my time) so I couldn’t possibly start my own garden! Or could I? The truth is, I can’t really say that because I’ve never really tried! Along the lines of a popular quote “if you think you can’t – then you probably can’t. But if you think you can – you can! In fact, Gardening should be a metaphor for life. Isn’t it interesting how our thoughts and past experiences overshadow our ability to grow?
Anyway, back to my garden. After a bit of research and with a sparkle in our eyes, my partner-in-crime and I headed down to the Local Markets. Our first stop – Organic John the Gardener. Well known to the Blue Mountains locals for his garden wizardry, we eagerly listened as he armed us with some words of wisdom (thanks John!) and a small supply of seedlings to get us started. We ended up with broccoli, lettuce, kale (woohoo! kale chips!) and some climbing peas.
On returning home we were ready to plant. Or were we? Did we have good organic soil? CHECK. Manure? CHECK. Oodles of enthusiasm? CHECK and CHECK! But alas – one crucial thing was missing – something to plant them in! Okay, so no we didn’t forget (did you really think we were that unorganised?) in fact earlier on we’d looked at a few different options, from container gardening in delicious looking salad bowls , to more natural timber planter boxes such as these ones from Joyful Abode and this one from Pure Mothers. However on further discussion, we decided on a compromise. Considering the amount of time and work involved to build, we decided we’d already put things off long enough (plus our babies needed some soil!) So instead we opted to jump in with both feet and go for Organic Johns idea. This is what the end result will look like (fingers crossed!)
These tubs ironically, are the old recycling tubs that were used in the Blue Mountains before the local council upgraded to big wheelie bins. Apparently there are hundreds of them still floating around up here. So, whilst they may not look like everyones cup of tea, I’ve actually found their edgy, no-frills look has kind of grown on me. PLUS they’re in keeping with the spirit of recycling (yay for re-using plastic instead of buying more!) there’s no building needed, they are totally portable and we get to plant the seedlings immediately. Win, win, win!
Whether you live in a house or an apartment we all have the opportunity, the ability and the birthright to nourish our bodies with the freshest and the best. So what better place than to source them from outside your own back door?! Whilst becoming fully self-sustainable may not be possible for many of us, we CAN make a difference by choosing to grow some of our own, buy fresh local produce direct from farmers (rather than the big stupid-markets) and reconnect with our food, our soil, our community and ourselves. In fact there are so many benefits to growing your own, it seems kind of crazy not to! Here are a few reasons why we’re so excited about our new apartment garden…
I want my kids to know what vegetables look like
I want them to have a healthy relationship with the real deal. After all, real fresh food should be a natural, normal part of life, don’t you think? Do you realise there are many children out there (as recently demonstrated on Jamies Food Revolution) that don’t even know their potatoes from their tomatoes?!! In fact a recent episode of Australian Masterchef (challenging contestants to handpick their food from the farm) proved that even the adults are struggling. As a result of turning our backs on real food (in favour of non-foods) we find ourselves and our earth sicker than ever before. Instead, we buy and we consume without first taking a moment to consider where it came from, how it was treated and under what conditions it was grown. A necessary quality of being healthy is the ability to open our eyes, become more in tune with our food and what it does for us – on a physical scale and a global one.
I want to eat according to the seasons
Do you know what’s in Season right now? Really? Have you ever considered the food miles of your garlic? your broccoli? your tomatoes? What’s the average travel time for your big shiny supermarket apples from the tree to your grocery basket? The truth is, we are suckers for convenience. Our expectations have been programmed and thus catered to, by clever marketing, GMO foods and crops, and the ability for an array of foods to be sourced (whether they are in season locally- or flown in from the other side of the world). So what impact do you think that has on our environment? our soil? our local farmers? our bodies? Remember, every time you spend you are voting for the type of world YOU want to live in. So do you want to be part of the cause? or part of the solution?
I want to consume nutrients, not chemicals
Life literally evolves from the dirt. In order to be strong and fertile ourselves, we need to get our food from soil that has the same qualities. This should be a no-brainer. Not convinced? Maybe you still haven’t read my previous post . And besides, fresh pesticide-free fruits and vegetables also taste better! The thing is, you may never understand the difference until you do the real food test – try an organic version that you bought from the local market (or grew yourself) after eating from the supermarket… go on I dare you!
So there it is, may my garden be off to an empowered beginning! What are you growing at the moment? Or are you about to begin your own?
