What We're Doing

Bill and I have talked on and off about urban farming and and other sustainable agricultural practices since we moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan from Tennessee 3 years ago. We have finally made some movement toward seeing what we can realistically do since we a) both have full time jobs; and b) have limited money and land available. In the spirit of the "Couch to 5k" running program, we've decide to take slow, incremental steps in hopes that we won't bite off more than we can chew.

From my perspective (Bill you can chime in with your own notes on why you want to do it) I resent like hell the idea that I've been duped in to living in a way that is neither healthy nor sustainable. I believe that the media and poverty played a huge role in that and in my opinion, that is just not acceptable. I was raised almost completely eating processed foods: Koolaid, Froot Loops & instant mashed potatoes. Granted, I've not fed my family in that way for many years but we still have a long way to go before I would be comfortable saying that we have a healthy diet. I'd like to improve that.

So what are we doing?

1) We've started a small vegetable garden in our back yard. Tomatoes, peppers, zuchinni and several herbs.

2) I've got worms. Literally. Under my kitchen sink. Hopefully they'll make some yummy compost and worm tea to help the garden.

Next step (in my mind) is to learn more about local food sources and how to live off of what is available seasonally. We have a deep freeze so there is plenty of room to freeze for the off season. Another "To Do" is to visit the local Food Co-Op and figure out how that works in to the plan.

By the way, did you know that there are vendors at Farmer's Markets who buy their produce from major distributors? How many people have made a commitment to eating local and think they are doing so by going to a Farmer's Market? Duped, I tell ya.

Dee