Fairborn commencement
Badin graduation
Division I regional track finals
Happy Earth Day!
Happy Earth Day!
Today is the 38th annual celebration of the planet we call home, and a day to step back and think about things we can do to preserve and restore our natural resources…
So that’s the official line on Earth Day, but I want to know: what do YOU think about Earth Day?
Is it a time to reflect on accomplishments?
A time to call for more action?
Or something in-between?
Send a post, let us know, then go outside and do something good for the planet.
Home > Blogs > Living Green > Archives > 2008 > April > 13 > Entry
DIY dinner: things are sprouting
Before I get into today’s subject, I wanted to provide a link at the suggestion of a reader (see the comments on yesterday’s post). the Cox network of papers is wide enough that it’s sometimes easy to focus on one area, forgetting that other areas have just as much to offer.
Case in point: if you’re looking for cycling and bike commuting contacts in the Dayton area, check out the Dayton Cycling Club. While I don’t have first-hand experience with that organization, I’ve heard good things about them. Also, their web site has information on upcoming bike to work days, which is a sign they’re good folks to know.
On to today’s topic…
The seeds I started a couple of weeks ago have sprouted into a riot of green on my windowsill. While the end goal of the lettuce, tomatoes and Swiss Chard is to fill my salad bowl with home-grown ingredients, I’m discovering there’s more to the whole gardening thing than I first suspected.
For starters, even though I’m only watering and hoping for strong seedlings at this point, just the act of working with the plants is soothing - a calming moment in my usually busy days.
Also, it’s struck me over the last few weeks just how many people I’m paying for my produce. I’ll go more into that idea in the coming week, but for now I’ll say that a lot of what I put into my mouth seems to go through an awful lot of middlemen.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: DIY food
Comments
By Mike
April 15, 2008 12:58 PM | Link to this
It does not surprise me that you find even the simple act of watering and tending small sprouts in the windowsill to be therapeutic. When I got home yesterday I picked the first few shoots of asparagus which had popped through the ground about two weeks ago. Just standing outside eating these first raw fruits of the season (there aren’t enough yet to cook a mess) is tremendously satisfying. And as the season progresses there will be a lot more of those satisfying days and also more than enough back breaking days which are often necessary to get what we ultimately want. If anyone is new to gardening and thinks they should garden to save money on produce, well, you can dispense with that notion right away. A successful garden requires a lot of time and effort to bring it to maximum fruition. And then there is all the work involved canning, drying or freezing your harvest so you can enjoy it through the winter season. Make no mistake, it can be a lot of work. But, to me, it is well worth it. My family has always gardened. My 93 year old grandma still gardens today. Once you get hooked on the quality and knowing that it has only passed through your hands, you will find it hard to ever turn back. There is a funny and informative book on gardening which my grandma gave to me. It is a story about how self deceptive we gardeners can be when it comes to idealizing the gardening experience. It is titled “The $64 Tomato”. The author is William Alexander. He summarizes the theme of the book this way, “The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune,and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden.” It is a pretty funny book and one in which we can all see a little bit of ourselves.