Itty Bitty Tomato

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Abstract

to starve. Tens of thousands of them are marching northward to America.</p><p id="dd40">What would happen if we Americans went to the grocery store tomorrow and half the shelves were empty? That actually happened once in the nation of Cuba. Before the Soviet Union collapsed half the food Cubans ate came from Russia. But the Soviet Union could no longer subsidize Cuba so when Cubans went to the grocery store half the shelves were empty. They could no longer depend on the Soviet Union or their own government since no one would trade with Cuba. The people were facing a grave situation.</p><p id="cd14">So the people took it upon themselves to fix the problem. They began growing gardens like crazy. Every family had a garden and every square foot of earth was planted with food crops. People in apartments had gardens in pots on their balconies. People bartered with each other for seeds and produce. Farmer’s markets sprang up all over. The people saved themselves.</p><p id="1b2e">It’s been over forty years since I read the book, <b><i>Small Is Beautiful</i></b>, by E. F. Schumacher. I think I need to hunt that book down and reread it.</p><p id="8a8c">Nowadays nothing is done unless it is done to scale. It is how American businesses and farmers think. If it is not big then it has no value. Children grow up thinking that food is something that comes from a grocery store or restaurant. They have no idea where food really comes from; that food can actually be grown. Collectively we have entered a complete disconnect from nature and the planet. When that day comes when the grocery store

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shelves go empty our money will be of little value and we will be utterly clueless as to what to do.</p><p id="c438">Anyway, enough ranting. The truth is that even though I live in an apartment with no balcony I do have a teeny, tiny, garden located in four large pots on the front porch of the building. Three of the pots are filled with flowers and in the fourth pot is a tomato plant. (Flowers are apparently very important to me as is the bird-feeder I hung down there.)</p><p id="77f7">The good news is the first tomato on my little tomato plant is turning red! There are also several green ones. It may be a small one but in about a week I’ll be able to eat my first homegrown tomato of the year. I am so freaking happy and excited by this! I’m practically delirious with joy over this.</p><p id="1e39">I am so thrilled I simply had to share the news.</p><p id="f53d"><i>Copyright by <a href="https://readmedium.com/white-feather-archive-index-c95167f7dbaf"><b>White Feather</b></a>. All Rights Reserved.</i></p><p id="096c"><i>Speaking of food…</i></p><div id="1413" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/mulberry-c34fcac0b02f"> <div> <div> <h2>Mulberry</h2> <div><h3>America’s forgotten fruit</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*l4Q1dLw9lHykzoyJZQiFug.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Small is beautiful

I was talking with someone a few weeks ago and the subject of gardening and food came up. I lamented the fact that living in an apartment I had no place to have a garden. I want to grow my own food; not just to save money at the grocery store but also to strengthen my connection with Mother Nature and the planet.

The woman said that she used to have a sizeable garden in her back yard but gave up gardening several years ago because it was too much work. “It’s so much easier just to buy all my food at the grocery store,” she said.

Of course she still has to work to earn the money to buy that food — and anyone who has been to a grocery store knows that prices just keep going up and up and up.

I also talked to a farmer recently who complained about how this year’s wheat crop is the worst he’s ever seen. (Get ready for bread prices to shoot up.) He also said that because of the weird weather we’ve been having over the last year his corn crop is also sub-par as is his soybean crop.

That got me to thinking about how Central America is experiencing its worst drought in history. Farmers are experiencing close to 100% crop failure. Their economies are in ruins and they are beginning to starve. Tens of thousands of them are marching northward to America.

What would happen if we Americans went to the grocery store tomorrow and half the shelves were empty? That actually happened once in the nation of Cuba. Before the Soviet Union collapsed half the food Cubans ate came from Russia. But the Soviet Union could no longer subsidize Cuba so when Cubans went to the grocery store half the shelves were empty. They could no longer depend on the Soviet Union or their own government since no one would trade with Cuba. The people were facing a grave situation.

So the people took it upon themselves to fix the problem. They began growing gardens like crazy. Every family had a garden and every square foot of earth was planted with food crops. People in apartments had gardens in pots on their balconies. People bartered with each other for seeds and produce. Farmer’s markets sprang up all over. The people saved themselves.

It’s been over forty years since I read the book, Small Is Beautiful, by E. F. Schumacher. I think I need to hunt that book down and reread it.

Nowadays nothing is done unless it is done to scale. It is how American businesses and farmers think. If it is not big then it has no value. Children grow up thinking that food is something that comes from a grocery store or restaurant. They have no idea where food really comes from; that food can actually be grown. Collectively we have entered a complete disconnect from nature and the planet. When that day comes when the grocery store shelves go empty our money will be of little value and we will be utterly clueless as to what to do.

Anyway, enough ranting. The truth is that even though I live in an apartment with no balcony I do have a teeny, tiny, garden located in four large pots on the front porch of the building. Three of the pots are filled with flowers and in the fourth pot is a tomato plant. (Flowers are apparently very important to me as is the bird-feeder I hung down there.)

The good news is the first tomato on my little tomato plant is turning red! There are also several green ones. It may be a small one but in about a week I’ll be able to eat my first homegrown tomato of the year. I am so freaking happy and excited by this! I’m practically delirious with joy over this.

I am so thrilled I simply had to share the news.

Speaking of food…