The Briar Philosopher - How Does Your Garden Grow

It came a good rain or two yesterday; much appreciated by the garden and the trees. It has been so hot and dry that we’ve had to water things a time or two. My corn is beginning to tassel and the rain will give it a good boost. My okra is doing well, as are the crookneck squash, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. I’ll have more crookneck squash to pick this evening. I just have two hills but they’ve been real over-achievers this year. I’ve already picked a good 15 pounds and will probably get 3 times that before they play out.

I got to thinking yesterday about how much food one can produce from just a little land. It’s really quite amazing. I’ve never kept track before but this year I think I’m going to quantify it so at the end of the years I can have a good idea of how my garden grew. My garden it tiny this year, compared to years in the past. It’s about 35 feet X 20 feet, not much bigger than a good-sized living room but it has been well tended and is very healthy so I expect to have more produce than we can eat fresh and some left over for sharing or canning.

The area where I have my garden is a fenced-in pen. It’s between 1/3 and ½ acre in size. Contained within, as well as the garden, there are 5 apple trees, 3 pear trees, 3 pecan trees, three blueberry bushes and three gooseberry bushes, two shagbark hickories, one persimmon tree, one paw paw tree, a row of black raspberries and two strawberry beds as well as several wildflower beds. This fall I’ll add a garlic bed and a permanent lettuce bed. It’s really a small bit of ground and, being on a ridge top, it didn’t start out being the best soil but I’ve worked very hard at building the soil and making it a better environment for the things growing there. I count the bees, birds, and insects (particullarly the lightning bugs) as “things growing there” as well and, if their abundance is any sign, I’ve done a pretty good job of making a healthier environment for everyone and everything. I never use pesticides or herbicides or chemical fertilizers. Though I’m not certified “organic” everything I grow is grown organically.

It was a little daunting when I first decided I wanted to bring the ridge top back to life but I knew that I knew how and I was pretty sure I was willing to commit the long term labor that it would take. I’m about 8 years into the experiment and I’m really liking the results so far. More work to go but it really is a labor of love.

The philosophy of all this is simple. Things don’t always start out the best they can be. That applies to gardens, people, nations, everything. But you can take what you have and build on it, gradually and steadily, and it can grow into something that will feed and preserve you. People don’t start out fully formed either. They have to be cultivated. Seeds have to be planted and tended and weeds identified and removed. Minds must be fertilized with good rich ideas, thoughts, and experiences that help one grow without killing off the good things that were already there.

The same can be said of nations. This nation might not have started out the best but it began with good ideas and down through the years many people have dedicated their lives to improving and growing this nation for the good of all. We’ve come a long way in clearing the rocks of racism, sexism, and all manner of discrimination. We have a way to go but we’re not giving up. We’ve not really been at it all that long. This country is only 24 years old. That may sound old but it really isn’t, It’s just a few lifetimes really when you do the math. In that time we have managed to expand the blessings of liberty to more and more people and any attempts to reverse that have eventually been corrected, as today’s attempts at reversal will also be corrected.

Some days I get discouraged with my attempts to bring more life to the ridge. Drought will come or hornets will attack my apple trees and for a little while it seems that it has all been in vain. Other days I look out at the gentle rain falling and know my harvest will be a good one and that this old piece of overworked land is indeed healing in all the good ways. Same goes for this nation. I get discouraged but then I see all around me the efforts of those down through the years who have worked tirelessly to bring forth the fruits of freedom for all people. I see people of all colors and creeds and walks of life coming together to build a better tomorrow and it’s like a gentle rain falling on my cynical old soul. I see a better harvest in the seasons to come and it makes my heart glad.