In May, it’s getting serious, with a lot of crops to plant and to start harvesting.
Thanks to Moreno for sharing his wisdom and knowledge! I wrote the following notes watching the video published on The Dutch Farmer’s channel.
You can watch it using this YouTube link.
Growing food is an invaluable skill
I can’t agree more with the statement that Moreno made about growing food yourself.
It not only yields food for your family, but also, it teaches a better understanding of the environment around.
Stewardship
the conducting, supervising, or managing of something. Especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.
We’re stewards of this planet, meaning we should manage to the best of abilities so that it’s sustained. We therefore shouldn’t exploit it like we can see the powerful corporations act.
As we’re nearing summer, cherries will be ripened by the end of the month or early next month, as usual.
And I have seen news articles talking about the farmers in Ardèche, France, not knowing how to fight off the pest (the drosophilia suzikki](https://www.agropomme.ca/Documentation_publique/DSUZUKII/2BiologieDsuzukii.pdf)) that destroys the ripe cherries, when left untreated.
I mean, just for the sake of producing profit (which the poor growers aren’t receiving much of it), they will spray chemicals that are known to be dangerous for our health.
I won’t make a case here about it in this article. It’ll let you do your research and make your own conclusions from those starting articles:
- France suspends imports of cherries treated with phosmet
- Asian fly on cherry: “We may not bet on the Tramontana”
- Angry cherry growers
Yes, the alternatives, like nets, which cost a lot more, or traps, which don’t always fall on the effectiveness side.
But do they realize that they are slaves of the system which:
- impose on the growers to buy the chemicals
- and sell the produce for almost nothing
- and finally sell drugs to the general population from big pharma to heal the diseases that the chemicals create…
What a vicious cycle!
So, why not learn to grow your own food? Yes, a cherry tree will take time to grow and yield a good harvest, at least, you can choose to eat healthy.
Isn’t that better?
Yes, growing your own food requires:
- some land, but you’d be a surprise
- how much a little piece of land can produce
- and what techniques exist to optimize the small areas.
- some resources (compost mainly, that can be found in your local quarry, which I discovered only a couple of months ago) and tools (your hands ;))
- some ressourfulness by starting to read my articles on gardening or watching the YouTube channels I document in those articles.
- some seeds from organic sources.
- It is key that they produce crops that yield you new fertile seeds for free.
- the will to start
Where to start
Plant perennial herbs and flowers and bush berries that can yield quickly and in surprising quantities of healthy food.
Try:
- comfrey,
- rosemary,
- thyme,
- vervain,
- goji berry,
- black berry,
- gooseberry,
- raspberry
- black currant,
- red currant,
High tunnel and aphid attack
Aphid’s infection causes the leaves of the plant to curl and kill the plant.
To fix that, you have 2 options:
- simply make a black soap solution and spray it onto the leaves to wash off the aphids,
- introduce the ladybug and its larvae, which you can:
- collect around you leave and move at the dinner table
- buy them online, if you don’t have any into the wild
Plant trees and fruit trees when starting a farm
The long-term view of a farming enterprise doesn’t take into account the only mart gardening, which can yield crops straight away.
Planting perennials, fruit bushes and fruit trees will provide you food with little effort, when it’s designed to work seamlessly with nature.
Trees provide shade. Bushes provide shelter for insects and wildlife.
To become more resilient, we need to increase the diversity and systems.
~ Moreno, the Dutch Farmer
Small farms are extremely important for the well-being of communities today.
Start your garden today!
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