A Bushel and a Peck and a Hug Around the Neck

I can remember being four years old and walking through what seemed to be an endless garden, hand in hand with my Dadpa. My fingers would cramp up from shucking never-ending bushels of string beans in my Nana’s kitchen. Their garden was something I would never tangibly appreciate. Now, a downward sloping grassy lot holds its place. But one can vaguely make out the rows that once sprouted collards, green and red peppers, carrots, potatoes, string beans, lima beans, onions, and tomatoes.

It seems that every stop-light is home to a grocery store these days. We file in, pushing oversized carts to fill our oversized refrigerators, and ultimately oversized clothes. Fruit and vegetables from around the world are conveniently bagged by the pound- a testament to their freshness, I’m sure. We are bombarded with a rainbow of cereals, cookies, and crackers- each with a slogan and marketing logo.

I’m not making an argument for organic foods; I am making an argument for tradition. The very premise that our nation was founded on has been overshadowed by big business.

Settlers came to America to create lives for themselves, living solely on nature’s resources. Farming was a way of life. I am sad to say, this tradition has dissolved into a struggling industry that few appreciate. In North Carolina alone, the number of operating farms has dropped from nearly 100,000 to 50,000 in the last twenty-five years. We lead the country in farmland-loss. In the past five years 300,000 acres of North Carolina’s farmland have been put to other uses. That’s equivalent to over three times the acreage of New Hanover County. In 2005, North Carolina’s Agricultural Commissioner Steve Troxler introduced a bill that would help support farmers and preserve farmland.

I’m not suggesting that people go out and use their life savings to buy land. Growing your own food is easier than most think. Start small; plant hard-to-kill herbs like oregano, thyme, dill, and basil. The addition of fresh ingredients like these has a huge impact on taste, smell and sight. Those who are more daring could try staking tomatoes. There is nothing like a BLT with the freshest T possible.

Those who complain that cooking is too tedious and time-consuming are kidding themselves. It only takes a few minutes to steam rice and sauté some fresh vegetables. Simple cooking is good cooking, but freshness makes it better. Besides, the less you chemically alter food, the more nutritious it is for you.

Limited time and land hinder most from growing their own, but locally grown is never far away. Fresh, local foods are available to the Cape Fear Region weekly from April to December. Every Saturday morning the Riverfront Farmer’s market, established in 2004, provides local produce, baked goods, jarred goods, arts and crafts to Wilmington. The market is a community building project that brings local products to local people.

I suppose it’s the integrity involved in farming that draws me to it. Nana only has a few tomato stakes behind the house, next to the empty cellar. We’ve talked about this subject many times, and each time she agrees that people are becoming less agriculturally self-sufficient. And each time she reminds me that self-sufficiency comes with a lot of labor and subtle rewards.