Growing at the Speed of Life - A Year in the Life of My First Kitchen Garden

for the high ground, where surely there must be some respite? But always the

tyranny of the urgent required me to meet deadline aft er deadline.

Now that you have plowed (not a bad use of words?) through this book, you

may be ready to put your own spade into the earth and take our seed-like words

of encouragement. But do please start small; even one EarthBox can provide a

whole new meaning to the word delight, both in achievement and in taste. And

at the risk of going off into some utopian vision, I strongly believe that no matter

how small your first step, the reward will be so meaningful that you may eventu­

ally decide to devote more time and resources to such an amazing pursuit.

Since I began this book, my life has changed. The time I’ve spent with plants

has increased the time I spend with people, both in shared gardens in our com­

munity and at each other’s tables, where we rejoice over fresh food lovingly pre­

pared rather than engage in some kind of Iron Chef competitiveness.

But surely, way above and beyond all the direct benefits of personal achieve­

ment and better-tasting, more nourishing meals has been the pure joy of sharing

the abundance with others in our community who have been adversely aff ected

by recent economic hard times and hostile surroundings. On so many levels, the

fact is that the greater our consumption of vegetables and fruit, the better our

ability to handle the toxic environment in which we now live.

Why on earth (literally) would we not want our neighbors

to share in our blessings? Surely that’s what a neighborhood

means.

When we lived in Hawaii, I planted a lawn with St. Augus­

tine grass, which is well suited to the tropical heat. It is planted

in clumps, about 12 inches apart on bare earth. Each clump sends

out runners that reach its neighbor, and together, in their out­

reach, they thatch. The earth is soon covered with a verdant car-

pet that makes the best use of moisture and shade and that requires

much less maintenance than a standard lawn.

Consider yourself a small clump of St. Augustine grass: find a neighbor who

has just enough space to grow a few experimental plants and encourage each

other, back and forth, as you thatch a new, more rewarding way of life. And if you

296 • GROWING AT THE SPEED OF LIFE