I’m so predictable, growing my own vegetables in almost spring like everybody else. Except that I live in an apartment and I have no idea what I’m doing. I read the instructions at the back of those little pouches I got at a co-op and considering that I did what it asked of me, I might have carrots, tomatoes, cucumber and some mish-mash of greens very soon.
Like I said, I have no idea what I’m doing. The good thing about all of this is I want to learn. I want to know how to grow some of my own food so I don’t have to walk around like a paranoid freak in the grocery shop. Me the eternal-label reader with very little trust left, is trying to get some of her funk back. I did well with a partial herb garden last year. I grew some chives and thyme. The basil got weird so I pretended like I didn’t know who he was.
My basil was a he, in case you were wondering. The chives were girls and the thyme is dried up, which is great because dried thyme ftw, right?!
This years crop is my second challenge. If I’m writing about it, I know you’re going to want to know what happens at the end. No problemo because I’m the biggest bragger of my failures. If I fail, I’ll try again…fail bigger and better until I’m making sushi like Jiro.
And you know we all want to make sushi like Jiro.
In a way, this whole experiment is sort of fulfilling my childhood dreams. I was always googly-eyed at the chili plant growing in a pot on my grandfather’s porch and yes, you can’t forget this story. Biology class had my full attention when we learnt the vitamin chart, just like Life Processes II did. I am the biggest lover of food that comes out of the ground and the people who know how to do it blindfolded each spring are my heroes. I don’t plan on getting too technical other than letting them germinate in this warm apartment. After all the messing around we do with them these days, they’ll be very relieved to be left alone. They’ll have their own moods and get to grow exactly how they want. I for one, can’t wait till they’re teenagers, a few weeks from now.
For now, this is just mud. That holds my future food. And makes me feel like that little seed. A small part of the change. In a world I love so much.
Good on you! I think there is just one way to go for us paranoid label readers. Grow your own food. As ridiculous as that probably sounds, I think the world needs more of it. Fight back those stupid giant corporations.
You love label-reading too? Yes! I’m not crazy then. I wish I had a house with a garden but those things cost money and we have none yet.
I hear your pain. Apart form no house with garden, and no money to get one, I also have zilch ability to “grow” and care for anything.. anything i touch, dies.
Me too! I am keeping my fingers crossed for the new basil seeds that I have just sowed.
You’ll do well. Just sing some songs to them from time to time.
What a beautiful, beautiful post! Hello from a fellow paranoid label reader, and want-to-grow-my-own-food wisher. I’d love to send you a postcard from Singapore, and a few arbi leaves (that was my only successful attempt at growing any food at all, but if I did the package would probably not reach you). Oh, when I first glanced at the image I actually thought it was chocolate in moulds. Odd, eh?
It does look like chocolate! But it’s mud and the seeds need to germinate already. I’ll take a postcard because I don’t know about those poor arbi leaves. I can add the postcard to my collection. My email address is on the “About” page. Send me an email and I’ll send you my address. Thank you kind person.