Homestead mailing list

[Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>]

Lynda wrote:

> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Bill Jones" <billj AT harborside.com>
>
>  
>
> > I hate to say it, but I find the people here to be bone ignorant, even
> > about the things you might expect somebody to know about.  The only
> > people I've met who know what fava beans are either work at the feed
> > store, or are from California, Germany, etc.
> >
> >    
> ***Hmmmm, ignorant?  Lots of reasons...they might not be a historical cultural food for folks in 
> your area.
>  
I think maybe that's so, because it was not settled by people directly 
from Europe, where favas are number one, but by people from the East 
Coast, where corn and sorghum are more likely to be seen.  That's nice 
to know, but I only score success in terms of pounds of starch to the 
acre.  If I succeed at winning a race because of a secret weapon, a 
trick that no one else knows about, I still win.  Favas allow us to 
produce a crop with the same protein content as soybeans and yields as 
high as any seed crop, all during the off-season.

The very fact that we call favas by an Italian name, and not one of the 
many English names for them, definitely proves something.  You could say 
it's a cultural element that has been lost and regained, like "oregano" 
(the good ol' "origany" -- well known in England).

But this ignorance goes far beyond favas, which are just one tiny 
aspect.  It's pathetic to hear people declare that you just can't garden 
here, all because granddad couldn't grow lima beans.  It's way too cool 
for limas and okra, and tomatoes get blight if they're not covered at 
night.  They whine when the corn doesn't finish in time.  For whatever 
reason, locals see the gardening glass as half empty, and I see it half 
full.  Actually, no, it's completely full.  The other half of the year 
is full of garlic, favas, parsley, parsnips, cabbages, fantastic green 
onions, beautiful thyme so mild you can eat it like a vegetable, 
................  Of course, I was lucky to be schooled by some great 
local gardeners, none of whom happen to be from here originally (other 
people who also see a full glass).

I should also point out that before Steve Solomon wrote several books on 
the subject, few published works offered any real insight into gardening 
west of the Cascades.  You would read in a typical garden book about how 
to "put the garden to bed for winter" or all about the 3 Sisters (which 
also doesn't succeed here).  About the best book on PNW gardening was by 
English gardener John Seymour, who worked in the same "English rock 
garden" climate zone (if you ignore the double-digging admonitions, 
which were in vogue at the time).

Another reason for the locals' cynicism is that you don't see commercial 
fields of any row crops here.  It's not because they don't grow (with 
the sole problem of tomato blight and real heat-lovers), but because in 
reality the crop will always be later than that produced in either 
California or in the Willamette Valley, and so probably won't bring a 
large profit, so commercial agriculture is limited to hay, grazing, and 
cranberries.

>  
>
> > But if you go to an average neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY or El Cajon,
> > CA, the typical person there is also ignorant, indolent, biased, and
> > bigotted, in addition to uncultured, unrefined, and unenlightened.  It
> > makes them easier to sell products to.  The difference is that the
> > person who has the power to leave, to live wherever they want, is more
> > likely to be more educated (on paper at least) and more affluent.  NY
> > and CA have a higher percentage of these people, because that's where
> > the money is.  Unfortunately the correlation being actually being great
> > vs. having a great bank balance is a fairly loose one, and this leads to
> > having all kinds of pompous neighbors who happen to have money telling
> > you what they think they know, among the worst of whom is my "native"
> > neighbor from Medford.
> >    
>
> ***Maybe the folks in Oregon are like the folks where James lives and don't 
> want a know-it-all from CA telling them whats good for them.  That is how 
> you come off, doncha know.
>
>  
Nobody cares.  I'm not waiting for your approval.  Hit the delete key.  
My only purpose here is to exchange recipes for successful agicultural 
projects, in the broadest sense, not to make anyone _like_ me.  I don't 
have much use for opinions, and don't really relish sharing mine.  The 
best way for you to avoid others' opinions is to refrain from giving 
your own.  As it was, I was only offering an alternative explanation 
beyond the simplistic preconception that Californians or New Yorkers are 
bad.  I'd also remind James that many, many Californians in big cities 
moved there from some other state.  I've definitely found that the 
desire to move to California is correlated with a certain attitude, but 
the kids got stuck at the Hotel because of the faulty decision their 
parents made.  And yes, it seems as if you can never leave, because 
that's where the jobs are.

Incidentally, I've merely listened politely and laughed cordially at my 
neighbor's N-word jokes, without ever revealing my real opinion..  I've 
never found my neighbor to be more than a racist -- no, beyond that, 
someone who delights in making fun of the unfortunate.  He's one of 
those people lucky enough to parley an average job into a McMansion 
lifestyle, because he bought his original mansion low, happened upon a 
job with a high income/skill ratio, and sold so high that he was able to 
acquire many fantastic toys before moving to his luxurious retirement at 
the coast.

Bill
S. Oregon coast