Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["D Knoll" <homeschool@iontreasures.com>]

> I have no idea what will actually happen but something will and you can
bet
> your sweet bippy on that.

HA! I haven't heard anyone else ever use this phrase but my Dad!

But on to the topic...I mention the "dangerous" and "gloom and doom"
scenarios because I remember 2004 hurricane season when people lost
electricity around here for a week or 2 or 3. After only a few days, there
was a mob scene at the customer service desk of the electric company. "Why
isn't our electric fixed already?", cussing, yelling, demanding etc. For 15
years I have said that many of the "crazy" behaviors we are seeing in
supposedly civil communities has to do with the stress of overcrowding. You
don't have to be on top of each other to be overcrowded. At any rate, I
wouldn't underestimate the ability of people to go insane when times become
more difficult, even if it's not a "drastic" or "devastating" difficulty,
just a little harder than usual. Then if something bigger hits, like a
hurricane, wildfire, earthquake, the people in that area are already so
stressed out that things break down on a more exponential scale.

We see this breakdown on a small scale every time there is a hurricane
evacuation in our state. I generally don't watch news, but I remember this
one lady freaking completely out because she couldn't get super unleaded for
her BMW, only regular unleaded was available. "How am I going to get out of
here?" she was crying and literally in hysterics. She was so upset, she
couldn't even think straight, or adapt to a simple situation which, in
itself, was not terribly dangerous. A little inconvenient, maybe. But our
culture doesn't like to wait, nor does it like inconvenience, nor does it
want any "lifestyle" taken away from it that it has already become
accustomed to.

As far as helping others in my community, I've 'bout given up on my
neighbors. But I am part of a homeschool group, and apparently I am the
"gardening expert". I am helping them get their garden plots started, giving
and trading seeds, trying to start a food co-op, and also considering
starting a local discussion group at the library on sustainable practices
for our community. Tomorrow we are going to visit a local, organic,
sustainable rabbit farm that also has other meat and a few veggies. We've
been going around to a wide variety of local farms, learning and talking to
them. I love growing my own food, but it is taking more time than I would
prefer to get the soil built up nicely.  My best plot has been the unplanned
half-finished compost that I dumped and out came some lovely cherry tomatoes
and cantaloupe. They are much healthier than my 1st planned garden, which,
though I loaded it with composted manure, didn't do too well. I have had
small harvest from everything I've grown, though.

I suppose this has gotten too long; today I am going to plant some green
onion seeds, and continue every 2 weeks, so if nothing else, we will be
sustainable in green onions! Prepared for the worst, hoping for the best.

Diane, West Coast Central FL