Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Liz" <liz@allslash.org>]

> What's true is it's hard to make a living growing food, and the reasons 
> aren't hard to see. Like everything else agribusiness is rigged to 
> subsidize big and penalize small. But growing CAN supplement income or 
> help feed family and others, and do it without poisoning and killing 
> people.

Another cynic here, but I keep increasing the size of the garden, lol.

Many years ago, when all I had was a backyard garden in a typical suburban 
neighborhood, we lived for most of a year on the food I raised. I'd just had 
a child, had to quit work, my husband had invested in some dubious financial 
things, and we'd have been in trouble if not for that garden. I grew 
everything, even corn. The neighbors thought we were crazy until they saw 
how much food was coming out of there, and then all of a sudden everyone 
wanted a garden. We were the only ones who kept it up after the first year, 
though. I went back to work the next year, and so didn't ever have that 
large a garden in the city again, but we always had fresh tomatoes and 
peppers and squash and lettuce, etc. etc.

I think the answer is not to worry about making a living growing food, but 
just to feed one's family as far as possible. That has been the model for 
thousands, if not millions, of years. It's not possible for each family to 
do it all--there has to be some cooperation within a community. But the more 
each family can be self-sustaining, the less they draw on community 
resources and the more they have to contribute to the community's 
continuation.

Liz