After my hectic morning yesterday, I decided to spend the afternoon in the relative safety of the pasture garden-to-be. Our neighbor came over the other day and harrowed the area for us to help get the clumps of grass and weeds somewhat under control so there is room for the plants we prefer to grow. We had tried before to do it by hand with pick-axe and hoe, but it was literally back-breaking.
So I’m raking and hoeing and weeding by hand this 100′ x 100′ area. It’s not brain surgery so it’s excellent time for contemplating. As I’m doing so, I see our other neighbor also out doing the same thing — but with a giant spray bottle of chemicals. His idea of weeding is to kill them and whatever is nearby. Definitely easier and effective, but necessary?
It got me thinking about our relationship with nature and this need to conquer and dominate. Whether it’s weeds or animals or forests or water or weather. I mean yes, I’m technically killing grass & weeds, but I’m doing it mano a mano. Although they definitely have an advantage over me — way more tenacious, determined and experienced. Our neighbor kills grass and weeds with toxic chemicals, not a fair fight for them or the soil, insects, plants and animals that come into contact with it. There are areas of his property that are literally barren desert from all the spraying.
And yet, he still has weeds throughout his property. I think many types have mutated and developed an immunity to the chemicals, kind of like illnesses and antibiotics. There’s actually been a problem around here with pigweed. Farmers who use GMO seeds which they feed with chemicals to grow, have found that pigweed has begun to thrive on their land. It grows like a tree about 4-5 feet tall and nothing can stop it so it takes over the farmland and crowds out the plants they want to grow.
I just wish everyone would take a step back and think about what they’re doing and why. Not that I care about weeds and grass which is technically a weed, yes? But, obviously food production is important. GMO seeds and chemicals may have made it temporarily easier to grow large amounts of produce, but have not solved the problem of world-wide food shortages. Instead they’ve introduced a whole new slew of problems, including: food lacking nutritional value, toxic land and water (and food?), food allergies and other more serious health issues, and modern serfdom as farmers are caught in a continuous cycle of having to pay to buy new seed and chemicals every year.
Something so simple has become so complex. Plant a regular ol’ seed, give it light and water, it will grow.
Go Angie! Did you send this to the neighbor? Your garden is the size of my Ft. Lauderdale lot. Wow!. I’ve decided to give up my backyard to a veggie garden for ONE. Git rid of the grass and simply have trees and plants to encourage the birds, eliminate the Yard Boys with their massive riding machine. I visited T.C. and got lots of little starts from their yard. And yes, today we have rain!! much needed and the first since November. Bonnet House’s Jabatacaba Tree is loaded with fruits right now. I brought home some seeds to start one.