Start now. If you've never had a garden before, start small. Plant some vegetables this spring. You will be surprised how beautiful and delicious it is.
A cold wind blows outside. Inside, a seed catalog is scattered all over the table. I check my list and dream of fresh vegetables and flowers.
I'm ready to turn the world, or at least Iowa, into a garden. Next to my request for seeds is a piece of paper where I list the reasons why we need more orchards.
Herbs are trash.
Lawns are overrated. The perfect lawn smell of chemicals and lawnmowers.
Yes, we have mowed the garden several times each summer and we have grass that smells like milk.
We need some grassy open spaces, but our country has 40 million hectares of grass. The largest irrigated crop in the United States is not corn or soybeans, but grass.
A well-maintained lawn requires not only water, but also fertilizer and herbicide. Prove to your neighbors that you're good with dandelions, or better yet, ask for some native flowers to replace your front yard. The pollinators will thank you.
Who knows, maybe wild stadiums will become the new normal, and lawn and Raygun jerseys will become a reality.
The garden is suitable for both adults and children.
Gardening can be therapeutic. Weeding is a good way to express frustration, better than verbally attacking stupid people.
Picking vegetables can be as much fun as driving a noisy lawnmower.
Children need more time outside. What kid doesn't love playing in the mud, what's gardening without playing in the mud?
It has been proven that children are willing to eat the vegetables they grow.
While in Los Angeles, we passed a school that not only had a garden, but also a small chicken coop. Winters in Los Angeles are better for gardening than snow in Iowa, but what if schools have greenhouses and small temporary gardens?
With some of the best soil, Iowa can be a pioneer in teaching kids to love dirt.
Good for the environment.
As we learned in science class, plants produce oxygen. They take in carbon dioxide and then release oxygen. Their carbon recycling is less invasive than some corporate money-making pipelines. Plants have also been shown to remove chemicals and bacteria from the air.
Gardening comes with the added environmental bonus of composting. A compost pile turns unwanted food waste into magical soil conditioners.
Compostable products can also help the soil. At an event last fall, I saw a farmer pick up leftover compost plates. I asked his destination. They went to his compost pile to rot with the dead animals. They will then be expanded to improve agricultural land. Hopefully you won't be adding dead animals to your compost, but always use used tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells, egg whites, etc.
Gardening is a way of saying no to corporate food production.
Food has become a commodity. Multinational food corporations control our land and the consumption of our food.
Iowa farmers grow ethanol and 90% of our food comes from out of state.
Do we take the time to think about where our vegetables come from? Do we take time to enjoy our food? Have you ever thought that the sweetness of carrots depends not only on the variety, but also on the soil?
Gardening is a way to enjoy food. Instead of eating mindless potato chips, we can enjoy making blue potato salad.
Iowa has more industrial farms than any other state, but not the most orchards. Florida is. Iowa did not make the top 10.
Start now. If you've never had a garden before, start small. Plant some vegetables this spring. You will be surprised how beautiful and delicious it is.
Jane Yoder-Short lives in Calne.
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