ON THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING LET'S THINK ABOUT GARDENING
MARCH 2023
by The IET Staff Team
Today, March 20, is the beginning of spring, a day to start thinking about growing things as naturally and environmentally as possible.
I just finished reading Green America's website feature, Climate Victory Gardening 101, which illustrates how to grow a regenerative garden that is self-sustaining:
If left alone, nature is self-sustaining. The woods show us. If you walk into the woods and step off the beaten path, you'll feel an immediate difference underfoot, a cushioned, resilient layer of decomposing material formed by fallen leaves, branches, evergreen needles, deciduous bark, and winter-killed perennial plants like grasses.
Insects and invertebrates have been waiting to reemerge from the winter, to live out their brief lives and become a part of the soil that sheltered and fed them. It happens silently, steadily, reliably, without human interference, throughout the growing season, ends, and then begins again the following spring.
Nature follows its own patterns of supply and demand. Commercial agriculture doesn't do that. It rejects natural growing with heavy machinery powered by polluting fossil fuels, compacting and destroying healthy soil structure. It sprays and floods plants and soil with toxic herbicides and pesticides that studies show are harmful to consumers and wildlife, and either remain in the soil to harm soil-building organisms, or carry their toxins into groundwater, wells, ponds, streams, and rivers, harming plants, mammals, insects and fish.
We can all grow a small home garden as Green America's information demonstrates, support local food growers and coops, cut waste, change bad habits to good, use clean energy and green and sustainable products.
We at the Islesboro Energy Team will do what we can to promote that wherever possible, like Green America's gardening program link we're posting.
Here's the link:
Green Medley Smoothie Make this in a blender from your homegrown produce with green veggies like lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, cucumber, etc., fruit of your choice, and mint. (Note the endlessly reusable, environmentally sustainable stainless steel straws.)