Carol Mone, Guest Contributor
Happy new year! Year of the Snake, an important character in the ecosystem.
This column, I diverge from my usual rant about how important it is to plant native plants because native wildlife, from bugs to snakes and on up depend upon it, to talk about gardening. Food gardening.
Food wasn’t always “gardened” in the European sense of gardening. All the food that anyone needed locally was right here, no need for row crops. But, alas, few of us have the skills or knowledge any more to wild harvest native foods. And private property and “development” have eradicated many if not most sources of wild food.
So, we grow vegetables like potatoes, corn, beans, squash and pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, and fruits like strawberries and blueberries. All these foods originated in the Americas, although not exactly here, and were cultivated.
I am going to suggest a garden of native-to-the-Americas food. Although some of these crops are from South America, for the most part they support native insects and birds. (If you haven’t heard of Doug Tallamy, now’s the time to check him out.) And they are easy to cultivate unless your garden is situated right next to the ocean, in which case forget peppers and concentrate on cherry tomatoes.
Even if you have only a doorstep, balcony, or a sunny window, try cherry tomatoes. Potatoes will grow in a trashcan or large tub (with drainage holes). Scarlet runner beans can vine over a railing or whatever kind of trellis you can devise. Pumpkins and squashes can be hidden in the landscaping—surprise!
Don’t forget our very best local native berry, though. Huckleberries grow slowly, can happily live in a container, and will produce berries even on a smallish bush.
The strawberries we enjoy were a happy accident that occurred when Chilean strawberries, like the ones that grow on the beach, were taken to Europe and crossed with a European variety. That resulted in the larger strawberries cultivated today. But for a real treat, try the native woodland strawberries—very small by American fruit standards, but, like many small things, worthy.
Why am I talking about growing your own food when the Farmer’s Market and local grocers offer food grown by professionals? First, and most importantly, growing one’s own food makes one humble. Farming is lots of work, and it is well to appreciate that work. How better to appreciate than participation? And then there is the dark shadow of what might be coming as we descend into the hellscape of who-knows-what, that I sincerely hope doesn’t happen. Might be good to have some skills, and skills take practice.
But I don’t want to end on a bleak note. Getting one’s hands dirty is food for the soul, and doing so to produce food for the mouth is a double plus. If you love it, you might become a vegetable gardener. If you hate it, it will nonetheless give you profound respect for those who produce our food.