Sprouting Life

Yes! The seedlings are coming up. First it was the Chamomile, then the Carantan leeks and green onions. Then the cilantro and regular onions. Now the tomatoes are starting to come up--the ones from the free heirloom tomato seed I planted. So far, I have one Beefsteak, a Marglobe and a Marmande, (both great midsized slicing varieties), and the first of the Roma tomatoes. I also noticed that the parsley has broken the surface. No eggplants or peppers yet, but they'll probably be soon. I was a little late in planting this year, but the seedlings are every bit as important as ever--probably more so because we don't have the budget to buy already-started plants from a nursery unless we absolutely have no other choice.

Outside today, I caught the first glimpse of the tiny new spinach seedlings beginning to come up in the garden bed near the east fence--the same bed where we recently had to pull up all of last year's already-rapidly-growing spinach due to its contamination during the Boy Scout fence-spraying fiasco. My blessings on the new spinach seedlings; may they come on fast and hard and with ever-increasing vigor. May they grow rapidly to an edible size and then persist without bolting well into early summer, so that I can both feed my family and also freeze some for next winter's food. With our finances stretched so very thin, our little backyard garden has never been more vital to our survival.

Beyond the concerns of my own family, backyard gardens in general have also never been more vital. We all need to remember that, as genetically modified food continues to sicken and fatten people and endanger human life on the whole. I recently read about how the introduction of peanut genes into the most common variety of tomato used in many fast-food restaurants has already caused health concerns for people. Poor, unsuspecting people went to the fast-food place to grab a burger and happily munched down, never knowing that their tomatoes contained peanut genes. What's the problem with that? Well, it's a heck of a big problem if you happen to be severely allergic to peanuts! Think about it. They've let the genie out of the bottle, folks, and we may never be able to put it back. But we can at least try to curtail its effects by supporting heirloom seed companies, growing our own gardens and buying from local, organic and heirloom variety farmers. The only thing these big agribusinesses see or understand is money, so let's put the issue to them in a way they'll understand. Just say "no" to big agribusiness, huge chain grocery stores and suppliers (pushers) of genetically modified seeds. Vote with your hard-earned dollars and support people who care enough to support the planet. In so doing, you'll be saving your own health, and helping to save the health and ultimately the lives of future generations.