First Crop

And so it begins, again: the cycle of planting, nurturing, and reaping - and enjoying!

We sowed everything from seed this year. Here in the deep south, there are some aware and wonderful folks who grow organic, harvest the seeds, then sell them at a fair trade price at the local fairs. I'll put up links to their sites (an organic gardening/sustainable community group; and an organic nursery, where they also raise organic beef and pork.)

I've hooked up with them, and will be attending their meetings. I'm in the processing of giving seminars on co-creating sustainable communities, on-the-ground, using small communities, as these will be the ones who - if we keep the Oneness component at the forefront (We are all One, even at the quantum physics level as well as the Spiritual, and practicing that is what will move us forward as people and a planet) - make the near future work, and guide the others of us.

If you're interested in having me speak to your group, or are interested in hearing about working with Team Humanity Network and The Middle Times, please email me and we'll have a conversation!

We used organic manures - horse, chicken and mushroom. We added some organic nutrients that we bought at the nursery, and took some advice from the folks who have been doing it organically for years. Remember: do your own research. Listen to those who have already gotten farther down the path than you toward sustainability. Then synthesize it and come up with your own plan.

Next, we bought seeds at the Fair on the Square in a nearby town. I spent a while listening and talking to these fantastic folks talk about our commonalities and our goals for the future as we look squarely into the face of rising prices for anything energy-related (that would be petroleum products and by-products; natural gas); the unwillingness of our politicians to address the issue (they are fearful that they will not get re-elected if they tell us the Truth about the Terrible Twins of Peak Oil & Climate Change); and the ever-present consumer mentality that has been bred into us since the dawn of the industrial century - the more is better; that bigger is better; keeping up with your neighbors in what you 'have' as opposed to simply being the best at who you are and allow your neighbor to be/do the same.

In the course of some amazing conversations, we bought some tomato plants that were already started (several varieties). We bought seeds for bush beans, corn, squash, zucchini, beets, carrots, lettuce, and herbs. It was a lovely day, filled with conversations all throughout our walk around the square - including getting to speak in Spanish to a couple of warm, intelligent women from Buenos Aires who were selling homemade baked goods - yummy, they were!!!

Once home, we finished up our day working in our eBay vinyl music store, on Amazon (we are major music lovers - especially Jazz and Blues - but I was raised on Rock n' Roll and love World music, Bluegrass, and of course, I can sing an Irish Rebel song at the drop of a Guiness - and Geoff knows just about everything there is to know about music, bar few) and I settled down to do some work on my website, Team Humanity Network (always a work in progress!)

The next morning, we had a neighbor come re-till the soil, so we could put the tomato plants in, and got started. You can buy little biodegradable starter pots for the seeds - or you can use the egg cartons you get your organic eggs in as well - it will also biodegrade (getting chickens is the next step.)

So, more about the process and the fun of it in my next post. I'm off to check in with Transition Towns USA, read some of Richard Heinberg's new posts (author of Power Down, The Party's Over, and more), and then list to eBay.

May your day be filled to overflowing with Blessings, Belly Laughs, and Awareness of What Is, so we can change the Planet! And then have myriad opportunities to pass it all forward. Peace. We are the co-creators of a New Day.