A last drastic way to reduce your use of fossil fuels, but very effective, is to grow your own food. I do not have a farm, and I live in a small house on a city lot, but I do have a community garden plot about 1 mile away. I enjoy gardening, and it's great to watch my vegetables grow, and walk my dog down to my garden in milder weather to plant, weed, water, and harvest, but I have never had much of a green thumb. In years past, I have successfully grown the things that grow easily in Chicago: tomatoes, basil, and peppers from seedlings and pumpkins and sunflowers from seeds I have sown directly into the ground. In anticipation of spring, and in my quest to become a little less dependent on fossil fuels in my daily life, I have decided to try something a little more ambitious this year: I will start my own organic seedlings in my basement, and then start to plant outside as the ground thaws.
To start the process, I decided I needed help in becoming a better gardner. So a few weeks ago, I asked my friend Kathy Shepherd to stop by and look through seed catalogs with me. Kathy, despite working part-time as a pediatrician, and spending the rest of her time with her three boys, aged 5 1/2, 3 1/2, and 6 months, is an avid and successful gardner. She grows vegetables in her backyard and uses words like 'cultivar' when talking about a cherry tree she is considering buying. She was a great first resource, and she gave me advice on which seeds to buy.
Then a few days ago, I attended a lecture on starting organic seedlings at a coffeehouse here in Evanston. The lecture was sponsored by thetalkingfarm.org, Evanston's first urban farm, which is still in the planning stages. The speaker, John, did an excellent job of explaining how to start seedlings from scratch at home in late winter. He aimed his lecture at people like me--those gardeners who need basic, detailed information, and I walked away with a list of which seeds to start when, and a lot of helpful notes.
Yesterday, I completed the first step of the process. I went to my local hardware store and I bought a florescent grow light, a peat moss mix, and some compostable containers. (I already have some seeds, but I will buy some more.) I took out my drill, and I installed the light myself in a warm corner of my basement. Next week I will plant my lettuce seeds, and the week after that, my chard seeds. Stay tuned as I recount the story (hopefully) of my first greener planting season.
