The problem I've always had with this concept is that the people I've heard about who have chosen to eat like this live in areas where there is always something in season. If this is the case where you live, wonderful! It is a great way to do your part for the environment and to be responsible for the world around you. But my question has always been, "What happens if you live on the Canadian prairies and nothing is in season for 9 months of the year?" I feel like telling the warmer-climate hippies to bite their tongues because obviously they are blind to what winter means for us.
I wasn't even thinking about this question, though, when I discovered that, while growing up, my family really did eat mostly local produce year round! I had no idea that my mom was so "ahead of the times"! (I bet Mom didn't either, did you Mom?) I was shocked to see that it can work, even in the dead of a Saskatchewan winter. Here's how we did it:
My mom would always have a garden. In it she would plant cucumbers, potatoes, peas, corn, carrots, onions, tomatoes, peppers, beans (sometimes?), cabbage, and lettuce (am I forgetting anything?). I also remember having kohlrabi one year, as well as squash. Rhubarb and raspberries were also grown every year. These vegetables would basically feed our family all winter. My mom would spend all summer tending to the garden, planting, hilling, fencing, weeding, picking, etc.
Once the garden was stripped of all its vegetables, the job wasn't done. Vegetables don't feed a family all winter without a little help. Potatoes, carrots and onions were put into storage in a cold room to be used throughout the winter. Peas and corn were frozen. Tomatoes were made into sauce and canned. Cucumbers were made into both relish and pickles. And, of course, much of the produce was eaten fresh, as that's when it always tastes best!
It's true, I didn't grow up with a variety of vegetables. We didn't have salads year-round, and our vegetable side dishes were often peas or corn. But it was a balanced diet nonetheless, and we were all healthy and happy. And we were helping the environment more than I ever realized...
Thanks, Mom, for all your hard work in the garden every summer. Sorry I didn't help out more than you made me! I do hope to have a big garden one day and provide for my family the way you provided for us. Thank-you!
1 comment:
totally true, Niki. I read Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and was inspired to think a little more locally too, but we need to bear in mind the consequences of our actions on a global scale too... what happens when we stop buying food and fruit from smaller countries that depend on our purchasing power? I haven't worked through that all yet, but it does require thought on that end too.
I love gardening for the purpose of feeding my family... our leftover potatoes will go back in the ground in the next few weeks to provide for this summer's crop. I learned that if you have freezer room, you can throw your washed tomatoes, stem and all, into ziploc bags as they become ripe (instead of waiting for them all to ripen and canning them). Popping them in a sink of hot water will loosen their skins and then they go right into your supper!
Looking forward to our prairie garden this year... rhubarb, raspberries, carrots, beans, peas, pumpkins, corn, onions, garlic & herbs... yum!
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