Growing with Positive Cycle

I thought I'd write a little about the psychology behind a food garden. It may take a little imagination, but envision with me, if you will, what life is like in a very poor place. I mean a poor, not so clean, hardly any green things growing, messy liquor store pavement kind of poor place. Everybody who works, gets up and out early in the day to go and earn the money they need. The rest? Hard to say. Many unemployed and poor people would even find it hard to describe life in a township with few or no services and even fewer opportunities so that someone from the wealthy suburbs could understand. We can start with some facts though. Time is money and spending half your early rising day travelling and more than half of the money you earn by travelling to work doen't seem to pay in the long run. It would be great if there was a way to earn money closer to home.

That is the opportunity that a successful and well tended food garden can provide for those who develop it. Don't think, ' oh its nice to grow a few extra mielies to eat'. Rather, be aware of the vast array of excellent foods that can be grown, particularly in the South African climate, and understand that a varied diet of whole organic produce is without a doubt the best way to both feed and medicate yourself. That is not all however. Growing a real diversity of crops, even on a relatively small piece of land, creates a significant small business opportunity for the grower. Having a surplus of mielies to sell is one thing, having a whole range of crops as well as the know how to make, for example, products like jams out of the crops you grow, products with a longer shelf life than the simple harvest itself and products which can be sold for far more than the simple harvested produce means the difference between living below the bread line and being a real small scale entrepreneur. Being a person who makes an unmissable contribution to their community, with more than just extra healthy food.