Why she joined SLOLA!!!

What a delightful blog post "Front Yardening" (click here to read) wrote about why she decided to join SLOLA! Here's a taste--read the whole thing at the link!

Gardening as Resistance: Why I Joined SLOLA

Posted on August 23, 2011

Part of why I decided to plant a kitchen garden was to empower myself. It has become all too clear that the corporations and government entities responsible for our food supply do not have our best interests at heart (not to mention the best interests of future generations). In addition to supporting local, sustainable farmers, I thought it made sense to educate myself about growing some of my own food. I started slowly – first just with lettuce seedlings, then a few other crops. For the past ten months, I’ve purchased almost all of my seedlings from a grower at the Culver City Farmers Market (my tomato seedlings came from Tomatomania). Lettuce, chard, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, summer squash, tomatoes, eggplant, basil, mint, sage, parsley, cilantro, and dill: I’ve grown it all, some with great success, and some with little. I’ve learned enough to know that I have a lot more to learn, and the experience has been wonderful, though largely solitary.
Recently I’ve found myself thinking about seeds and community. As enjoyable as it is to grow a small kitchen garden in my front yard, I never intended or expected to stop there. I know that to become a better gardener, I have to learn about seeds: how to grow food from them, and how to save them. I also know that I will learn more and faster if I connect with other growers, both beginners like myself and longtime masters. (continued; go to link at top of page)