An Evil Pallor / Grow Your Own Tomatoes

 

Today, as I was hanging my clothes out to dry, I noticed an evil pallor in the sky. Amidst sustained heat I had never felt before, I realized it was past time for me to speak up about what is happening to our planet.

I grew up with grandparents who gardened and with a mother who canned and froze the fruits of those gardens. Until my mid 40s, I never had to buy commercially canned green beans, and I had never been without fresh corn or fresh tomatoes in the summer until the last of my grandparents died.

The first time I learned to can tomatoes, I was in labor with my first child. At the time, I had no idea I was in labor. My mother had died a few months earlier, and I was in a trauma fog. I felt too tired to move, but in my family, a female feeling tired has never been a good excuse to lie down, so I canned tomatoes until I couldn't. Even then I felt guilty about leaving Nanny Byrd to finish alone. Ironically, the child I was laboring over has always hated tomatoes. 

Now that I have your attention, here is what I really want to say:

Grass lawns are ecological dead zones, and that's not even taking into account the fossil fuels it takes to maintain them. Find a way to cut the area of grass you mow in half. Planting native trees and shrubs is the best solution. I am still working on this. It's not easy.

Plastics are death. Work hard to stop using them. This requires constant vigilance. If you're using a Keurig, just stop. A coffee maker with a reusable filter is not that much more difficult. I do understand the difficulty of getting away from some plastics. I've tried to endure the hell of a bamboo toothbrush on my jowls. I just can't. But at least try to be aware of plastics when you are buying things, and ask yourself, does this come in a non-plastic version? I recently changed my vinegar purchase after asking myself this question and plan to work now toward figuring out how to make my own mayonnaise. (Recipes welcome)

Compost!!!  This is so easy. Just google it. Composting and recycling cut my garbage output by more than half.

Stop using plastic grocery bags. This one wears me out because it is so easy to fix. This is the easiest of all of these problems to address. Buy a reusable bag. It's ok if you forget once in a while. I do too. What matters most is every time you don't forget.

I'm sure I'll have more to say later, but this is what came to me today while I was mowing what's left of my lawn, right after I picked the lovely tomato in the photo. If nothing else, grow your own tomatoes. It's really not difficult, and it's so lovely to be able to step outside and pick one when you want one.