The Day in the Life of a Lazy Farmer

Journal Entry Day 56

As a kid, my idea of a farmer was very labor intensive, back breaking work from dust to dawn. Dirty, stinky, and sweaty. Yet the unrealistic conveniences of so called modern society, of the possibility of eating a banana in a cold temperate climate when they grow in more tropical destinations, have created for the most part a lazy society, me included. So the concept of growing my own food from vegetables to perhaps even chickens and pigs was a novelty. But this idea of being self-sufficient isn’t so wild. In fact, within my family it was only a generation or two before that were indeed farmers.

Unfortunately, much of that lifestyle and cultivating knowledge was lost in the smog of burning coal and the murkiness of oil. Fascinating how quickly societies can change—from chicken coops to consumer-culture and from consumerism to who knows since we are gradually evolving to not be so dependent on the decayed matter of dinosaurs. Amidst this change, one thing’s for sure: we humans constantly devour. And I’m hungry.

So I venture out to our community garden, craving for the cool crispness of sweet peas snapping to my delight.  I love to garden, to actually go out into the fields and orchards and literally enjoy the fruits of our labor. There’s nothing quite as satisfying of seeing the abundance of vegetation, of ruby radishes peeking out of their loamy dark comforters, of bushy greens and succulent fruits all contributing to this green oasis in  this concrete desert along Geary Boulevard. Ever since the block’s transformation, this area became more pedestrian friendly and a picnic site with more kids out playing.

Now gardening can be enjoyable and even therapeutic, but eating’s even better. And although, I have come to envision farmers as a dignified profession, you can still get dirty or work up a sweat. Since moving here, I have learned many effective techniques and farming strategies I amiably dub The Lazy Farmer’s Techniques which ease that transition of buying everything to being able to grow or make most things yourself.

One of them helps minimize weeding and upkeep. It’s called doubling digging. True, double dug beds definitely requires an initial workout in the installation--of digging a foot or two down, then mixing in fertilizer and manure, and tilling back the soil to form a mound which helps in smarter irrigation (along with drip lines)—but that’s really it.  This technique most definitely helps in reclaiming soil from a lot of ‘weeds’ and their seeds. After a day’s work of creating five beds with two of my pals, I think I’ve only weeded a handful of times these past 56 days, which I’ve got to say makes me feel pretty lazy.

As always, happy eating and enjoy the fruits of minimal labor J.