It’s springtime here in the Bay Area. On a drive down to Southern California over the weekend, we got to see the lush green hills down the 5 and up the 101. Days are getting longer and warmer. Daffodils are cropping up in yards. Days like this, I daydream about…composting.
Well, actually, I daydream about having a garden and there’s always a compost bin somewhere in there. It delights the geeky kid in me — I’m probably going to be the kind of parent that gets more excited about backyard science experiments than her kids. Watching biological processes at work – what can beat that?
Unfortunately, all I can do at this point is daydream. I’ve got a fair-size balcony, but there’s a limit to what you can cultivate in containers. Plus, I’ve got limited time to devote to nurturing any kind of garden. There’s worm composting, but I don’t think I’d take it well if the colony died out, as my friend’s did due to mold.
So a compromise for me was to join the CSA that recently started at our office building. If I can’t partake in sustainable farming myself, I can support others who do. Plus they send us neat stuff like romanesca broccoli and leeks.
I think the best story of sustainable farming I’ve heard in the past few years has been the one Michael Pollan tells in Omnivore’s Dilemma about Polyface Farms. This family built up a piece of exhausted farmland over three generations and now has a thriving small farm. I told the story in great detail to Mr Hyphen in the car as we drove past acres and acres of farmland.
I’m not sure this kind of farming can withstand the market pressures that large scale farming has to deal with. Note, I’m referring to economic pressures that drive down prices, because overall, a diversified farm is an ecologically resilient farm.
This morning, I did call around to find out if we could participate in our city’s food scrap recycling program. Of course, the management company told me I had to talk to the city’s waste disposal service and they told me the management company had to clear all decisions, but I found a very nice lady to help me at the disposal service’s headquarters. More calls tomorrow, but we should have our little green pail pretty soon!
In the meantime, for your enjoyment, is the world’s only compost rap, starring Firefly’s very own Jewel Staite.
