Cars, Agriculture, and Winter

Jo Hunter Adams



Hello everyone,

Sorry for the long absence. It's been a super-busy few months. I've recently shifted jobs within my workplace, Eug started his new day-job as a freelancer, and we're growing our family. This seemed like a good moment to pause and get back to The Concrete Gardener.

Things are good here in Boston. The title of this post describes three major Concrete Gardener related life changes. Winter, of course, is not something we can control, but something we can escape from... perhaps. The first snow was remarkably early-- 18 October-- and I'm still bitter about that. We're due to winterize the apartment with our heavy curtain, plastic on the air-conditioner (that doesn't come out) and window, and moving into our bedroom. In the midst of this process, we're eagerly anticipating two Major Trips that take us to the warmth-- both trips relatively unexpected. One is home (yeah!) to see the wonderful Julie and Sam get married. The other is to Florida, for awesomely frivolous reasons that don't come often-- so we jumped at the chance to go. I would love to see a killer whale.

In other news, at the other end of the fossil fuel spectrum, we've taken the plunge and given up our car. I read blogs of really skilled, socially conscious types and I'm blown away by the planning and consistency I sense. We're navigating a pretty bumpy path towards more responsible lives-- I'm slow to do something that hurts. That said, the car is probably the change that has most affected our daily lives. The car was a huge variable expense. I now take bus-train-train to work, and I'm learning to enjoy the commute. Hard-core comfortable shoes makes it doable. Evenings need some extra planning to avoid being totally draining, but again, totally doable. Zipcar is still a great option for day trips and weekends.

We're moving into the winter months of our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share. Particularly without the car, the share has done an amazing job of filling up our fridge. I'm hoping to keep you updated on some of our winter transitions. We're due for a major simplification to make space in our apartment.

More soon.

P.S. Poor Nick (see below) seems to be close to passing on to spider heaven. S/he's leaving little flies on the web, and doesn't seem hungry. S/he was the best spider anyone could wish for.

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

Meet Nick.


My worm bin is doing amazingly this summer-- the spot is cool and the worms are tons happier with the variety of scraps we are able to give them from our CSA share.

The main challenge last summer were fruitflies. Once they came and got a foothold, they never really left. This year, thanks to Nick, there are virtually no fruitflies. As soon as a few arrive, they have an unfortunate (but surely natural) end. Sure, we have a giant spider living above our worm bins (getting obese), but that's nothing compared to the joy of a fly-clear landing.

Outgrowing our Food

Jo Hunter Adams

Outgrowing our food recently appeared in the Mail and Guardian. Some thoughts:

- South Africa has rapidly rising rates of chronic disease linked to obesity (Type II Diabetes, hypertension). This is tied to the affordability of maize in South Africa, in favour of more diverse sources of nutrition.

This is a moment in South Africa where quality of food supply might be overlooked in favor of increasing mass-production. But mass production is not efficient, by scaling food production, one is left with massive problems of soil degradation and waste.

The article argues that farmers farm what is most profitable. Massive amounts of energy are currently used to ship some of our best food overseas, particularly to Europe. The question is, how can South Africans keep its nutritious and excellent quality produce in-country? Increasing the supply of maize and red meat is simply not in the best interests of South Africans. Large monocultures-- or swathes of land farming only one crop--are not in the best interest of South African farms or South Africans' health. There needs to be another solution to maize and soybean scarcity.

I believe at least part of the solution involves reforging the connection between individuals and their food supply, particularly in cities. Where does our meat come from? Vegetables? What makes it good? The quality of the food supply of the poorest members of society is an issue of justice. It is hugely sobering to consider that the food we eat is actually transforming into the substance of our physical bodies.