The jobs market is still a dismal affair, and no matter how the government skews the numbers or the data to make rosy predictions completely unsupported by fact, the American people are not stupid. They know how things really are.
They live those realities every single day.
However, I don't want to harp on this picture of doom and gloom but rather, as 2011 winds down, I want to focus on the hope of the coming New Year. You see, for too long we've bought into the paradigm that it's the actions of others that control us--the bankers, the corporations, the schools, society, the government, fate, or whatever--and we allow that paradigm to suck the hope of a bright future away from us. To an extent these entities do influence the quality and direction of our lives... but they are obstacles to be worked around, not barriers that should stop us.
Will our future look like our parents' did? Probably not. But I'm here to tell you that our future can be just as rewarding, significant, and full of hope as any generation before us. We just have to quit believing that it's someone else's responsibility to provide that future for us. The future is ours, if we're willing to reach out, do the hard work, and take hold of it.
For instance, food prices are crazy. You may feel that you're captive to whatever the grocery stores want to charge you, but I'm here to tell you that you have options you don't even know about. Whether you live in the country or live in the city--you have options!
For example, we're just now coming into winter. In fact, as I write this, it's the first day of winter. It's raining and cold outside where I live. In the North, the ground is frozen and hard, the trees lifeless. Gardening is something far off, something that comes with warmth and sunshine, with harvests of tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans, and squash in August and September, right?
Sure, if that's all you're looking at. But I wanted you to look with hope, and a new paradigm, remember?
And that new paradigm includes cool weather crops.
We're talking crops like peas, radishes, spinach, carrots, arugula, lettuce, beets, and Swiss chard that actually THRIVE when temperatures are between 32° and 60°F. Peas can even be frozen solid and will display no ill effects, and when they thaw, they simply continue growing!
But even better than the temperature range, is the time factor. Most "cool-season" vegetables produce in 60 days or less, some in as little as 25 days. When the soil warms and their production slows or ceases, we can then replace our cool-season vegetables with peppers or tomatoes, or any other warm-season crop, making efficient use of garden space or containers.
The feeling of actually being in control of a part of my life that I had traditionally turned over to others (Big Ag, the grocery store) is one reason I am so excited about this newest product from Heirloom Solutions. It's called their Cool Weather Food-In-A-Flash kit, and it is awesome! This wonderful kit contains seed for:
- Arugula--Grown for both its sharp nutty-flavored leaves and seeds, first noted during Roman times. The leaves are used as edible salad or sandwich greens, and the seeds can be used for flavoring oils. Best picked when young and tender. Does well in early spring or fall, prefers cool weather. Make successive sowings for a continuous supply. Will produce 3-5 cuttings if kept well picked. Very low in calories, high in vitamins A & C. Ready to pick in as few as 25 days from sowing. Packet (5000 seeds).
- Black Valentine Bean--Straight, slender, dark green, nearly round pods, stringless at all stages. Strong vigor, good for early spring plantings. Plants are 16-18" tall. First introduced by seedsman Peter Henderson in 1897, used extensively for canning and shipping. For an extended supply of beans, plant successive sowings every 2-3 weeks. Can also be used as a dry bean. 48 to 70 days. Packet (100 seeds).
- Detroit Dark Red Beet--The standard for beets, originally developed in 1892 from Early Blood Turnip beet. Excellent choice as a main-crop canner, reliable yields of 3" round, blood red roots. Good keeper. Make successive sowing for a continuous supply. It is possible to have fresh beets from May through November, even in the upper Midwest. 45-70 days. Packet (500 seeds).
- Little Fingers Carrot--A great mini carrot from France, great for children. Very early, roots are 3-4" long and can be pulled easily. Smooth skin, deep orange color, little to no core. Very sweet and crisp. Once you taste these, it will be hard to go back to store bought imitations! Can also be grown well in containers. Sow in early spring and also in late summer for a fall crop. 50-60 days from transplant. Packet (1,000 seeds).
- Buttercrunch Lettuce--All-American Selections winner from 1966, bred by Dr. Raleigh at Cornell. Well known with growers and consumers. Small heads weigh 12-14 oz. each. Very tender, nice flavor, does well in the Midwest heat. 50-60 days. Packet (1,000 seeds)
- Green Oakleaf Lettuce--French variety that has been grown since the 1700s. This strain is very tolerant of hot weather and bolting. Long standing and never bitter. Good cutting variety, plants will grow back time after time when cut back. Start eating as a baby leaf at 25 days or as a full sized, loose-leaf head at 50 days. Packet (1,000 seeds).
- Green Arrow Pea--This strain has set the standard for home and market production. Medium-size vines grow 24-28" tall and require minimal support. Trellising can be as simple as some tree branches. Slim pointed pods are 4-5" long and contain 8-11 small deep-green peas. Pods are almost always borne in doubles. Great for canning, freezing, and for dehydrating. Very heavy, reliable production. Plant in early spring or late summer, does best in the cooler seasons. 62-70 days. Packet (250 seeds).
- French Breakfast Radish--Oblong shaped, rose-scarlet on the top with a white tip. White, crisp flesh, mildly pungent flavor, top quality. Sow in the spring or fall, harvest when small. A garden standard since the 1880s. Let a few plants go to seed so that you can enjoy the seedpods raw in salads or stir-fry. 30 days from planting. Packet (500 seeds).
- America Spinach--A long standing Bloomsdale-type spinach, fine quality, heavy yields. All-American Selections winner in 1952. Excellent for fresh use, canning, or freezing. Slow to bolt, tolerant to heat and drought. 40-50 days from transplant. Packet (500 seeds).
- Rhubarb Swiss Chard--Introduced in 1857 and has stood the test of time. Deep crimson-colored stalks and leaf veins contrast sharply with green crumpled leaves. Ornamental enough for the flower garden, but also very well-flavored for baby greens or cooked. Good vigor, can be sown early in the spring. ±1,700 seeds per ounce. 50-60 days. Packet (250 seeds).
Now what would you expect to pay for something like this Food-In-A-Flash kit? We're not talking about Big Ag-produced seed. We're talking heirlooms, those seeds that are just the way God made them, able to reproduce after their own kind. And right now, heirlooms are in great demand and short supply.
Well, I'm here to tell you that the folks at Heirlooms Solutions are bringing this special offer to their customers with all the giddiness of a teenage girl in love (and they are in love with this product!) for the very low price of $29.95, plus shipping and handling. We're talking that for less than the price of one bag of groceries at the grocery store (maybe two, if you're really thrifty!) you can have fresh produce before your friends are even thinking about tilling up their spring gardens. And even in the South, you can have those cool-weather crops producing even after the seed for your summer and fall harvest are in the ground.
This year, don't look back at what has been. Look forward, look at a future that you alone can shape. Give yourself and your family the gift of hope this year. Don't allow yourself to be bogged down in the paradigm that this world insists is the only reality, that you can't make it without Big Ag, corporations, or the government. Click here to order your Food-In-A-Flash kit and make your future reality whatever you want it to be.
All the hopes and best wishes for the coming year,
Hanne Moon
Editor
Off the Grid News
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