As the shelves were clearing in grocery stores, I had a feeling that suburban and urban farming will be important in the future as a crisis response to pandemics like this. My mom was crunching data as early as the first week of February by looking at the initial spread in Asia and was sounding the alarm bells about a possibility of the virus reaching our shores and crippling our lives. Food growers like us went plant shopping as we witnessed the value of growing our own food, more so now. Seed companies are recognizing the largest volumes of orders, especially for quick to grow high in nutrient plants like spinach, kale and beans. The White House's Coronavirus Response Coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, warned the Americans at a press conference on April 4th, “This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe.” Even though our family's pantry contained a reasonable stock of food on March 16th, I am greatly fortunate that we still have greens in our garden. Online delivery will soon be unreliable as more people are asked to stay at home. This morning, I harvested a huge Daikon Radish and chopped it for my mom to prepare a meal for all of us. It was a moment to be thankful for I had planted it in late January and it was already time to harvest in about 60 days. These radishes are high in vitamins and nutrients and grow year round in most parts of California. Learn how to grow Daikon Radish here.
Here is what you can do now to prepare for the future. Start small like us. Go online and purchase plants and seeds. (look at my previous blog for where to order online). If you live in a city, a window sill, balcony, or even indoors is a good start. Containers and Smart pots are excellent for many plants such as herbs ( cilantro, mint etc) , all lettuce types, many of the greens ( collards, swiss chards, etc.), and almost anything like eggplants, beets, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, squash, berries, and the list goes on. Make sure to water more often as shown on the label and do not crowd too many plants in a container. Use a suitable potting soil like "EcoScraps 6-Quart Organic Potting Soil Mix" or "Miracle-Gro Potting Mix". Here is a video I like on how to grow plants in containers. Also consider starting from growing seeds indoors. I have not attempted growing indoors, but it appears to be a great idea to get started earlier while the weather is still cold outside as shown by this video. If you are in the city, you will be surprised at how much you can grow in a limited space. Check out this video. Once you start growing food, consider sharing tips with a neighbor and start growing together.
This pandemic will not continue forever, but Americans will make certain choices now as lessons learned in 2020. As America adapts to a new normal which involves wearing masks and practicing social distancing, it might be a good idea to consider going back to basics and return to a pre-industrial mode of food production. By producing our own food we will help reduce the fossil fuel consumption by minimizing the trips to local stores for fruits and vegetables. The carbon footprint will immediately go down and as a bonus, climate change is additionally diminished. Spring is an excellent time to start growing your food. I would love to hear about your progress as you get started so if I have inspired you, please feel free to share your pictures which I would be glad to feature on my blog.