Prairie EcoSystems Management

Grand Kids on the Bridge to Shanti Garden

 Thursday afternoon all three of my daughters and four of my five grandchildren helped me plant sweet potatoes and pull weeds at Shanti Garden. Jordan, the youngest boy asked question after question reminding me of the dialog I had with my Grandpa on many occasion. Grandpa was a farmer whose family was driven off the farm in one of the Wall Street meltdowns around 1914.  These shenanigans (one of my grandpa’s words) are still going on, but that’s another blog. My family is such a blessing and I am so grateful for their love.

 My daughters are no strangers to my farming projects. Back in 1986 a friend and I started a ‘truck garden’ on his 40 acres in Cannon Hollow Mo , north of St Joe.   We grew organic sweet corn and tomatoes.  His father was from Oklahoma Indian country and taught us to put fish heads and guts in the holes when we planted the tomato transplants.   Wish I had time to fish like we did in those days.  Um well no I don’t. I love what I’m doing right now but the fish heads would really be good to have.  When the golden bantam corn cornels were sweet with milk I would fill the back of my pickup and drive to St Joe. My daughter’s Melissa and Jenet would go door to door in the neighborhoods and sell grocery bags of a dozen ears for a dollar as I drove the truck down the street slowly.  I remember Mr  Dattilo who drove his vegetable wagon behind a mule on the street in front of my childhood home. He was my model.

 I’m making sure my grandchildren are exposed to the same experiences, out in the sun, in a Guard  Den. Getting fresh food from the hands of a loved one.

We need to look at the models and wisdom of our forbearers and the people who lived on Main Street, our elders. I’m going to give up on Wall Street, they don’t get it.