I am in the process of raising the vibration of my emotional relationship with food. I feel kind of compelled to get out from under the weight and low vibration of craving and addiction. This mandates a change in the way I interact with my food. I focus the large majority of my eating on building and enhancing my health.
Michael Pollan author of Cooked talks about the statement you make with your food choice at each meal. I have really begun to get that. I want to make a statement with each bite, the shouts to the world that I love food and I love to feel good. I want to prepare and cook the freshest healthiest food I can for me and the people I love. As part of this practice, I joined two organic CSA. Heavens Harvest and Heirloom Harvest in are the ones I have belonged to. I have also begun to dig in the dirt and grow my own food.
I am slowly and steadily replacing my unhealthy eating habits, eating to soothe, eating to calm with new connections to food. I eat to up-level my nutrition and give my body the components to be vibrantly healthy. Gardening has helped me change my relationship to all things green. I first started gardening by planting flowers. Flowers are easy and pretty. Next I added some herbs in pots on the porch.
For the last 6 years or so, I have planted a vegetable garden and some fruit trees. I would take classes and buy plants from local garden shops, like Harveys in Westborough and plant them in May or early June.
As I began to develop a more refined understanding of my own nature, I realized I wanted to connect more deeply and to be involved in growing things for more months of the year. I think in a past life I must have been a farmer or have worked the land. When I can I like to grow my vegetables from seed. I value the food differently and I can taste the difference when I grow and pick and eat fresh vegetables.
I learned to grow from seed with help of information and workshops from NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) and hands on experience at Heirloom Harvest Farm. As part of the membership you work on the farm. It is fun and you learn all about organic gardening. They teach you the basics. It important that you plant compatible seeds together, that planted seeds get lots of light, the temperature is close to optimum for germination and moist nutrient rich soil.
I set up seed trays under LED lights to germinate seeds and get a head start on the growing season. There are all kinds of ways to make this happen. I use a seed set up from Gardeners Supply to help me. They have figured out a clever way to promote good germination and rooting. You can use peat pots or do it anyway you like.
I fill the pods, pack them for good seed contact, cover the seeds and water them. I check the water reservoir regularly so that the soil stays moist and set the lights up with a plug in timer, so they are on 12 hours. I use LED lights to help control the energy costs. I start with all my cold hardy herbs and greens. The seeds germinate in 3 days to a week and grow steadily. It is uplifting to watch the plants become recognizable as food.
In about 6 weeks they are ready to go outdoors to the garden, just after the last hard frost. I then set up seed trays for the veggies that need the warmth, and walk through the process again. This is a great way for me to engage with my food that is healthy and helps me focus on the newness and growth of the spring season.