Dig for dignity

Dig for dignity because these days it has become incredibly difficult to get fresh nosh that's not been smothered in toxic pesticides. It will also lift us from the boredom of too little to do.

Living on the fruits of our labour brings both a dignity and an abundance that the dole can never provide. Whilst one cannot expect to be entirely free and independent of the supermarket and farmers’ supply, we continue to aim high.

And in truth there is no limit to how high you can reach. Our green garden continues, week in and out, to provide many times in excess of the R350 basic income monthly-grant. Moreover it is highly nutritious and tasty food.

The profoundly satisfying taste of fruit freshly-picked from the garden is without equal; greens and beans just harvested too. Then you’ll begin to understand why TV and social media have such a small hold on us. You will be home and dry if you can add a sweet young mealie, peas and a few hens for their eggs to the above.

I’m deeply saddened by those in the Department of Welfare and others distributing food parcels who still think that refined maizemeal can provide the nutrients found in “corn on the cob.”

A mealie has a taste to die for and does little to raise our blood glucose, irrefutably fingered in many serious diseases including Covid.

There are times when I will admit that I wonder if we are quite mad. Just digging out 600 dead mealie-stalks in the last few weeks can only be described as a labour of love; it’s hard work. This wet autumn I have learned that compared to previous years the task is much easier than when left until the ground has become crusted and dry.

When mealies get a little hard and dry, learning how to make homemade cornbread will extend the nutrition for a few more weeks.

Those dried-out stalks of course form the foundation of our many compost heaps; a dry to wet ratio of about 2 to1 is advisable. We dither between using autumn leaves to add to that pile, or as a mulch between the winter veggie plants^[2]; the rainy season will soon be over.

One compost heap will be reserved for the giant butternut and pumpkins that our garden is renowned for; our own seed will be planted in spring. The others provide the humus that will be spread in late winter; before they are sodden and difficult to move after the rains have started.

No expensive inorganic fertilisers are needed in our green garden; plentiful wood ash from the little woodstove is the alternative to lime.

Planting many different coloured fruits and vegetables is high on our agenda; the strong research that seven or more of such enjoyed each day will reduce the all-cause of death by 35% has made a huge impression on us. We would rather spend the hours digging for dignity than consulting doctors; and the undertaker long before our time.

Maize stalk borers according to Pannar consume about ten percent of the crop in South Africa. The larvae hibernate over winter in the stubble and especially down by the roots. Whacking each stalk on a brick removes the soil and exposes most of the pests; the retinue of hens following me have a field day.

We encourage the hens to scratch in the compost heaps too; their droppings add nitrogen and promote aerobic decay.

In days of old a labourer was given a tin of toxic insecticide to shake into the end of each cob; today it’s more sophisticated I suppose. Either way, I can do without that stuff in my food. We harvest the mealies in the normal way, breaking off the tip if it is infected by stalk-borer; and again the hens squabble hilariously over the delicacies. Little is lost to the pest.

Eighty years ago the people of Great Britain were starving; the war had cut off their supply routes and there was little imported food to be had. “Dig for Victory” became the slogan of the day; and they started in earnest. Lo and behold, it soon became apparent they could grow most of their needs.

If the world is wearying and social media ceases to satisfy, try digging for dignity. You too can harvest a mountain of food from your own green garden; your family need never go hungry again.

Whether it’s for hunger, dignity or simply the joy of growing your own delicious fresh food, is it perhaps time for you to start digging?

• Growing peppadews
  

The horrible hump

Dig for dignity

Dig for dignity and a mountain of nutritious, cheap food; it will also lift that horrible hump that settles on our shoulders periodically from having too little to do.

At the end of the season, having reaped for several months, this is what I gathered yesterday from just three broad bean plants. Legumes save us from two great evils; being constantly hungry and having stunted children.

They give us the satiety we need, the so-called subsequent meal effect, so we don't feel the need to snack constantly^[3]; and the protein the Little People must have. 

How to plant broad beans is essential in our opinion; they're awful when old and starchy. They are also the only common source of dopamine, the happy hormone.

Those enjoying these kinds of foods never become obese. The benefits are only to be had should we be willing to dig for dignity and the pot. They do need to be chewed thoroughly; they are high in fibre. According to the Cancer Forum we should eat legumes at every single meal.

That probably seems absurd; could you manage once a day?

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Address:

56 Groenekloof Rd,

Hilton, KZN

South Africa

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