I’ve been chasing a dream for the better part of 12 years. I’ve had great successes & epic failures. There have been many highs & lows. A few detours as well. At this moment I am at the threshold of stepping into the reality of my dream coming true. The work is far from finished. It’s really just begun… As I stand in the doorway, the reality hits me like a roundhouse kick to the face. I can’t do this. I’m one person. One, small, middle-aged female with little to no support system. How the hell am I supposed to build greenhouses, propagate plants, clear land, take care of animals, maintain a garden, run a business, manage a home & work 40 hours a week!? All this time I’ve been running on blind faith & sheer determination, and it’s gotten me where I am, but now what? I have never been one to cower in fear of the unknown. I’ve always been a fighter. A problem solver. A do or die kind of girl and I haven’t died yet. I guess it’s time jump off the cliff into the great wide open & see what happens. This Nomadic Farmer is about to become a rooted Gypsy in the Ozarks of Missouri.
Today is a dreary, rainy, cold March day…. I am longing for my garden. Plotting and planning. Drawing pictures and planting herbs indoors to hold me over to warmer days… One of my favorite herbs is oregano.
Oregano is an herb in the mint family. Peoples all over the world have used it for thousands of years to add flavor to dishes and to treat many health conditions. It is most notable in Latin and Mediterranean dishes. The Greeks and Romans associated oregano with joy and happiness and this herbs name comes from the Greek words “oros,” meaning mountain, and “ganos,” meaning joy. There are quite a few different types of oregano. The most common type is Oregano vulgare, also known as Spanish thyme and wild marjoram.
Oregano is an important herb in many cuisines around the world (and in my kitchen!) It has a strong flavor and aroma that brings warmth and a subtle sweetness to many dishes. It can be used fresh, dried or as oil making it super easy to add to your diet and your “medicine cabinet”. Either way it is used is shown to have significant health benefits. Even in small quantities, oregano contains some important nutrients. Just one teaspoon of dried oregano provides about 8% of your daily vitamin K needs. From helping fight bacteria to reducing inflammation, studies have shown oregano’s impressive potential benefits.
Oregano is rich in antioxidants. These are compounds that help fight inflammation and damage from harmful free radicals in the body. Oregano also contains potent antibacterial properties. In addition to fighting off bacteria, some studies have found that oregano and its components may also protect against some viruses. Throughout the centuries, oregano has been known to treat many ailments, including skin sores, acne, aching muscles, asthma, cramping, diarrhea, indigestion, and the common cold. According to the National Library of Medicine, some of the ailments people use oregano for are croup, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, headaches, diabetes, ringworm, and as an insect repellant. Oregano is very easy to grow, even here in the hot sandy soil of western Colorado. It starts as a ground-hugging rosette of leaves but can grow to about 2 feet tall. Plant in the spring in well-drained soil with at least 6 hours of full sun. Please be aware that oregano is toxic to pets, so if you grow it, be mindful of where you plant it.
Rosemary is a well-known evergreen shrub that is native to the Mediterranean and used in cooking all over the world. Its leaves can be eaten fresh or dried. It can also be made into tea or infused oil. The medicinal uses of Rosemary have been used for centuries and research confirms rosemary is an important addition to the diet. This fragrant herb is high in Manganese, which is an essential nutrient for metabolic health. Manganese also helps the body to form blood clots, allowing injuries to heal faster. Studies have shown that the acids in rosemary have powerful antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Using rosemary regularly can potentially help lower the risk of infection and help the immune system fight infections. Rosemary has a positive impact on reducing anxiety and stress. Who couldn’t use a little help with that these days? Rosemary has also been used for centuries as an aid in memory. Studies in aromatherapy using rosemary have corroborated some of these claims. The phytochemicals in rosemary may also help to improve eye health, regulate liver function, and lower the risk of asthma. It truly is an important player in nature’s pharmacy! Rosemary grows well in most areas. Rosemary is also great for repelling annoying insects such as flies and mosquitoes. Having a rosemary plant by your front door will help to keep those pests from entering your home.
While living in California, I had my first encounter with companion planting. I came upon a roadside fruit stand selling strawberries and, of course, could not resist. Across the road was the man’s strawberry plot. The plot was edged by onions. The onions made a nice border, but I was curious why he chose them instead of some colorful flowers. I asked him why he planted onions around the strawberries, and he told me that the onions help to protect the berries from bugs. I asked him if he sold the onions as well, and he said yes, when they’re ready. It was a small plot, perhaps 15 feet by 15 feet but it would provide him at least two crops for his roadside stand.
Intrigued, I went home and started to ponder my own small space and what I could grow in it. Container planting is great but if you have a sunny piece of ground, you can do a lot with it. Companion planting will help you make the most of your sunny patch. One of my favorite books on this subject is Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte.
Herbs like basil, sage, thyme and oregano increase the flavor of tomatoes and peppers. These same herbs help to protect cauliflower and broccoli from pests due to their strong aroma. Plants are like people in many ways. Some plants just don’t get along. Some plants thrive in dry sandy soil and some thrive in a rich, moist environment. Some need more sun than others and some need more space than others. Some plants like it warmer and some like it cooler. Some are more susceptible to pests and some just won’t put up with them.
Anything in the legume family is beneficial to corn, cucumbers, potatoes and spinach, since legumes fix nitrogen to the soil from the air and these plants need more nitrogen than other plants. Legumes, in general, are peas and beans. Green beans, wax beans, Lima beans, black beans, etc. Beans have a negative impact on the onion and cabbage families (allium and cruciferous). These plants include leeks, chives, garlic, kale, broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts.
Carrots aerate the soil for tomato plants, and really anything in the nightshade family. The nightshade family consists of eggplant, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes. They also do well with the onion family, lettuce, radishes and parsley. Carrots do not do well with celery or dill until after they are harvested and put in a dish together… Cabbage does well with potatoes and most herbs but they do not like basil or beans.
Cucumbers are some of the most easy going plants I have ever met. They are easy to grow and very versatile. They get along with almost everyone in the cabbage family, legume family and the nightshade family. Cucumbers don’t do well with potatoes or the aromatic herbs like sage, rosemary or basil though.
One would never guess by looking at it, but lettuce belongs to the daisy family! Lettuce is a diva and does best in her own space or with some of the cruciferous vegetables. Definitely not kale or cauliflower. Lettuce also does not appreciate the strong chemicals put out by the allium family because they hinder her growth.
Peppers will thrive with practically everyone else, except fennel and kohlrabi. Peppers find fennel to be antagonistic and kohlrabi to be strange. Peppers aren’t wrong either, almost all vegetable plants agree that fennel can be a bit hostile…. As you can see, this is an in depth and complex topic. Almost as complex as understanding the human mind. Don’t let this intimidate you! You don’t have to grow everything! Grow what you eat and figure out who those plants get along with and everything will be fine.
I cannot reiterate enough how important it is to start growing your own food, right now. All one has to do is look at the condition of the world on every level, and it becomes very clear, if it’s not already, that something, a lot of things, are very wrong. Food prices are going through the roof. Shelves are becoming more and more bare with each passing week. Our Just-In-Time system is collapsing due to worker shortages, resource shortages, tariffs and strikes. All of this can be unnerving and even scary if you’re not prepared and don’t know what to do. My intention in writing this is not to scare you, but to help you be more prepared to endure whatever may come.
The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
Proverbs 22:3
If you have never gardened before and you don’t have a “green thumb”, do not let that discourage you. It’s ok to start small, as long as you start. You do not need a huge backyard or a farm to grow your own food. Modern technology has provided a myriad of ways to produce your own food right in your kitchen. I was in Walmart the other day and I saw mini hydroponic grow kits for sale for $50-$80. https://www.walmart.com/search?q=aerogarden&typeahead=Aero
If you have a patio or even a good south facing window, you can grow many different varieties of food plants. There are dwarf varieties that only require a 6 inch pot and sunlight. I grew dwarf cherry tomato plants and dwarf pea plants this year and they were very prolific!
You can grow things like lettuce, beets, onions, carrots, peppers, strawberries and herbs in pots on your patio.
You can grow potatoes in large Tupperware totes! Seeds are cheap and most seed companies send out free seed catalogs. All you have to do is sign up for their mailing list! One of my favorites is http://rareseeds.com
Sadly, people have misconceived notions about gardening. The days of digging and pulling weeds and breaking your back are gone. Modern technology has made it easier than ever to provide yourself with basic sustenance regardless of how much space you have. Even if you just grow a salad garden, or a salsa garden, or an herb garden, you are doing yourself a favor by learning a valuable skill and saving yourself money on food in the long run. Just remember, it doesn’t matter where you start, just start!
During WWI as well as WWII, victory gardens were an important part of the war effort, not only in America, but in Europe and Australia as well. They were a way to support the troops and be self sufficient. People didn’t have a lot of money and there was a food crisis, a lot like what is happening all over the world today.
Victory gardens boosted morale and brought communities together. People got together to trade seeds and preserve what they harvested. The most commonly grown crops were high carb and nutrient dense. Crops that would store well in root cellars or were easy to can were very important. These were crops such as beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, peas, tomatoes, turnips, squash, and Swiss chard. Many of these crops were easy to store or preserve, which helped people be able to better plan to have food in the winter.
The Just-In-Time system of the grocery store chains we have today were not a thing back then. Food was fresh and local. It was not shipped in from all over the world in shipping containers. It was not sprayed with chemicals to inhibit the growth of mold on the long journey. I know what you’re thinking… That’s just gross! And it is gross. According to an article by Business Insider, there are 500,000 shipping containers stuck out at sea.
Victory gardens weren’t just vegetables. People planted fruit trees and raised chickens, goats and rabbits for eggs, milk and meat as well.
As we have seen with the recent shortages of everything and the shipping backlogs, reliance on the current system is no longer a viable solution. Food prices are skyrocketing and there is an air of uncertainty about how bad it will get before it gets better. Perhaps it is time to take a lesson from the past and get back to the old ways. It’s time to take our lives into our own hands and start growing our own food.
I have had many conversations on the side of the road, over peaches and tomatoes. I chat with strangers about the weather and politics. Over cherries and apricots, we’ve discussed faith, fear and loss. I feel like a bartender or a hair stylist. Passersby come to hear news or confide. These sources of information are more reliable than that of network news.
I’ve heard tales of courage and adventure. I’ve hugged strangers mourning the loss of a loved one. I’ve encouraged single moms to stay strong. I’ve made children smile by letting them pick their own fruit.
The old timers like to reminisce on the days when they would grow tomatoes and such. They give advice, then always comment on how the prices have gone up and how the times are changing.
I’ve endured every type of weather imaginable. Sometimes all in one day. I’ve learned to keep extra clothes in the truck, just in case. I’ve lost a tent to 70 mph wind. I’ve watched helplessly as the wind flipped a table over and the fruit and the scale went flying. I’ve frantically tried to protect boxes from torrential downpours that come out of nowhere and I’ve hid in my truck in many a lightning storm.
I’ve raised my son on the side of the road. He’s quite the salesman now. Many people have asked me why I do this work. Many have tried to talk me out of it. This is my 5th year roadside. I thoroughly enjoy it! It’s not about the money. I love being outside and talking to people. I believe in what I’m doing. People need to be reconnected to their food.
I’m part of a growing movement that is helping people to understand that what they eat is intrinsically connected to their health. The pandemic of 2020 helped this movement gain traction in a way. It showed people how reliant they are on an unreliable system. When the just-in-time system broke down and the stores were empty, people began to wake up to the fact that we need to get back to our roots and the old ways.
According to Iroquois legend, a very long time ago, there were three sisters who lived in a field. The youngest was so small she could not yet walk so she crawled along the ground. She was dressed in green. The middle sister wore a bright yellow dress and loved to dart back and forth across the field. The eldest sister stood tall and straight, and her body would bend with the wind. She had long yellow hair and wore a green shawl. The three sisters loved one another very much and could not imagine living without the others.
One day a little Indian boy came to the field. He was very handsome and knew the ways of the land. He could talk with the birds and the animals and was straight and fearless. The three sisters were very intrigued by this boy as they watched him use his stone knife to carve a bowl or hunt with his bow and arrow.
Late in the summer of the boy’s first visit to the field, the youngest of the three sisters disappeared. She was the one who could only crawl along the ground. She could not even stand unless there was a stick she could cling to, but she was gone, and the other two sisters mourned her until the fall.
The Indian boy returned to the field to gather reeds that grew at the edge of a small stream. He used the reeds to make arrow shafts. The two remaining sisters watched him with fascination. That night, the second sister disappeared.
Now there was only one sister left, the tall and straight sister. She did not bow her head in sorrow, though she mourned deeply and thought she could not live in the field alone without her sisters. As the days grew shorter and colder, her green shawl began to lose its color and her yellow hair became brown and tangled. Night and day she cried for her sisters, but her voice was lost in the wind, and no one heard her.
One day during harvest season, the little Indian boy heard the third sister crying, and he felt sorry for her. He took her in his arms and carried her to his home, and there a wonderful surprise awaited her. Her sisters were there in the lodge, safe and very glad to be reunited. They explained that they had been curious about the little Indian boy and had followed him home. They had decided to stay because winter was coming and his home was warm and comfortable.
The sisters made themselves useful to the boy and his family. The youngest, now all grown up, kept the dinner pot full, while the second sister, still in her yellow dress, dried herself on the shelf so she could fill the dinner pot later in the winter. The eldest sister was so pleased to be with her sisters again and so impressed with the help they gave the boy that she too began drying herself so the family would have meals to eat as the winter went on.
And from that day to this, the three sisters were never separated again.
In many Native American cultures, the three sisters were and still are very important crops. The three sisters consist of corn, climbing beans and squash. Many different varieties can be used but traditionally they are winter squash, common bean and Indian corn. All three can be dried and saved for later use. This was important for native tribes whether nomadic or agrarian.
Corn should be planted first so that it can grow tall enough above the other crops. Plant the beans 2-3 weeks later, or when the corn is a few inches tall. When the beans start sending out their tendrils to climb, the corn will be tall enough to support them. Plant squash seeds 1 week later after the beans have sprouted. You don’t want the large squash leaves to shade out young corn and bean seedlings before they have time to get established.
I love color in my garden so I tend to plant scarlet runner beans and butternut or spaghetti squash. Pumpkin would be good for color too. The runner beans are a deep purple while the butternut is a soft tan and the spaghetti squash is a bright yellow.
The stalks of the corn provide a natural trellis for the climbing beans. The beans fix nitrogen into the soil from the air which is helpful to the corn because corn needs nitrogen to grow well. The large leaves of the squash plants help to retain soil moisture and shade out the weeds.
All three sisters are a staple in American Southwest cuisine today. Throw in some green chilies for some extra kick!
Nomadic Farmer 