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I started gardening with a little 8 by 8 raised bed.  I planted tomatoes and peppers. I didn't know what I was doing but the garden actually did really well. The vegetables that I got from it were delicious. It was my introduction into gardening and I was hooked. 

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Herushafi with his son on the farm

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My garden size grew as the years went on. I would buy plants from the local hardware store or feed store in the beginning. Several years went by before I stopped buying plants and started buying seeds.  It was due to the amount of money I was paying for a single plant compared to how many seeds I could get.  For instance, I could pay $10 for a tomato plant or $3 for a pack of 25 seeds. I could buy 3 different varieties of vegetable seeds for the price that I would have paid for 1 plant.

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I went from growing 4 different vegetables to 15. Saving money and having a larger variety in my garden was great but there was so much more that I learned starting from seed rather than buying plants. There was something special about starting from seed. Digging the hole. Planting the seed. Watering it in. Waiting for it to pop through the soil. The feelings you have when it does. The feelings you have when it doesn't.  All I wanted to do was buy seeds.

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Buying seeds is what opened my mind to the farming industry. I thought all seeds were the same but I started seeing seed packs that had “NON-GMO” or Heirloom written on them and they cost a little bit more. I realized quickly that not only did I want to buy non-GMO seeds, I also wanted to buy heirloom seeds. GMO seeds are seeds that have been genetically modified. Heirloom seeds are the seeds that your grandparents grew and their grandparents grew and their grandparents grew. 

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The thought of growing the same seeds my grandparents grew was only the beginning. First I searched for the thing they would have grown, peas, okra, beans, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, melons, cucumber, watermelons, squash, any and everything. They didn't grow with pesticides so then I learned about companion planting. You can plant certain flowers or herbs that will keep bugs away. They did not have chemical fertilizer. I learned they would use companion planting again.  There are certain plants you grow together because one plant adds nutrients to the soil that the other plant needs. I've also learned about composting and worm poop, chicken poop, fish poop, goat poop, all sorts of poop. I've learned ducks can help with pest control without damaging your plants.  I've learned about planting your crop based on moon cycles. 

What I learned most about myself was my disconnect from my food. That disconnect from food led me to the understanding of my disconnect from nature. I live in an area where we experience fall, winter, spring and summer.  The only thing that the seasons meant to me was how to dress and what activities I would be able to do.  As I got more into gardening, I paid more attention to the outside, nature.  There are certain things in nature that tell you when it's time to plant or harvest, where to plant. I learned that some insects are around only for certain months, so you might plant according to needing that insect to help with your garden or waiting until that insect is gone because it would damage your garden. I've learned that certain plants bring not only insects but birds. I was surprised when I saw a hummingbird collecting nectar from an okra flower. The garden has attracted racoons, opossums, coyotes, and deer, all of which have damaged the garden but that's nature. 

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I started with an 8x8 raised bed, now I have four 4x8 raised beds and 1500sft of land that I cultivate. My next adventure in gardening will be, building a keyhole garden and learning about natural farming. To me natural farming is different from organic farming. I've learned that chemicals can still be used in organic farming but natural farming is using only what you can do with what nature provides. A lot of natural farming deals with learning how to compost and build your own soil.  It is also about making ferments and compost teas to feed your plants. The name that society gives it is Korean Natural Farming but it's just natural farming.

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