A Farmer in the Dell

A food forest in Israel.

With a June birthday, I have officially entered into a new decade.  This decade felt more ominous when it was looming ahead; but now that I have arrived, waking up feeling exactly the same as in the previous decade, it is not so bad. 

I have arrived, determined not to ‘go there’ about ageing, having regrets of life flying too fast, or dwelling on aches and pains.

I feel fortunate to be alive and am grateful to have energy and enthusiasm. In fact, I am about to start a brand-new project as I will soon become a ‘farmer,’ of sorts. I am not sure what got into me to do such a flip. Was it the pandemic? The doom and gloom over impending food shortages? My fickle, ever-changing Gemini nature? A thirst for the spiritual? Or maybe it was a combination of everything above. 

Our barren land and next door, our neighbor's abundance.

The bottom line is that I am shifting focus and throwing myself to the dirt. Literally. Amir and I bought an empty, dusty, dry, and rocky piece of land that we dream of transforming into a food forest. 

I know how to grow a few things badly; last winter (pre-shmita), we enjoyed growing and eating spinach, lettuce and kale, but come summer, my wind-tossed tomatoes fell over into a hopeless, tangled mess. I did not pick my cucumbers on time, but I did enjoy a few sweet peas (three to be exact), kohlrabi, and radishes.

My strawberries had a party sprawling across the garden bed and mingling with the spinach, but did not produce a single fruit (unless the birds got to them before I did). I had a strangely shaped eggplant that I do not remember planting, hot peppers that were on fire, and super bug-infested broccoli.

Yet I want to continue learning even if it is trial by error. I want to embrace a clean and healthy way of life by growing and harvesting my own organic, pesticide-free food. I want to be more self-sufficient as I strongly believe the world is very unstable now. 

I also feel that being outside in the sunshine tending to plants nourishes my soul and body. I crave that connection. Yet I have far to go to achieve this. It is like standing at the base of a mountain and seeing the summit far, far above. 

We will have to wade and climb through new permaculture knowledge: understanding patterns of sun, wind, and rain; amending soil, planting nitrogen fixers, selecting heirloom seeds, attracting pollinators, interplanting, companion planting, succession planting, over cropping and under cropping. We will experiment with soil recipes to be able to grow abundant food, take on worm composting, and learn how to plan winter, summer crops, and take care of the food forest.

Produce from our small raised bed pre-shmita garden.

And then there’s chickens. We need to build a secure chicken coop, as well as learn how to feed and care for chickens who will hopefully provide eggs and manure for precious compost. Then there’s getting electricity from solar panels and somehow storing water. I may sound like a homesteader wannabe, but at this early stage, that word is way too ‘off-the-grid’ for me.

Each garden has potential
to be a Gan Eden.

This project is now in the planning stages as here in Israel, we are still in a shmita year. This happens every seven years here and is a time for the land to rest. But come Rosh Hashana, the year is renewed, becoming planting time once again. 

This is also a renewal for me as I enter this new decade of not slowing down. This vision rejuvenates me, making me feel like an excited kid all over again. After shmita, we will take this farm project step-by-step, first trying to revive the soil, planting, and then hopefully transforming this dusty plot into a place teeming with life. 

For me, entering this new phase is also a way to leave behind the negative forces that are happening on the outside and refocus on life, growth, hopefully co-creating towards a healthy, healing, and sustainable future.

It is meaningful for me to be part of repairing the world, even if this starts on one small, dusty plot. For every small change starts at home.