We just got back from Ohio where we were vising my mom. We did pretty good with not buying any food except for the trip out there and two other instances where we had a once in a lifetime opportunity to try meat from Polyface Farms and then we went to the farmers' market to purchase food for our flight back (which ended up taking 24 hours instead of the slated 8 hours as planned) I didn't feel bad though about that purchase because we bought the meat directly from the farmer.
I'm not really going to go over the menu this week though because we didn't really cook anything other than the meat from Polyface and the sides for that meal. I did make some Green Pesto Bruschetta for my mom's BBQ on Sunday, but other than that my mom, thankfully took care of all of our food.
I did a lot of soul searching while we were in Ohio. Ohio is prime farm land, which unfortunately, is used for soy and corn almost exclusively. My mom's next door neighbors, though, run an organic farm. My mom's garden was awesome even though their growing season is so much shorter than our own. The difference is they get more heat than we do.
I want to farm. I want to be a farmer. But California pretty much bars us from doing that because of the cost of the land. So here I am wondering if I could move out of California. I love living here but at the same time I want to live a certain lifestyle. I want a farmhouse that's older than my grandparents. I want rich topsoil to bury my hands in. The Midwest offers that affordably. But here we've got family and friends (some which are also family). It's a tough thing to have to work through. I think if our city allowed us to sell the produce we grow my feelings would definitely change, but right now I'm torn.
My heart goes out to you. We live in central Indiana on 5 acres and its lovely to grow a garden in, raise animals, etc. The midwest is a great place to live, nice for kids too since they get to see all 4 seasons. Fair warning though, not nearly as exciting around here though as it probably is there. If you ask us, its perfect.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog recently. Your journey is pretty inspiring. We don't have the same network of farmer's markets here as you'd find out there so our family's goal is to become 80% food self-sufficient in the next couple years. We just moved here in March and already we've made a lot of steps in the right direction.
I've often thought about that - moving out of CA for better land. You can't beat the weather here in Southern California, but the price of land is crazy. I too love the rustic living without the huge TV rooms. I just want a backyard. ;o) Keep searching, get everyone on the same page, and explore. :-)
ReplyDeleteBest of luck!
- LO
I am now in SoCal, originally from Detroit. I can't wait to go back to Detroit. The people there are fabulous (really!) and there's some good plantin' soil there, too. I grew the tastiest vegetables of my life in the Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor areas. You can pick up land there for a song and dance these days. Go. You'll be mighty glad to meet and be amongst the hard-working, honest Michiganders.
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