Small Calamities

Your Calamities

Green Green Grass of Home
May 19, 2008 | permalink

Most of what I have been doing these last few months while I haven't been writing has revolved around making more of what I consume from its base ingredients. One of the things I have done do help me achieve this is to start a tomato and herb garden at home. It is, as you can see in the photo, thriving.

Some of it (the rosemary and the lemon verbena) are growing in earth in pots, but most of it is in an Aerogarden, which, if you are not familiar, is a small hydroponic system. It is pretty cool, I must say, and deeply satisfying to see the herbs grow. They grow quickly, too... It's been not quite six weeks since I got it, and you can see how far it's progressed.

There are some who may ask, 'My calamitous friend, isn't using some machine to grow your herbs sort of counter to the idea of making things for yourself?' Well, I did think about that. And what I decided was that I am not against technology in general, or using it to do things better- that is what it is for, after all. The garden uses little electricity, the plants produce oxygen as well as feeding me, and, since I am realistically going to be gone for days or a week or more with little or no notice (not yet being independently wealthy), the Aerogarden allows me to grow things that I might not otherwise be able to keep alive.

On top of that, it's just damn cool.