Cycles

How many bored high schoolers are sitting at home lacking entertainment limited by video games and television? I wondered that today while walking down the streets of Wilsonville, OR. How many of these local young folks in the absence of all the consumer options that the neighboring metropolis of Portland offers would like to share with one another skills that would benefit one another?

Take gardening for example. The relationship with garden soil that produces fruits via nutrient transfer that gardeners consume and share with friends is a relatively stable organism in the eyes of most people. There are cycles created in the topsoil and humic layers that most gardeners do not see. Cycles are dependent upon microorganisms that interact with each other.

Relating this to the human experience is worthwhile in the sense that humans to must rely on communities, their own, but usually another far away community, to sustain life. The way it looks now communities interact through commerce. That is buying and selling goods made possible largely through military occupation of oil rich nations. The more practical approach would be to complete these cycles ourselves. Grow foods in the backyard or community garden and share with neighbors. Simple enough. Though maybe one gardener grow vegetables well yet has no idea how to prepare and cool them. Here another gardener steps in and teaches the green thumb grower how to cook delicious meals. A cycle manifests itself! Now that gardener emboldened with know how enough to prepare meals can teach other people. The same gardener, now nearing the mid way point of summer, is faced with seeding srping crops and bountiful pepper and tomato harvests. Another community member, taught by elders the tradition of preserving, can take the fruits (in this case vegetables?) home and prepare them for storage and winter use. Of course in keeping with the free market schematic she takes a predetemined amount of canned goods for her service. Or could she teach the gardener how to can rather than simply taking the canned goods for her service? Here another caveat comes into play. Seeds!! Without these we fail to exist as a species. It has been the job of the ancients, our ancestors, agrarians everywhere to save seeds for the next season; seed companies being a relatively recent innovation. Alas gardeners need seeds, but few of us faced with the sectional couch and cold beer after a long days work offer lackluster enthusiasm to saving seeds from the garden that can be bought new again next year. It is the cycles that communities must complete!

Alan Kapuler, a seed grower and scholar of science has untangled the knot through years of work with soil, seeds and species. Some of his most interesting work can be found here: http://www.seedambassadors.org/Mainpages/still/kapulerfieldtrip/kapulerpapers.htm

Although we rarely account for the information of those we interact with daily, it is important. Very important in closing loops realted to our survival. Save those seeds!