Thank you

I just wanted to publicly thank this community for its commitment to ecological solutions to growing problems. I recently took Helen Atthowe's Garden Mastery course and am currently taking a Utah Master Gardener course. The difference between the two is stark. I don't want to bash the state class too much, but I'm grateful we have people like Helen and Paul and all of you coming up with solutions that attempt to create harmony with nature rather than reaching for a quick solution that does little in the long run.

I was recently arguing with someone about supporting regenerative agriculture, permaculture, etc. That person argued that it's a drop in the ocean of commercial farming. I said it's yet another reason to support it. I don't care how few we are, we're still making a difference!

Flora Eerschay wrote:I was recently arguing with someone about supporting regenerative agriculture, permaculture, etc. That person argued that it's a drop in the ocean of commercial farming. I said it's yet another reason to support it. I don't care how few we are, we're still making a difference!

Man, that is the attitude I am trying to have. The weight of all the influences I have to fight against was heavy today. And all I want to do during this class is fight the teacher on everything (well, almost everything) but I don't have Helen or Paul's expertise and data and understanding to back it up. I am thinking about proposing an optional class (or classes) on how to cultivate biological controls in a home garden. I'd probably draw on Helen's course a bit for that. I wish I could just invite an expert from here to the lecture to challenge the teachers but that might not be the best approach XD

In those positions, I find it best to try to keep an open mind and just sit and listen for anything I find useful.  Generally, openly disagreeing will do more to make everyone resent you than it will to change anyone's mind.  Once you are teaching your own classes, you can give your own opinions.  If you never take it to that point, leading by example will probably be your best approach.

Flora Eerschay wrote:I was recently arguing with someone about supporting regenerative agriculture, permaculture, etc. That person argued that it's a drop in the ocean of commercial farming. I said it's yet another reason to support it. I don't care how few we are, we're still making a difference!

Agree!  Plus it feels good and it is just the right thing to do.  I also think we all have some circle of influence, perhaps large, or perhaps so small that we don’t even realize it.   I like to think that at a minimum, I influence my family, my young kids, maybe my neighbors, friends, and colleagues to minimal/varying degrees.  
I veg garden because I grew up veg gardening.  We did not use best practices back then and I didnt begin implementing best practices myself until recently (I am 55).   Odds are, that if my kids garden as adults, they will start with best practices and improve things over time, influence others in there own way, etc. Multiply all of that across just the members of this forum.  So, basically, we are saving the world!  

Good job to us!!!

Just to correct my earlier post: I meant industrial farming, not commercial farming :) there's nothing wrong with selling your ethical, sustainable, organic products and making a living that way. It's quite awesome actually!