Opinion: Embracing Responsible Choices and The Sacredness of Creation
Two of Community of Christ's 9 Enduring Principles are making Responsible Choices and the Sacredness of Creation. A couple weeks ago during a beliefs class, congregants discussed examples of responsible choices, many of which help to protect God's Sacred Creation, our planet. Nowhere can one find a better example of someone making responsible choices than looking at a summer garden. Now, obviously, there are ways gardening can be done irresponsibly, but if one uses sustainable practices, gardening can help provide low-cost food, reduce waste, and cause less harm to the environment than purchasing the same items from the grocery store.
Here's how. Packets of seeds or seeds purchased from a local feed store are relatively inexpensive. A 2- or 3-dollar seed package can provide more than enough seeds to grow a few dozen plants. These can be started indoors under growing bulbs well before the start of the outdoor growing season. Such bulbs are relatively cheap and can be placed in an ordinary desk lamp if needed. Doing so ensures the plants are big enough to be hardened off and placed outside when the temperatures are suitable. Composting waste is a cheap, sustainable way to provide fertilizer for plants keeping in mind that it is important to also research the needs of each plant type to increase the likelihood of a successful crop. With proper watering and weeding, those tiny little plants will soon spring into a healthy green crop. Then, as harvests begin to come in during the late summer, these foods can be canned, dried, or frozen to provide meals throughout the winter. Canning, if done safely, provides shelf stable foods, and reduces waste since the only part of the jar that cannot be reused is the lid that seals it.
While it is impractical for many to rely solely on a garden for food, raising one can certainly help reduce grocery costs and provide healthier options with less waste, examples of very responsible choices that help protect our world. If you are interested in getting started gardening, there are a multitude of resources to help including watching gardening and canning videos on YouTube as well as talking to your local extension office or feed store.
In the meantime, here are a few resources to get you started: