WHAT CAN I DO?
WHAT CAN I DO?
Listening to Rosemary Morrow with Morag Gamble via the International Permaculture Festival of Wild Ideas' (link below), and it's such wake call to Small Actions!! and their BIG IMPACTS! and as always massive gratitude, for this festival series, and my birth lotto place of privilege 💝
As a renter, who's just had to move again for the second summer in a row, I find myself bogged down by all the restrictions, and fear around not having our yard and even in-house systems not 'normal', not 'neat and tidy' enough for landlords. (Shit, that could be a whole ass topic on its own 😭 how people deal with this, the normies, and smoothing the shock for straight and narrow landlords or neighbours, or house mates). And then there's the family rollercoaster of ND trials and diverse family challenges, which drains me equaling lack of time and energy. I know we all feel these two hits most weeks!!
The thing that keeps me going is stories of small actions and gestures. The tiny little every day actions of every day people, and stories of those who now have built their way up from one lil action at a time, even if from the outside they may appear to have it all.
Over the last few years when I get overwhelmed and down I've been focusing on what I *CAN* do, and what I can pay forward. I love propagating plants, and creating slow compost to use in potting mix, while taking up a lil extra space, it is fairly easy for me. So giving away basic plants, cuttings and seeds, feels like a natural progression and has become the staple thing I *CAN* do.
Each time we've moved house, the overwhelming fear of not finding a place and desperate need of funds, has had me culling trying to get rid of all and any excess, and there's always a few plants that just don't make it through the neglect and rough handling. oh and the phenomenal amount of rain we've had each summer has me losing plants to rot ( worms + not repotting = very thick soil at the base of some pots!! ). With a heart set of growing up on tank water west of Brisbane in times of drought, it's so counterculture to beg the rain to stay away!
So now when I look at what I have to give, at first I'm like ‘i don't have much’ and ‘I've lost so much’, but then I sit with that uncomfort for a while and realise each year I'm still bringing a few new types of plants into the mix, but my mindset just takes a moment to move to, YES!, I can propagate that and give this AND have some listed for sale, and im becoming more aware of ‘weeds’ that abundantly growing around me. If I'm happy to prop for a friend as a gift, then I can add it to my gift economy props.
My list so far, some are always available, some are a once a year thing, or somewhere in between. Some of these plants can become problematic if let loose, or not grown responsibly. Please be thoughtful while growing.
Edibles
*Mother of all Herbs
*Thai basil seed
*Pigeon Peas
*Cassava
*Kangkung
*Brazilian spinach
*Malabar spinach
*Betel leaf
*Okinawa spinach
*Mugwort
*Elderberry
*Moringa
*Water chestnuts
*Arrowroot
*Turmeric
*Ginger
Support plants;
*Dogbane
*Cosmos Seeds
*Canna lilies
Patio style plants;
*Monstera
*Zabrina Tradescantia
*Horse head Phil
*Burle Marx Phil
*Pothos Eppi
*Campo Phil
*Spiral ginger