Rip out your lawn

Yes, I recommend that tear up your turf … and plant something you can eat!

Green blessings. I’m Ellen, an organic gardener. I’m here to invite you to start or improve a garden, small or large.

Why do I want you to plant something edible? I will answer with another question: how can you control the pesticides, GMOs, endocrine disruptors and addictive substances embedded in your food? The answer is to grow it yourself.

Homegrown is the perfect way to insure you and your family of safe and nutritious food. There are other dividends as well —great flavor, freshness, higher nutrient levels, exercise, putting down roots in your land and the smug feeling of not supporting factory farms. You’ll love the deeper connection with the therapeutic rhythms of nature and watching nature’s wonders up close.

Make it a family affair if you can, and involve all ages. Elders and children have much to share.

Homegrown can mean raising chickens, cows and goats, of course, but I’m not a livestock expert. I’ll be guiding you through the successful raising of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. If you’ll make this the spring to plant a garden, I’ll help you grow it nutritiously and organically.

What size garden? Start with a tub of soil outside the door or a huge plot where the lawn used to be. You don’t need huge space or costly equipment. So, get your scissors ready to clip weekly advice from your Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Watch for recommendations on what varieties grow well in our area, how to build healthy soil, what organic fertilizers to choose, to till or not to till, season extension and non-toxic ways to cope with pests.

Ellen Vande Visse operates Good Earth Garden School and offers educational workshops through goodearthgardenschool.com.