I May Have Lost the Battle...
But I think I'm winning the war
Welcome to Raw Milk Mama, a newsletter about food freedom, our food systems, and how to create local food security in our communities. As always, I appreciate any and all paid upgrades. I am a solo writer bringing you real, sometimes difficult, news from the front lines of our food system. Sign up here for weekly posts, or keep reading…
Well, it’s official...
I’ve lost the battle.
It’s been a worthy and noble fight, but I rest, defeated.
For the past several years, my family has worked 3 small plots in a community garden near us. It’s not a huge space, but it’s enough for folks like us who don’t have much sun, to plant the sun-loving plants and actually get tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and sunflowers.
The community garden is right by the baseball fields that are carefully maintained by the city – all of them are filled with Bermuda grass.
You’ve probably seen Bermuda grass a million times, even if you don’t know it by name. Bermuda grass looks like a combination of barbed wire (but with longer barbs and closer together) and a messy tangle of broken Christmas tree lights. Especially once you pull it up and see it’s root system.
It’s become quite a popular grass for things like sports fields and golf courses.
But there’s just one HUGE problem…
It's invasive here in North America. We are without proper predators or competitors to help keep it in check. And, since municipalities seem to like this spawn of the devil for some insane reason, it gets plenty of help in propagating.
I guess one could give Bermuda grass credit for its “resiliency,” but that’s also what makes gardeners hate it.
I mean, we DESPISE it.
It creeps insidiously into every nook and cranny of the garden. And never goes away.
It haunts our gardens and taunts us in our dreams.
Their devilish root systems are like the apprentice from Fantasia – every time you chop it up, a new one sprouts from every little speck of root.
It’s probably possessed by demons.
So for the past several years, I’ve been battling this grass as have many of my fellow gardeners.
We keep losing.
One day, I’ll spend a good 2+ hours out there pulling up every last speck of visible Bermuda grass only to come back in a few days and see that it barely looks like I did anything.
It’s deeply discouraging, depressing, and devaluing.
In my gardening, I have a particular, personal commitment to no-till. It’s a conviction that doesn’t matter that much on a few hundred square feet, but nevertheless, I felt beholden to it.
Well, I have a confession…
That damned Bermuda grass got the best of me.
As I approached my plots to get them ready for spring planting, I could see that I’d lost my battle with the grass. It had taken over, sadly.
So I decided to take drastic measures and till it.
A few passes with the tiller and I had a totally new garden plot.
I could hear the heavens parting and the angels singing.
I have my garden plot back….at least for now.
I lost the battle of no tilling, but I won my growing space back.
Take that, Bermuda Grass!
All this to say, I spent quite a bit of my “writing time “these past few days getting my own garden in order.
I’m working on an article I think you’re going to love about 4 courageous women tackling food security in their communities.
So stay tuned for that… It’s a big story and I’ve got the details….
See you all next week.
Anyone else struggling with this or other invasives? Share your story!
About Raw Milk Mama: I believe that we can reclaim our food systems through direct action. But it takes your participation whether you’re growing food, processing, or willing to support those who are. And sometimes, it takes taking direct action or calling on your state or federal elected officials.
I’m dedicated to helping people understand our food system and how we each fit into it..
Here’s how you can be part of it:
Subscribe here to get new posts weekly.
Subscribe to the Nourishing Liberty Podcast for new audio content weekly.
Get daily emails about personal and community wellness with sometimes-snarky updates about our food system