Last Thursday, July 25, Marii of the EAC and I harvested 10 lbs of kale on a cool cloudy morning – one of the first breaks in the heat that we had for over a week. 3 lbs of the kale were the variety called Red Russian – long, bunny ear shaped smooth leaves. 7 lbs were of the curly variety and 6 lbs of these have already been dehydrated to make a little over a ½ lb of kale chips. I’ll bring some of these back to the garden to sample with students. Marii took 1lb of each type of kale home and she seemed to walk so proudly carrying her kale when I passed her on my bike in front of the school on my way home. I took home 8 lbs in total, I have 2 lbs of the Red Russian still in my refrigerator in a green bag – waiting to be prepared or frozen (knowing that each day I wait, the vitamin content diminishes). For each of us, kale was our reward for working in the garden. No money exchanged, we volunteer our hours, but we receive a share of what the garden provides to us. If more student gardeners had come, more would have received a share to take home.
There are basic rewards in keeping a garden that do not nor
ever will rely on money. The earth gives us something directly in exchange for
its care. I’ve become
interested in recent studies that indicate health benefits from just working
the soil, touching and breathing it in. A strain of bacterium in the soil, Mycobacterium
vaccae, has been found to trigger the release of seratonin the neurotransmitter
associated with feelings of well-being and happiness (see: http://www.healinglandscapes.org/blog/2011/01/its-in-the-dirt-bacteria-in-soil-makes-us-happier-smarter/). There is also the satisfaction of
having the opportunity to grow and eat fresh organic vegetables and fruit with
the knowledge that no fossil fuels, artificial ingredients, chemicals,
hormones, inorganic fertilizers or pesticides were ever used in its production. Even more basic is the joy of being
outside, in the sun, breathing fresh air.
The rewards do not end even if we are thinking in terms of
money value. Were I to buy 8 lbs
of organic kale I would have to spend at least 1.60/ lb. and so I received kale
that would cost at least $13.00.
Incidently, dehydrated raw kale chips typically sell at Whole Foods for about $7.99 for a 2.5 ounce
container. Therefore, by
dehydrating our own kale we added value to our crop – and if we needed to put a
price on it, the 6 lbs I dehydrated could have been purchased for about
$30. But if we just concern ourselves with
monetary profit, we are missing the point. Another value of kale is in its outstanding and
well known nutritional benefits: high in iron, calcium, antioxidants, protein,
Vitamins C and K (see: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/drew-ramsey-md/health-benefits-kale_b_3529768.html
).
While I would welcome paid hours for myself and students and
am committed to securing funds for this purpose, I also feel deeply rewarded
already from sharing in the garden’s bounty. In a sense this is receiving the work of the garden in
exchange for having worked in the garden.
There is no better exchange with the little piece of earth that we’re caring for.
