Getting Down and Dirty: Grow Food NOT Lawns

My weeks are often intense. They are always exciting and I am always grateful - but sometimes… wow… It has been an exceptionally difficult or mind/body strenuous week. I am a mom of two, not just any two but a 4-year old and a 20-month old. Having been an educator for 16 years doesn’t even come close to teaching a person to be a parent. When you are a parent you are on high alert all the time, 24/7. It is an intense and emotional ride.The deepest love, the biggest fears and more…I opened a restaurant five weeks ago with my husband. Five weeks. It is like we had twins. (Sorry Jess- my sister who actually had twins) and although I will never understand how hard it is to have twins… I know daily how hard it is to run a start-up. It is every emotion that you have ever had to face but on steroids. Being a mom already puts you on high alert… Being a mom and business owner makes high alert look like a fluffy kitten.I have slowly been learning throughout my life that balance is key. However, balance doesn’t always come naturally. I have a hard time closing my eyes to sleep or meditate. I have difficulty putting myself before others and I really struggle with saying NO. Although, my 20-month old is teaching me the value of a good old fashioned and simple no.I was having trouble finding a way to feel centered and grounded. I needed a way to recharge and I didn’t know what that should be.Then one day the opportunity fell in my lap. It all started with a tutoring session, a haircut and a discussion.A discussion about being a person that starts his or her own business. I was in the thick of starting a restaurant and a friend started to tell me her dream. This is where the shivers happen. Any dream you have – you can make happen. You really can. I had a dream to bring a restaurant to life and it is here. I designed my first space through that restaurant. Anyways.. I digress… She was telling me her dream… to grow produce and create amazing treats… She put her dream out there. We talked about ideas and pros and cons and developing a mission.Her dream had a slight morph in the next coming months and it was beautiful and as she opened up to it, the stars aligned and she met the right people at the right time for her. Her dream was to create urban food forests. I had a dream too: I opened this restaurant, a restaurant based on sustainability, veganism and benefiting the earth and community.We continued to talk. I embarrassingly threw it out there… “if you ever want to practice in my front yard, it could be great.” And so it started, her career was launched and so was my balance.Jenney of Three hearts farm and urban food forests started coming over. She tested the soil. We passed! Woot. That was a thrill.How many of you know what your soil holds? I had no idea. Then, she began to come weekly and dig in the dirt, drop a little manure, add some straw. I started to dig in the dirt with her. Remove the grass, turn the soil, get down and dirty. Sometimes I cried tears into the soil…. A worry or a feeling of inadequacy. The soil gave me physical and mental strength. Sometimes I laughed and was joyous about a crazy and amazing thing my kids said.The soil brought it out of me and it went back into the soil. It heard and repeated and took away. I felt a confidence creep in. When you take on as much as I have… sometimes you can lose yourself. But when you are digging in the dirt and down and dirty… you can just be. You don’t need to be mom, an owner, a boss… you don’t need to worry, or stress or clean, you don’t have to be a wife, a daughter… you can just be down and dirty. It is the essence of balance.In three weeks, we turned rock hard soil into a worm mecca. I feel proud. Jenney did most of the work but I have helped. I get to be a part of it and I get to connect with the earth. I feel a sense of peace when I am playing with the dirt and moving soil. I feel strong wielding my tools and telling the grass Sayonara. Confidence crept in and no matter how tired I am, I am never too tired to play in the dirt. It is exciting because I can also play in the dirt with my kids.We hosted a full moon party to plant our vetch and Fava. I wasn’t sure how people were going to respond when I asked them. People thought it was cool. People were excited to be there and I had 20 people crawling all over my yard and planting seeds. Some were running and yelling, some were singing, some were quiet and contemplative, some grew tired and some grew energized – there was a power in community there. People are calling out for community. A garden inspired community. This thing that Jenney and I are working on is almost bigger than us. It is us and it grows from us… and the journey continues.... and now I ask you, what is your outlet? Where do you find balance and centered-ness?This story will be continued and I will share as we take this journey in establishing an urban food garden in my lawn.From my family to yours,Jennifer Jones HortonPS. If you are in the Bay Area and are interested in working in urban settings on creating food forests, Jenney is looking for interns to help her create gardens in a variety of settings. The main goal… to build community in communities where opportunities are lacking. Join her on this incredible mission – she can’t do it without you. Grow food not lawns!