Ancestral agriculture is important because

    I got my seeds in the mail and I was ready to plant. It’s been a few weeks since I dug up the soil in my Great Aunts backyard.  Grandpa stopped by “What you got there?” “Some seeds I ordered.” He listened as I described my plan. He reached in his pockets and handed me more seeds. Beans, corn, tomatoes and others. Then he told me about soaking hard seeds before planting; where to plant my seeds; when to water them and about pulling weeds. I followed his instructions and before long I had lots of vegetables growing in our backyard. I was the happiest 12 year old in the city of Detroit. Yes I said city. I never lived on a farm, nor had I visited one at that time. I did know that I wanted a farm when I grew up. 

    I’m 5x older now and started farming again about 8 years ago. My backyard is my farm and yes I still live in the city but now I’m in Texas. This time around Grandpa was gone and I had forgotten a lot of what he taught me as a young girl. The internet was a good starting place and I began to meet people at the farmer’s market. Some of them had farms that were passed down through their families. I wondered if many of my ancestors had farms and what type of food they grew.

    I thought back to the time that I lived just down the street from my Grandma and Grandpa. It was in the late 1970s. My grandparents had chickens and a couple of roosters that would chase you around the yard. I can remember collard greens, green beans, peas, corn, tomatoes, and their infamous strawberry patch. They grew up on farms in Arkansas and Mississippi which explained where they learned farming. 

    I didn’t see many of our city neighbors growing food. They generally worked other jobs. Some yards had fruit trees we’d climb, and the moment the owners stepped outside, we’d leap down and take off running.. As a child, I wasn’t taught about growing food. I guess when Grandpa saw that I had an interest in it, that’s when my lessons started. My Uncle told me that he and his brothers learned to farm because my Grandpa looked cool doing it. It wasn’t until later in life he realized that 50 percent of their meals came from their yard. 

    I grow some of the same staples today. Okra, green beans, tomatoes, lettuces, beets, carrots and a variety of greens. I have a couple of apple, peach and plum trees. These items do help to reduce my grocery bill. I don’t plan to raise chickens or any other farm animals.