"The climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too". This is the theme for the UN's "World Food Day", celebrated today. You might ask, what can I, one person do?

You can change your world by immersing yourself in green. Feed yourself, as well as your community by growing a garden. This simple act changes your surroundings, and your feelings. People who garden naturally feel better than those who do not. When you eat from your own garden you know exactly how the plants were grown. The energy put into growing those plants is given back to you in the form of nutritious food. Weeding, watering, and tending the garden all require a nimbler body and mind, and the plants know this! This is the symbiotic relationship you will enter into with the plants when you garden.

The picture shows a section of our food garden. We use natural methods and avoid any synthetic pesticides, or fertilizers. We improve our soil by adding a layer of compost right on top. We no longer till it in. The "no-till" method it's called. Saves our backs as well. It interesting that the less "hard" we work, the better the results. I think for the longest time people have been under the impression that the garden was "hard work". If it is, you doing it wrong.

Here are some ideas for growing your own organic food garden.

1. Size of the garden is not important, intent is. Be it a small container garden on an apartment balcony, or a five acre truck farm, doing is most important.

2. Visit your garden daily. Besides being a moving meditation, it allows you to see the gardens progress, and nip in the bud any potential problems before they get out of hand.

3. Feed your garden organic nutrients on a regular basis. This is especially important in raised beds, or containers. Usually every couple of weeks we apply a dry fertilizer to our plants. Unlike synthetic nutrients that bypass the soil and feed plants directly, we want to feed the soil, thus feed the plants. Organic nutrients can be made at home from compost, or purchased from a local garden shop.

4. Remove the negatives from the garden. We are not engaged in a "war on weeds", or "battling pests". To receive the healthy benefits of gardening we work with the weeds and pests to keep them at a healthy minimum. Besides, some plants considered weeds are actually tasty vegetables. The often maligned dandelion is a great green to eat. The garden snail? Escargot!

5. Be different! Grow strange and unusual vegetables from all over the world. Just 15 years ago most people only knew of a few tomato varieties. Now we have access to 100's of varieties of heirloom types with flavors unique! Learn to grow exotic mushrooms! We are experimenting with growing our first shiitake mushrooms on tree stumps. "Find the others", means find like minded people who share your interest in gardening. The Internet is very useful in that regard. You'll soon find that their are others working in their gardens, just like you.

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