Reclamation through Reformation

Blizzards are one of my favorite weather events. As the wind rages and snow piles up, or promises to pile up, I feel particularly connected to the land yet tremendously humbled by such a tyrannical display of two major shaping forces, wind and water. I heard thunder in the approaching snowstorm. The awesomeness of the power represented by the rumble reverberated through my mind and made its way into my dreams as the  storm howled on through the night, driving sparkling blankets of crystalline moisture in its path.

The morning after 

One of the most rewarding reasons for living on the high plains is our immense and unobstructed view of sweeping weather events. Since our westward vista is the Front Range of the Rockies, we bear witness to the titanic mid-air collisions of major air masses as they make their way eastward towards Kansas and Nebraska. My heart belongs to this ancient prairie, which was once buried fathoms deep beneath an immense inland sea. I feel deeply connected to the past here, where native peoples roamed and hunted the once vast herds of bison and antelope, and where more recent American pioneers crossed to build new lives and forge new fortunes by living off the wild and unyielding land.

For many years, we lent our small patch of prairie land to graze neighbor's horses. Horses are beautiful, sensitive, graceful creatures and since I grew up around horses in the self-proclaimed Cowboy Capital of Ogallala, Nebraska (of Larry McMurtry and Lonesome Dove fame), and since I have extremely fond memories of "cowgirling" there, it seemed only natural to keep horses ourselves, as we have the land to support them and they are lovely companion animals. Eventually, however, we came to realize how hard the horses were on the land, so we decided to evict the neighbors' horses and to reclaim and reseed the prairie for the purpose of beekeeping instead. Bees are, of course, highly beneficial and, as they are in decline globally, and we have the space for them, we decided that this is something tangible and meaningful that we can do.

A hand-tilled acre

We welcome the moisture on the arid plains, despite the fact that it is a dry, desiccated snow driven by a raging, howling wind. In our attempt to reclaim the prairie, and to prepare for our bees, my husband and I have spent several recent days tilling an acre of land and hand seeding with prairie grass and high plains wildflower seed. This spring storm is an ideal top-dressing for the high plains appropriate, drought tolerant seed we planted on our prairie.

Seed selection is important, and I am very careful about the sources for our seeds, regardless of what we are growing. We prefer to buy organic seed, especially when we are growing vegetables for consumption, but we also want to be careful not to purchase seeds from sources like Monsanto that have GMOs  that are designed to release pesticides which destroy the insects that consume them, among other alterations. We primarily purchase heirloom seeds so that we can harvest the seeds for a stronger, healthier and more adaptive crop each year.

2013 Seed Catalog

One of our favorite sources for seeds is The Seed Savers Exchange, an organization committed to the conservation of American heritage seeds through preservation and exchange. When you place an order from Seed Savers, you have the option to join their registry so that the heirloom seeds you grow can be harvested and shared internationally. The registry allows prospective seed collectors worldwide to enjoy the vast variety and diversity of hearty heirloom strains. It also allows a potential collector to find varietals suited to a particular region or climate,  and to connect to our garden heritage through "participatory preservation."

The harvest and preservation of seed strains is new for us as hobby farmers. We are only just beginning to learn the processes and demands of harvesting and preserving seed strains as we continue to raise our own personal awareness of the demands of sustainability and the importance of avoiding monocultures, in all areas of life. We feel that this commitment to preservation and sustainability and to our garden heritage is important, even essential, as we attempt to navigate this "Brave New World" that continually unfolds before us in all its myriad complexities.