Lucky for me this little dude seemed to be interested in the hay today.
A principle we are trying to follow is to grow 3x what we 'need' so that when local inhabitants enjoy what we planted we don't become bitter or disappointed. We are also learning what they favor and realizing that maybe I don't get to have that many annual flowers after all ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ Next year I'll sink less effort into them.
We are also not having luck with corn this year so we will try and start them indoors and hope the seedlings are less tempting than the kernels.
Vegan gardening means adapting!
I love this sentiment so much! If we are growing as a part of the ecosystem then it is right that the ecosystem eats some of what is grown. Of course protect the crops you need to protect but agroecology/permaculture methods to increase health of ecosystem and provide for wildlife would be a fun project. Sometimes I think about ways I can keep interactions and quality time with animals in my life without negatively affecting them or betraying my morals.
What are some of the ways that you think do affect them or betray your morals? I have never looked at interacting with animals through this lens - I'd like to make sure I'm not inadvertently doing something harmful!
Oh I don't really have anything super concrete. Some of my personal feelings are along the lines of, I would love to have dogs in my life but feel bad about owning or controlling them despite the good life I would give (what is a natural or good life for an animal in this modern world?). Or I would love to have a homestead and do animal sanctuary work someday but would be concerned about my ability to care for them.
I've heard people say being vegan is the moral baseline and that pushes me to think and consider my morals beyond that even if just as thought experiments.
I think I understand!
Yeah, we can't share the space with animals due to by-laws, but I am not sure I trust myself to have an equal relationship with them yet. I would love to have a small sanctuary when we get a bigger property in the future, but I would have to be sure I was able to rid myself of thinking of them in terms of how they could be "helpful". For example, geese eat slugs and ticks, so if we welcomed a goose into our home it would have to be because they needed a stable home not because they needed a stable home and we wanted them to eat the slugs.
It's awesome you do these thought experiments. I'm sure it helps you be a kinder person.
That is excellently put and very much along the lines of what I was thinking. Like if I used the manure from animals I take care of I think I would feel conflicted but perhaps give some of that back to the natural land near me and make sure I have other plants sources of fertilizer. It seems like a big learning process that you can't really know the answers to unless you start trying situations like that, but still good to think about