From the Melanin Man:

 

I have fallen in love with gardening and harvesting my own food, even if I only have a enough for food for a couple of days (lol!) It is a liberating experience to know that you have the ability to grow your own food. I have learned many life lessons from gardening…

Like the fact that deer, and unfortunately the offspring of moths, need to eat good, clean food as well. 

The deer should be ever so happy I don’t own a shotgun and don’t eat meat anymore. Those damn cabbage worms should be equally grateful that I don’t subscribe to using pesticides and/or herbicides neither.

Yet the most important life lesson I have learned is can be considered common sense, borderline second-nature to all gardeners, but somewhat taken for granted by most of us common folk…

The importance of sunlight!

Duh, right? I know, I know. Nevertheless, please keep reading.

When I first embarked on starting my garden, I had a difficult time finding a plot of land that could receive a sufficient amount of sunlight to grow my crops. The house that we currently live in is heavily wooded. Luckily I was able to find a spot in the front yard near the street (smh lol!) From last spring to this spring and summer seasons, despite the inadequate amounts of sunlight, I have had varied degrees of success with growing and harvesting my crops, from green beans and black-eyed peas, to okra and some delicious kale. But when it has come to my watermelon patch and butternut squash/zucchini plants, I’ve mostly been shooting blanks.

I have not been able to grow one watermelon, whereas the very few butternut squash and zucchini crops I was able to produce, they were a bit undersized. I know was a little ambitious with these two crops, due to the fact that they need at least six to eight hours of consistent sunlight daily to produce properly. The entire garden itself may receive maybe four hours of consistent sunlight daily…at best!

I’ve noticed during my time of gardening the yellowing of the leaves on some of my crops, meaning a lack of water and/or lack of sunlight. I’ve also noticed a mildew fungal forming on my the leaves of my butternut squash plants in particular. After some research, I discovered the mildew fungal buildup was caused by high levels of humidity and, surprise surprise, the lack of sunlight!!

Everyone knows that sunlight is the most important ingredient to the production of crops, our food supply. But do we realize the same applies to the growth and development of HUE-man beings as well?

Unless you work in a occupation that requires you to work outdoors most of the time. But we shun those type of jobs, labeling them to “menial, demeaning, and beneath us.”

Our children get maybe an hour of outside time from P.E./recess (that’s if they haven’t been removed from the schedule already) or after school and on the weekends. That’s if they’re not too busy with homework or stuck in front of a TELL-LIES-VISION (or cellphone, tablet, etc.)  playing videos games and whatnot.

How much sunlight do the majority of people, particularly my Black Melanin-Dominant brothers and sistas, receive on a daily basis? In this day and age and paradigm, it’s safe to assume not that much. I can assure you it’s nowhere close to six to eight hours a day! I mean, do we even truly know how much sunlight we actually need daily?

That’s one thing animals in the wild don’t have to worry about, because they don’t have to maintain a certain lifestyle to feel comfortable. Our current Westernized lifestyles do not value the importance of sunlight whatsoever. And in my opinion, it explains the many various health ailments that hinder not only Black Melanin-Dominant people, but the world as a whole.

Contrary to popular belief, we are not that much different from plants. Think about it: Chlorophyll to plants is what melanin is to melanated individuals. In fact, chlorophyll is the melanin to plants.

Besides water, what else do plants really need to survive and thrive?

(**Sidenote: If you’re thinking fertilizer, realize that fertilizer and like-products are only nutrients (think elements on the Periodic Table) concocted in a lab or taken from an area that is rich in those nutrients. It is sold to consumers who  occupy land that is deficient in those nutrients. How is that possible, if at one point the majority of the soil on this planet was more than likely suitable to produce without supplementary means? MAN-ipulation perhaps?!)

Plants don’t need chicken or a hamburger to live. And just to get a little deep with you, nor do they need to eat fruits or vegetables either. But we’re a LONNGGGG way from that reality, ladies and gentlemen. A lot has to change in this environment for that paradigm to return.

 

Just something to think about, fam. Some food for thought.

 

Peace and Love to my melanated family,

The Melanin Man