I go through phases with my Netflix queue. Every now and then, I roll through an entire season of a TV show—How I Met Your Mother, Heroes, Freaks And Geeks, The L Word—in as fell of a swoop as I can. Other times I get into a foreign film kind of mood, and everything that shows up at my house is subtitled.
But lately, it seems I’ve been queuing up the sadness. Earlier this week, I finally watched Bobby for the first time, and was struck by the fact that so many of the words rang just as true as they did in the late 1960s. A questionable war, a country divided by economic and racial barriers, a tumultuous time. Look! In today’s newspaper! There it all is!
And last night, I started on a documentary that has been in my queue for a long time: When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, directed by Spike Lee. Combining news footage and interviews, it tells the story of Hurricane Katrina and the havoc that event wrought on New Orleans.
As I watched Act 1 and 2, I found myself wondering again how New Orleans is doing. That hurricane hit just before I moved to Iowa, so it happened at a particularly transitional time for me. Instead of taking my gently used clothes and household items to Goodwill, I took them to donation spots where people were collecting things for Katrina victims. As I packed, I watched CNN.
But before last night, I never gave much thought to what was left behind after the topsoil receded. I remember being shocked, last summer, as I wrapped my head around the Johnson County, Iowa, Extension Service’s recommendations for handling garden produce after the Iowa floods, and I imagine the situation must be even worse in New Orleans and the other areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama affected by the hurricane.
I know it’s been more than three years, but there was so much toxic water. And it took so long to recede. I have no idea what that meant for the gardens of New Orleans and for the gardens of the hundreds of other affected communities. And I have no idea what has happened since.
Have people replanted? Is the soil even clean enough? And at what point, after disaster, do you decide it’s time to stop worrying about basics like shelter and keeping your family together, and spend some time planting again? At what point is it OK to start putting seeds back in the ground?
on Dec 5th, 2008 at 5:48 am
I live just above New Orleans, and while there still is a great deal left to do to return it to preKatrina status, I can tell you that gardening is alive and well. You evidently cannot keep gardeners down. In areas that have been brought back, gardens are re-established as soon as the homes are finished. I have some postings on my blog about the New Orleans Botanical Gardens that was devastated by flood waters, but now you can see that it has come back better than before. There is still a lot of work to do in New Orleans, and it has not been easy, but with the help of so many kind and generous people, it is on its way back. Thanks for remembering New Orleans even after three years.
Jan
Always Growing
on Dec 5th, 2008 at 6:07 am
Jan, thank you for that information and for that report — I’m going to come check out those posts about the botanical gardens, for sure. I was pondering what I would do in the same situation when I was watching last night — wondering if the simple act of reconstructing my home would be difficult enough that I would not have the energy at the end to start working on the garden…but I suppose there’s also the urgency to get things back to normal, and if normal includes gardening, well, then it’s a necessary next step.
on Dec 5th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
After the flood due to the levee breaks in New Orleans there was much worry about contamination of the soil. Some people with young children left due to the concern for their health. Some people stripped and replaced their topsoil. Some planted sun flowers because it was said they reduce the arsenic in the soil. It seems nature has taken care of much of the damage. According to the LSU Extension Service things are fine with growing things. I wish I could say the same about the federal flood protection system.
on Dec 6th, 2008 at 12:58 am
Doctorj2u, yeah…the Feds have not really done enough to fix that problem, eh? But I’m glad to hear the soil is recovering.
on Dec 6th, 2008 at 11:48 am
I recently finished reading Closing the Food Gap, which really should be required reading for anyone interested in food insecurity. In it, there was a short section about groups who have been going around New Orleans re-setting up community gardens. To avoid the problems of soil contamination, they often use raised beds (just like they do in West Oakland).
on Dec 9th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Wow, that toxicity levels of the soil in New Orleans never even occurred to me. Now I think I’ll add that to my Netflix queue.
on Dec 10th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Becks, I am going to have to get my hands on that book — definitely sounds interesting. Raised beds are a great solution.
MC, it’s a worthy watch. I’ve only seen the first two chapters, but will be watching the next two very soon.
on Dec 14th, 2008 at 9:07 am
New Orleans has an edible schoolyard program up and running (http://www.esynola.org/).
on Dec 14th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Marc, that’s cool — thanks for passing along that info!
on Jan 5th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Just looking for information on maintaining the lawn and possible more extravagant things as I’m a new gardening enthusiast; Excellent activity for pastime I might add, anyway excellent, I found it insightful and informative.
on Jul 1st, 2010 at 8:32 am
my bloodflower has exploded with small beetlelike bugs that are colorful (bright yellow/orange on black) but voracious with appetite. any idea what these are and how to treat them?