Słomczyn 40k and Agronomy
Yesterday's ride was relatively easy. The plan was to head south as quickly as possible to the village of Słomczyn, turn around and come home. The purpose was twofold: (1) we would get to do a short hill climb (.25 miles, 6%) and (2) we would be able to study the scores of farms and fields along the way.
In regards to goal (1), if you haven't looked at a satellite view of where Kościuszko and I are riding these days, take a look at this image to the left. Our route is marked in red and meanders from the northwest to the south. This area is part of the Vistula River alluvial flood plain and is ideally suited for agriculture (the Vistula is to the right of the route).
The flood plain is at its narrowest (on this map) near the village of Słomczyn, where a sharp ridge running from SE to NW marks the edge of the plain. It was in this spot where we would find today's little hill to climb.
Goal (2) is a bit more involved. If you also look at the image you'll see countless long, narrow strips of land that are actually individual farm plots owned by families in the many small villages in the area. These are called "ribbon farms" and are often found perpendicular to waterways, giving multiple landowners access to the waterways. In most of Europe (and the United States) ribbon farms have gone the way of the dinosaurs, yielding to huge, industrial agribusiness. Somehow, though, Poland has managed up until now to avoid this fate and ribbon farms are still the rule rather than the exception. I really don't know how Poland avoided the collectivization of agriculture under the Communists; I must research this further, but I venture that now there are pressures from the European Union to adopt the large-scale practices found elsewhere in Europe. That would be a pity, I think. These farms are numerous, small, and single-family ventures that are de facto organic farms (the farmers are too poor to afford chemical fertilizers, pesticides, etc.).
I've always grown up with some kind of garden. On both sides of my family I come from generations of poor dirt farmers and so I suspect that this knowledge of the earth and this kind of work is somehow hard-wired into my being. It comes naturally to me and I've enjoyed it, despite it being the hardest work I've ever done in my life.
It should come as no surprise, then, that I pay attention to crops in fields and produce in stores. Honestly, for many decades now I've found produce in large, American supermarkets to be something of a deceit. It all looks so perfect. The marketing of this produce is a propaganda technique called "Appearances". We buy this produce because we are fooled by the appearance of the product, and not because of the true quality. Anyone who has grown up on a farm or grown their own produce knows, too, that the taste-quality of the typical American supermarket variety is not at all the same. It should be obvious that a great deal of effort is spent in making sure there is an appearance of abundance of beautiful produce. No blemishes, damaged, or insect-eaten produce is visible. Each individual fruit or vegetable has usually traveled a great time and distance to get to its destination. They've been sprayed, refrigerated, vacuum-packed, and who-knows-what-else to reach our stores for the perfect display...and it tastes nothing at all close to farm or garden fresh!
We've moved too far from our agricultural roots, I think, and there may be some danger in this ignorance. When I was teaching I would occasionally talk about farming, plants, food sourcing, etc. My city-born students couldn't identify even the most basic food plants and were completely ignorant of where things came from. When kids believe that the source of a vegetable is a bag in a freezer, we should be concerned! I remember a class of students once being shocked that peanuts and potatoes formed underground!
Near our place we have 4 markets within easy (10 minutes or less) walking distance. Visiting these stores is a completely different experience. Here you get "the real thing" in terms of appearance, and there isn't a staged overabundance. If you go into a store later in the day, near closing, stocks are depleted and you may not get the potatoes or onions that you need. That's not to say there are shortages, only that creating the appearance of abundance and beauty is not foremost in the grocers' minds. In point of fact, at this time of year, most of this produce is locally grown and harvested from the ribbon farms I mentioned earlier. That's not to say that you can't find the mega-store experience in Poland. You can. I simply choose not to buy into that when I have these locally-grown options.
We set out mid-morning today, enjoying the gentle breeze and crisper morning temperature. We made great time heading south, passing numerous little clusters of farmhouses along the way, each bounded by ribbon fields. We were able to identify twelve different crops growing on these skinny farms: cabbage, beet, pumpkin, melon, sunflower, onion, garlic, potato, corn, wheat, and oat. There was even one ribbon of parsley (or related plant--I couldn't get close enough to know for sure).
After about 45 minutes we reached the base of the Słomczyn hill climb, and Kościuszko and I sprinted to the top, gasping for air just as we crested the ridge. Absolutely exhilarating! I truly miss the feeling of effort required to push over the top of a climb... and this really was no climb at all, just a short 1:30 power interval. Still, you work with what you have. We took a short break at the top in front of the St. Zygmunt Catholic Church, and screamed down the short hill we had just ascended.
Going through the village of Cieciszew, I remembered I would investigate the large rock and plaques there. Maybe next time. As we headed north, I kicked up the effort a bit to make this something like a workout. Heart rate up. Respirations up. Excellent. Workout mode!
At that point my mind went in a new direction. Passing some large fields of corn (not ribbon farms), I began to wonder just how many of these crops are actually native to Europe. The answer should be a shock to you, and I won't spoil it by giving you the answer. Suffice it to say that the small number of native plants should raise interesting questions about History and Biology. How did all of these species get to Europe? Where did they come from? How did the species fare once here? What was it like hundreds of years ago when they arrived arrived? How have they changed over time? How have they changed us? Where would we be if we only had access to locally-grown, native produce? All of these questions seem to me to be part of a larger, more complex issue that relates to a concept in Evolutionary Biology called mismatch conditions. In short, an evolutionary mismatch is when a species is suddenly thrust into a new environment that it is not adapted to. One of the great mismatch conditions was when humans transitioned from hunter-gatherers to an agriculturally-based society, using only local plants. Result: more calories, less nutrition. Malnutrition. Infectious diseases. Famine.
That's an oversimplification, I'm sorry. I will at this point confess my own ignorance of a deep knowledge of the subject. I will have to do some research, think a bit, and consult a few Biologists I happen to know. Perhaps then, in the dead of winter, I'll write about evolutionary mismatch once again. In the meantime, I encourage you to think about it, too. At the least, next time you're in the market and looking at produce, ask yourself where it came from, how it got there, why you're really buying it and what it all means.
Kościuszko and I cruised along at a comfortable 30kph (about 19mph) for quite some time, absolutely alone, peacefully taking in the scenery, paying attention to the breathing, the calming sound of the tires on the road, and the rhythmic turning of legs, pedals and wheels. Is it any wonder we like to be out doing this? It's a perfect meditation. In short order we had arrived back at home, another ride ended. What will next week bring? Stay tuned.
In regards to goal (1), if you haven't looked at a satellite view of where Kościuszko and I are riding these days, take a look at this image to the left. Our route is marked in red and meanders from the northwest to the south. This area is part of the Vistula River alluvial flood plain and is ideally suited for agriculture (the Vistula is to the right of the route).The flood plain is at its narrowest (on this map) near the village of Słomczyn, where a sharp ridge running from SE to NW marks the edge of the plain. It was in this spot where we would find today's little hill to climb.
Goal (2) is a bit more involved. If you also look at the image you'll see countless long, narrow strips of land that are actually individual farm plots owned by families in the many small villages in the area. These are called "ribbon farms" and are often found perpendicular to waterways, giving multiple landowners access to the waterways. In most of Europe (and the United States) ribbon farms have gone the way of the dinosaurs, yielding to huge, industrial agribusiness. Somehow, though, Poland has managed up until now to avoid this fate and ribbon farms are still the rule rather than the exception. I really don't know how Poland avoided the collectivization of agriculture under the Communists; I must research this further, but I venture that now there are pressures from the European Union to adopt the large-scale practices found elsewhere in Europe. That would be a pity, I think. These farms are numerous, small, and single-family ventures that are de facto organic farms (the farmers are too poor to afford chemical fertilizers, pesticides, etc.).
 |
| Genus Helianthus |
It should come as no surprise, then, that I pay attention to crops in fields and produce in stores. Honestly, for many decades now I've found produce in large, American supermarkets to be something of a deceit. It all looks so perfect. The marketing of this produce is a propaganda technique called "Appearances". We buy this produce because we are fooled by the appearance of the product, and not because of the true quality. Anyone who has grown up on a farm or grown their own produce knows, too, that the taste-quality of the typical American supermarket variety is not at all the same. It should be obvious that a great deal of effort is spent in making sure there is an appearance of abundance of beautiful produce. No blemishes, damaged, or insect-eaten produce is visible. Each individual fruit or vegetable has usually traveled a great time and distance to get to its destination. They've been sprayed, refrigerated, vacuum-packed, and who-knows-what-else to reach our stores for the perfect display...and it tastes nothing at all close to farm or garden fresh!
 |
| Family Brassicaceae |
Near our place we have 4 markets within easy (10 minutes or less) walking distance. Visiting these stores is a completely different experience. Here you get "the real thing" in terms of appearance, and there isn't a staged overabundance. If you go into a store later in the day, near closing, stocks are depleted and you may not get the potatoes or onions that you need. That's not to say there are shortages, only that creating the appearance of abundance and beauty is not foremost in the grocers' minds. In point of fact, at this time of year, most of this produce is locally grown and harvested from the ribbon farms I mentioned earlier. That's not to say that you can't find the mega-store experience in Poland. You can. I simply choose not to buy into that when I have these locally-grown options.
 |
| Family Cucurbitaceae |
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| Zea mays |
Going through the village of Cieciszew, I remembered I would investigate the large rock and plaques there. Maybe next time. As we headed north, I kicked up the effort a bit to make this something like a workout. Heart rate up. Respirations up. Excellent. Workout mode!
At that point my mind went in a new direction. Passing some large fields of corn (not ribbon farms), I began to wonder just how many of these crops are actually native to Europe. The answer should be a shock to you, and I won't spoil it by giving you the answer. Suffice it to say that the small number of native plants should raise interesting questions about History and Biology. How did all of these species get to Europe? Where did they come from? How did the species fare once here? What was it like hundreds of years ago when they arrived arrived? How have they changed over time? How have they changed us? Where would we be if we only had access to locally-grown, native produce? All of these questions seem to me to be part of a larger, more complex issue that relates to a concept in Evolutionary Biology called mismatch conditions. In short, an evolutionary mismatch is when a species is suddenly thrust into a new environment that it is not adapted to. One of the great mismatch conditions was when humans transitioned from hunter-gatherers to an agriculturally-based society, using only local plants. Result: more calories, less nutrition. Malnutrition. Infectious diseases. Famine.
That's an oversimplification, I'm sorry. I will at this point confess my own ignorance of a deep knowledge of the subject. I will have to do some research, think a bit, and consult a few Biologists I happen to know. Perhaps then, in the dead of winter, I'll write about evolutionary mismatch once again. In the meantime, I encourage you to think about it, too. At the least, next time you're in the market and looking at produce, ask yourself where it came from, how it got there, why you're really buying it and what it all means.
Kościuszko and I cruised along at a comfortable 30kph (about 19mph) for quite some time, absolutely alone, peacefully taking in the scenery, paying attention to the breathing, the calming sound of the tires on the road, and the rhythmic turning of legs, pedals and wheels. Is it any wonder we like to be out doing this? It's a perfect meditation. In short order we had arrived back at home, another ride ended. What will next week bring? Stay tuned.
Fascinating! I appreciate the topic of food and knowing where it comes from. I was also looking for the farms in the map. Can you see them or did I misunderstand? By the way, where are all the people? Is the area you're in less populated? Lots of questions!
ReplyDeleteGenerally speaking, people live either at one end of the plot or in the villages (or elsewhere) and then go to their plots. The plots are very narrow (one house width) and very, very long and look like streaks of color on the map. It is a satellite view, of course, so seeing individual farmhouses or clusters of buildings is hard at this resolution. Try looking at this google maps image, turning on satellite view, and zooming in:
Deletehttps://www.google.com/maps/place/05-520+Opacz/@52.1040318,21.1563063,1630m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x47192b8e6dd33061:0x8286476de058a9fd!8m2!3d52.1039325!4d21.1664121