re: #338 Decatur Deb

Yanking your chain. There was an expression from my childhood I’ve never quite understood: “You have to eat a bushel of dirt before you die.” That can either mean “A bushel of dirt will kill you”, or “You’re alright if you don’t consume a whole bushel”, or “It’s inevitable that you will eat a bushel in your lifetime.”

(This was said by an adult to reassure me after I ate a tablespoon of Pittsburgh backyard on a dare.)

I’m actually pretty lax about it. I don’t grow edibles right up to the foundation of the house. The soil near the foundations of these old houses is usually pretty toxic from old lead paint. It’s safe to assume the rest of the yard has plenty of old chemicals and toxins, that’s just a fact of urban gardening.