This year one of my goals is to convince each and every one of you out there that you should grow at least some of your own food.
On the surface growing your own food may seem pointless–maybe even ridiculous. Why bother?
Our days are packed — there are so many things we have to accomplish every day that taking the time and physical effort to grow your own vegetables may seems like wasted effort. After all, around almost every corner there is a grocery store with heaping mounds of produce and shelf after shelf of canned vegetables. The only effort you have to make is picking it up and placing it in your cart.
Photo by I-5 Design and Manufacture
For most of our lifetimes the people we’ve seen growing vegetables gardens were doing it for the simple joy of gardening. Maybe they wanted to grow vegetables that you could not buy in the store. Maybe they chose cultivars that were superior in flavor or just unusual and therefore unavailable.
Photo by Henna Lion
That is not the way things have always been. The idea of growing food to supplement (or replace) what you could buy in the store for economic stability and freedom has been a longstanding tradition in American history. In pretty recent history-say our great grandparent’s time-there were still many households that had a “kitchen garden” to provide food for the family.
Photo by Rhonda Fleming Hayes
Now the prices of everything are on the rise–I’m sure you’ve noticed it at the stores. Suddenly that produce section of the grocery store carries a much steeper price tag. Growing a vegetable garden can be part of a plan for more economic freedom. Whatever amount you grow, be it ever so small, you are spending that much less on food.
However, there is more for you to consider.
There is a freedom in growing your own food beyond the financial. There is a certain amount of “freedom from the system” that you get when you opt out of the grocery store and grow your own.
Ok, I know that sounds a bit like I’ve gone over the edge, but stay with me here for a few minutes and I’ll explain. I promise-I’ve not become a conspiracy nut!
First-the vegetables you grow are always there.
Sure-the vegetables in the grocery store seem to always be there. . . but. . . Did you know that most grocery stores only have a day or two of food in stock?
Photo by Bearden
Trucks come in regularly with food to replenish everything on the shelves and in the produce section. If something happens to disrupt or slow down those deliveries (think hurricane, truckers strike, or gasoline shortage) the food the grocery store has on hand will quickly be depleted*.
If you have a 1lb bag of carrots in the fridge or a couple of cans of carrots in the cupboard those might not last you very long. If you’ve got a 10 foot row of carrots in the garden, well, you’ve probably got enough carrots not only to eat but to store and share. (note: in the fall, you can just cover those carrots with about 8″ of mulch, leave them in the garden and dig them up all winter!)
Second-when you grow your own vegetables you know exactly what you’ve got.
Photo by De Cora
When you buy a can of corn at the store or a couple of peppers in the produce section. . . do you know if it’s been genetically modified? Do you know if the plant has been sprayed with pesticide? Do you know if it’s been coated in wax? Nope. You have no idea!
And for those of you who haven’t really ever paid attention, they’ve done some pretty funky things to plant genetics in the last couple of decades. Yes- they’ve really spliced fish DNA into your tomatoes, and engineered corn and other crops so that when they spray an entire field with RoundUp the only thing that lives is the crop. That is dangerous not only because I’m worried about what the effects of the genetic engineering might be, but also because it possibly puts our food sources in jeopardy.
Photo by Spakattacks
What if the diseases or bugs mutate so that the pesticides no longer work and we’ve got a super bug that decimates our food crops-which tend to be all the exact same TYPE of corn, or wheat or whatever? What if someone wants to plant that field that has been soaked in RoundUp for years with a different type of crop? Can they?
I don’t know the answers to all these things-but what I do know is that the world is a diverse place for a reason, and more diversity in our food supply is a good thing and creates redundancy for when there is a problem.
When you grow your own veggies you can know exactly how they have been grown, you can make choices about what techniques you want to use, and you can plant a diversity of types that don’t exist on a commercial scale.
These are all good things!
Third-you can grow more flavorful varieties.
I love raspberries-they are my most favorite fruit! Have you ever wondered why raspberry jam really isn’t much more expensive than grape jam, but that fresh raspberries are much more expensive than grapes? Well-it’s because raspberries are very delicate, prone to mold and hard to ship.
Photo by Anders Adermark
The actual varieties of vegetables in grocery stores are mainly chosen for two characteristics. #1-their ability to stand up to the rigors of being shipped across the country and #2-their ability to all mature at the same time so that machinery can be used to harvest them.
Notice that I didn’t mention “flavor” and “nutritional value”.
When you grown your own you can find varieties that mature over time, taste great, or even are just fun and unusual. Like purple carrots, yellow tomatoes, blue potatoes! It’s up to you!
Fourth-you can grow vegetables even in a small space.
Would it be great to have a huge garden that supplies every vegetable your family is going to eat all year long. Sure, that would be fabulous. If you have the land, if you have the time and if you have the desire! But you don’t have to do everything-especially if you are new to gardening.
You can start small and still have an effect. Grow a few herbs in pots, or a patio version of a squash plant, cucumber or tomato right on your deck! Or you can stick some pots in a small sideyard-as long as it gets some sun.
Photo by Beck Gusler
I hope I’ve given you all a few things to think about. In the past I wrote about 13 Reasons to Grow a Vegetable Garden. This year I’m going to continue to write more specifically about gardening topics and techniques, as well as encouraging you all in your gardening adventure.
So what do you think-will you try growing at least a little something this year? What are your thoughts and plans?
*note: this is a good reason to keep a well stocked pantry as well!
Great reasons! I garden for all those reasons and more. The main thing is availability. My husband works and goes to school full time, and we have one vehicle. I want our food shopping trips to be MINIMAL, to save time and gas. Buying in bulk and growing my own as much as possible is a great way to do this. AND ensuring a level of quality. Now, I’m still a beginner gardener, but someday I’ll have this down pat! 🙂
I love my garden and would never think about giving it up. I enjoy all my own foods and veggies that we grow. THanks for this post. It;s a great reminder for ALL the reasons why I continue to go.
Question, I seen the pic of plants in buckets. Other than root crops can I use those for everything else?
Candy-There are lots of things you can grow in buckets! You actually CAN do root crops as long as you give them enough room. Container gardening has grown very popular-there are tons of books-so just do a search at your library (or Amazon) for “Vegetable Garden Container” and you should get some nice books. Long story short-containers are particularly well suited to tomatoes-especially the ones marketed as “patio”, peppers, Herbs of all types (I grow most of my herbs in large pots alongside my house), even cucumbers and beans (you’ll want to provide some trellising). I’ve even heard that there are some zucchini plants out there that have been developed to be grown in pots on the patio!
I was at a coworker’s home about a month ago and she had all sorts of containers growing different veggies, even the reusable grocery bags were containers. I was amazed by the variety she had out here in AZ. She had a shaded part of her yard she had to move the containers to depending on the time of year. Planning to pick her brain for ideas and info as I begin my gardening process.
Amyrlin-How exciting! I don’t know how I’d cope in a hot climate-I guess I’d have to do a lot of reading to figure out all the differences. It sounds like in your climate either having shade or being able to put up shade (with shadecloth) is key! Also I’d think evaporation of the water would be an issue-so a good thick mulch will help with that. If you are going to use something like soaker hoses then maybe you’d even want to lay those around the plants and THEN mulch-so your precious water would go to the roots and not straight up in the air!
I have contacted UA extension office for information in how to get started, what varieties work best and when and how to water, when i get settled it will be a joy to go through and learn how to have a successful garden in the desert! I know I can do it!
Jenn, what about those who have physical disabilities and cannot stand or kneel? I have not been too successful with attempts at container gardening. What are some good resources for me to use to overcome my semi-black thumb?
Angelsong-Gardening with disabilities is a challenge. Pots/containers are indeed one way to g0. The big problem there is that you must remember to water frequently-and probably want those pots mulched as well to keep the water inside.
I’ve also seen some cool examples of raised beds for folks who can’t bend where the entire bed is raised up-think something table height with legs that has a box built on top to put the soil in! Or what about a raised bed (made of say cement blocks, wood, landscape bricks) that is high enough that you could sit on the edge of the bed to do the gardening. Would that work?
If you find that gardening is too difficult then you may want to consider dealing with a lot of the issues I mentioned by shopping local-either at farmers markets or by buying a share at a CSA (community supported agriculture). You can find ones in your local area by checking localharvest.org. Many of them also do partial shares for smaller sized families.
http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu/Leisure/gardening.html
This website has links to several sites that deal with this issue as well.
Great article, Jenn!
I am a novice gardener, and only grow the basic, easy-to-grow veggies at this point. But I’m planning on expanding as I learn more. I grow herbs, tomatoes, and cucumbers in containers. I have had a lot of luck with these. My daughter who lives in an apartment is planning on growing tomatoes and cucumbers in containers on her balcony this year.
Last year we took advantage of a free plot offered by my husband’s employer. There are a total of about 36 plots they offer free of charge. They even have water and some basic gardening tools available for use! We didn’t have a lot of success but we did learn a lot and are going to try again this year. We’re planning on growing tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, banana peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, spaghetti squash, pumpkins, cantaloupe, sunflowers (for the seeds!), and basil, oregano, dill, sage, and rosemary.
Kathy-what a great benefit your husband’s company is offering! Wow! Yes-there is a big learning curve with gardening, so each year you improve and refine 🙂 Also be aware-sometimes it isn’t your fault that a particular crop doesn’t work out that year. Talk to other gardeners! You might assume that you did something wrong to have a lousy cucumber crop, but then talking to others realized that for some reason everyone had a lousy year 🙂
I’m going to try herbs in containers. My husband is not enthusiastic about trying anything larger, and I’m wary of relevant restrictions imposed by the HOA. With herbs being small, flavorful, and expensive, I think growing them will be an ideal project for my space, meal planning, and frugality.
I’m glad my photo was useful for your blog post. Please spell my name correctly, thank you.
ACK! I’m sorry Rhonda-I’ll make sure it’s fixed ASAP!
Thanks!
Item #2 expresses concern about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), based primarily on the lack of useful information about their safety. The vast majority of articles about the safety of GMOs fall into one of two categories:
1) A terrified obstructionism, characterized by “Stop them before it’s too late; the crazed money grubbers have no idea what they’re doing and couldn’t care less!” and
2) A patronizing dismissiveness, characterized by “There, there, papa knows best; we won’t let the boogie man get you.”
Neither group offers arguments whose validity we can evaluate for ourselves.
I have stumbled across a 2008 audio magazine that includes an article on GMOs treating the audience as thinking beings. Written & read by J. J. Campanella, you can hear it at http://www.starshipsofa.com/2008/12/31/aural-delights-no-57-geoff-rymandavid-brin-double-bill-special/ The article in question begins at 55 minutes, 15 seconds and runs until 1 hour, 18 minutes even. I think that the body of Campanella’s essay is sound, but consider the tag end of his conclusion lame, and a blot on an otherwise excellent article, best summed up as ‘…besides, if we don’t use GMOs, we’ll all starve.’
Please give it a listen and let me know what you think of his observations. Do you know of any other articles that address the question calmly and rationally?
Lance ==)————–
Lance-Interesting points. What you choose to eat and how you choose to garden are of course very personal choices. There can also be fuzziness on terms-just to be clear, I don’t consider hybridization to be genetically modifying. There have been lots of things that we have been told were fine that later were shown to be harmful or at least questionable enough to be avoided. Things like cocaine used to be found in many exlixars. People thought smoking was fine. Even as recently as my mom’s childhood people had no idea that caffeine and sugar could cause kids to be hyper. . .
So my personal feeling is this: I do not believe that GMOs have been around long enough for us to truly judge the long term effects that they may be having on personal health and the sustainability of our soil/ecosystem. I am mostly concerned about GMOs that are created in ways that could never be created in nature-ie the whole fish DNA in a tomato type of thing. If scientists are somehow monkeying with a cucumber gene to basically take a shortcut to hybridization, ie to enhance a characteristic that is already present within the DNA I’m not really going to get too upset. However, I can avoid the issue more or less on a personal level by planting my own garden and using organic or heritage seed-that way if GMOs are fine or if they are not I personally don’t have to be as concerned about my own food supply-or at least the portion that I can grow.
Am I avoiding everything that is GMO at the store? Of course not. Basically you’d have to avoid everything made with any corn at all at this point, any corn product, any soy (which is in an amazing range of things) and I believe most wheat. It’s like the issue of “going green”. I consider myself to be pretty sustainable in general, but there are still lots of things that I use that are conventional. I just do my best on the things that make sense to me and thinking that doing some is better than doing nothing–especially when I can’t do “all”.
Another big problem I have with the GMO issue? It leads to monocropping on a national (and I would guess now a worldwide) level. Commercial farming uses only a few strains of corn for example that are roundup ready. What if some disease or bug goes rampant on that particular strain? What’s our backup? If the feilds have been drenched for 10 years in roundup could we even plant another crop there right away or would we have to wait for a couple years? What would that kind of issue do to our food supply? Might sound science fiction and all, but it is an actual possibility.
Ok, enough of a blog post in the comments 😉 The short story is I don’t know of any particular articles, but I don’t feel that I’m part of the “big business=bad” “money=evil” crowd either. And I’m not aware of other research or articles 🙂