When I was six, my father decided we would grow a vegetable garden in our back yard. I was thrilled, but this was no small back yard endeavor. We lived on twenty acres and our new “back yard” project was at least an acre. It had never been planted before so my memory is of back breaking work to till the soil then build up the rows, then planting seedlings we had sprouted in our garage. We planted all sorts of vegetables that I didn’t like to eat, I knew that because they were exactly the same ones we bought at the grocery store. I remember thinking it was an awful lot of work for something we could just buy at the store to not eat. It did not escape me that this seemed like a lot of effort and expense for something that wasn’t very expensive or attractive to begin with. But that was my opinion. I know my dad surely had his reasons for planting a garden and those were surely fulfilled.
We did this for a couple of years, then we didn’t do it anymore and the St. Augustine grass took over the ground we had worked so hard to expose the seasons before. You would think I would never want to do this again, EVER. But I have kept a vegetable garden in my own yard for over 15 years. My vegetable garden is quite different from that first one, because it is mine, and because my garden intentions are probably very different than my father’s. I didn’t make my kids help me, but I think they appreciated my garden and still do. This is why my garden stays around.
1. It reminds me from where my food really comes.
Once I started growing my own vegetables, I started seeing the food in the produce aisle very differently. I began to appreciate the irregular shapes and variations in color. It doesn’t come from a factory and shouldn’t look like it does. I’ve learned what factors really do affect the quality and taste and I’m not so easily tricked into selecting brightly colored produce that has no flavor.
2. I grow things that are different than what I can find at the local market.
Who knew there were so many different types of radishes with as many variations in flavor? Or that carrots can be red, purple, or yellow? I can have spinach almost all year even without flying it in from other countries if I just plant different varieties with differing heat tolerances. Stores carry what they can sell to a lot of people. I can grow things that are unique for a singular, interesting, and appreciative customer: me!
3. I have surprise gifts waiting for me at home during the growing season.
It’s always exciting to come home to lift a leaf and find that the body snatchers have invaded and left a human sized zucchini behind, or that the flowers I saw a few days before are now turning into peppers. It’s the garden version of the show Chopped, where the basket ingredients for the night’s meal are selected not by the Food Network judges, but by mother nature.
4. It teaches me that I can feed myself, in more ways than one.
I enjoy so many aspects of putting my garden together: I learn about so many varieties of heirloom plants, I get to plan for the growing season, I find new recipes, and I watch an entire growing cycle from seed, to plant, through maturity. I pay attention to the weather and adjust to variations every year. And this southern woman is acutely aware of the most probable day of the last frost each year. These are things I would never see or learn if I only went through the produce aisle.
This year I have three varieties of radishes, five heirloom tomatoes, two beans and bitter melon from an Indian friend, mache, roquette, two types of spinach, French varieties of summer squash and some herbs and alpine strawberries. Definitely a French flair as we recently spent time in Normandy and came back with new recipes. This year my garden will extend the experience of that vacation for me.
Do you have plans for planting in the spring? What will be in your garden this year? Share your answer on Facebook, or Twitter