A new Era - Gardening With a Purpose

My Wife and I have been growing a garden (or attempting to, at least) since we moved into our house 12 years ago. What we plant has always been very random, normally based on what we’d see when we were standing at the Home Store looking at plants and seeds. It is almost like walking through a grocery store when you are hungry. You just want to get something and get out of there. That being said, we’ve always planted tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos and sweet corn. Plus other random stuff. Normally we plant way too much, and a large amount goes to waste.

Working on becoming vegan has really given me a new perspective on gardening. When most of your meal is meat, the stuff that comes from the garden is just garnish. Now, our entire meal is based on fruits and vegetables, and we’ve found a lot of incredible recipes that we’ve grown to love. Most families, ourselves included have half a dozen favorite recipes that they rotate through. For us, this is an incredible opportunity to improve the way we garden. We are able to look at the recipes that we cook the most, and grow the ingredients in our garden! The thought of this is so incredibly empowering. This summer, we’ll be able to grow a large portion of what we eat. This should lower our grocery bills by a good amount. But there is also a huge sense of pride and empowerment knowing that you’ve grown your own food.

Benefits of Gardening

One of the obvious benefits of gardening is saving money by not buying as much produce from the store. But there are many other benefits. I’ve pulled a few off the top of my head, but there are many, many others that I’m sure I’ve missed.

Therapist

It can be great emotional therapy. Any anger or frustration that you’ve accumulated throughout the week, take it out on the garden. Whack the hell out of those weeds. They deserve it. Plants are also great listeners. Talk to them. Tell them what’s on your mind. They never argue with you, and they like the attention.

Gym

Gardening is also great physical exercise. It takes a lot of work to turn over the soil by hand, or hoe the weeds. There is lots of bending and stretching and squatting involved in planting. If you haven’t worked up a sweat by the time you are leaving your garden, you aren’t doing it right.

Chemical Free

Your food is not treated with pesticides. I know that spraying your plants to keep the bugs off seems like a good idea but it’s not. Shortcuts hardly ever work out. Pesticides can get into the plant and into the food you are eating. By avoiding pesticides you improve the flavor of the food, and keep those chemicals out of your body, which is already being pulverized by other chemicals from a multitude of other places. Another huge problem with chemicals is that they can leech into the ground and into our water supply. So please find organic ways to deal with pests, your body thanks you.

You Are the Supply Chain

Since you grew the food, you know the entire supply chain. You know where it came from and how it was handled. There is a lot to be said for that in this day and age, where you are constantly reading about salmonella in spinach, and what not.

Transport Free

• There is no pollution or fuel consumption
• Your food, especially your tomatoes, are not picked green, driven hundreds or thousands of miles, sprayed with ethylene gas, and then shelved at the grocery store. If you’ve ever had a ripe tomato, straight off the vine, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Fresh ripened tomatoes have more exposure to the sun, which gives the fruit a higher level of sugars and acids than those picked early and transported long distances. More Information
• It just tastes better. The shorter the time between picking a fruit or vegetable, and eating it, the better it tastes. I’m sure a lot of this is the psychology of eating what you grow, but I’m sure there is some chemical stuff happening there too.

Family and Friends

• Our kids love to help out in the garden. It almost seems like I spend more time breaking up fights about who gets to use the tools, than I spend tending to the garden.
• Community gardens are a great way to bring people together. You can share tips and plants with your neighbors. You get a bigger variety of plants if you choose to share. And it’s nice to share a few cold beers when the work is done.
• Any excess harvest can be shared with your neighbors, or given to a local food bank or shelter.

Tools of the Trade

Hopefully the many benefits that I’ve described above have given you the itch to grow your own garden. At this point you’re probably wondering what you need to get started. Fortunately not much.

• Some land - It doesn’t have to be much, depending on how much you want to grow. And something is better than nothing. If I had to pick one plant, it would probably be a tomato plant. Just because fresh tomatoes taste so much better than store bought. For those of you who rent, or just don’t have any space for a garden, I plan on following up with some posts on urban gardening. You should also look for a community garden and see if you can be a part of that. If none exist in your area, find out what it would take to start one.
• Spade shovel - You’ll need this for turning the ground, digging holes for plants, and whacking moles (just kidding).
• Small Hand Shovel - These are handy for digging holes to drop your plants in, digging up weeds, harvesting carrots, or a variety of other things. I’ve used one as a hammer in a pinch.
• Garden Hoe - Good at breaking up dirt clods and making trenches to drop your seed in. Equally great at digging out weeds.

Optional Tools include:

• Roto Tiller - This can be a huge time saver in preparing your garden in the spring. I would strongly urge you to buy used if possible. Great places to look for used tillers are estate auctions. You can also check craigslist.org or your local classifieds.
• Hard Rake - This comes in handy when trying to level out your freshly tilled or turned ground.
• Potato Fork - You’ll probably want one if you plant potatoes.

Resources

To help you with your gardening needs, whether you are beginner or advanced, is your friendly University extension office. They should have all kinds of useful information from what types of plants grow good in your area, to what type of sun and soil conditions are required for specific plants.

Another great resource is other gardeners. Especially ones who’ve been at it for a half century. They have all kinds of great tips. For instance, just the other day I got some advice to plant bell peppers with half a book of matches at the roots. Sounds crazy, but it just might work. I plan on giving it a try.

Life is a Dance... Or was it a box of Chocolates?

If your first season is a bust, try again next year. Ultimately farming at any scale is out of our control. We put the seed in the ground and tend to it the best we can, but in the end Mother Nature decides the outcome. So don’t get frustrated. The same guy that gave me the matches with the pepper plant trick told me, “The best we gardeners can do is try.” That’s the truth. The fun is in the trying. Of course, a red, juicy tomato fresh from the garden doesn’t hurt either.

-Brian