Ever since I can remember my family has been a family of gardeners. I'm sure for generations back my ancestry is one of subsistence farming. So naturally when I grew old enough to have a patch of dirt to call my own, I felt the need to plant something in it.
Perhaps you'll recall that I'm not a by-the-booker and so you won't be surprised to learn that I am a VERY lazy gardener. However, thanks to the hot and rainy weather we've been having in Ontario this summer, I've got a pretty good crop growing in my patch of dirt (and I do mean patch - the "garden" is probably 8 x 5 feet in total).
This year, in addition to my grandmother's tomatoes and peppers, I planted some cucumbers and potatoes, and I'm pleased to report that I've been enjoying the food from my garden for a couple of weeks now and I'm not dead yet!
(don't mind the eggs, I never claimed to be a great chef)I would encourage anybody with their own patch of dirt (including balconies with space for a pot or two), who likes to cook, or just to eat, to take up gardening for themselves. I cannot express how frigging cool it is to go into your own back yard and come back with food. FOOD!! For cryin' out loud. Even if it's just a pot of basil and you're pretty sure that you'll kill it - I urge you to try. Honestly, you'll feel like Tom Hanks in that terrible movie with the volleyball when he made fire. It is totally gratifying. You'll feel like a million bucks - and then you get to eat what you made! And if it dies - no harm, no foul - it's not like a pet (but could be, if you wanted).
Especially if you, like many of us, try to buy locally when the seasons are right, you can appreciate the greatness of the earth when you bite into a fresh fruit or vegetable that hasn't been picked green and shipped across the continents. It's a moving experience, I tell ya.
Go out and garden today!
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