This Is The Year, Let’s Grow It!

Someone once said “The richer we get, the poorer we eat”. I grew up watching my mother garden, not because she necessarily loved it, but because she didn’t want us to go hungry. That was then, this is now.  After World War II, kitchen gardens faded, many actually replaced by a green patch of fescue that eats up an enormous amount of water and fertilizer.  Now things are slowly coming full circle and it is once more fashionable to grow some of your own veggies, whether it is in a good sized patch by the back gate, a community garden plot or a couple of containers on the patio.

Courtesy of Sallysgardens.com

Foods grown commercially involving the heavy use of chemicals include broccoli, strawberries and potatoes.  In order to successfully grow these favorites on a large scale, the grower must stay ahead of potential disease and insect infestations with routine chemical applications. Each season I can count on a generous harvest of strawberries, broccoli and potatoes with minimal chemical intervention.  All three of these garden goodies grow well here in western Kansas.  In addition to fresh tasting food, or enjoying the outdoors and exercise necessary to get it to the table, we are comforted in knowing our food is free of chemicals and additives so prevalent in “manufactured” produce. 

Let’s face it.  We don’t have the time to do it like Grandma did. Some of us leave home in the morning, returning in the evening faced with a hungry family to serve and a house to maintain. Is it really possible to grow some of what we eat?  Yes, we can grow it, eat it and have energy left to brag about it. Armed with new information, machinery and gadgets grandma hadn’t thought of and determination to make some changes, our dinner table can include home grown, chemical free fresh tasting food to please the pickiest palate.  The next few columns will explore square foot gardening, lasagna gardening and no-till gardens.  While you may be stuck on the “straight row” gardening methods of the last 100 years, check back for some information that might be a worthwhile stretch in your garden of the future.

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