Why do you garden?

[baymule]

Why do we raise gardens? Why do we dig in the dirt, sweat, get sore muscles and then have to deal with the abundance?

I love to garden because:

1. My Daddy. My earliest memories are of toddling behind my Daddy in his garden. I did everything he did and he never grew tired of letting me "help". I absorbed his knowledge without even realizing it. He was born in 1919, the son of a share cropper, the youngest of seven children, and they were poor all their lives. He never finished school as his father kept pulling him out of school to work in the fields to help support the family. My Daddy had a deep love of the soil and instilled that same love in me. I garden because he taught me, because he was organic before it was popular, because he loved to try new varieties. I garden because I remember pulling peanuts, letting them dry and then Daddy parched them in the oven and we ate them. I gardened off and on during my adult years and have had my present garden for about 10 years. Thank you Daddy.

2. The obvious, fresh vegetables, free of herbicides, pesticides and GMOs.

3. The satisfaction I get seeing jars of garden produce in the pantry and the bags of frozen goodies in the freezer.

4. Prices! $2.50 for a packet of seeds, each seed capable of growing POUNDS of vegetables--it's a no brainer for me!


So why do you garden? Why do you have a pile of rotting stuff that other people think you are weird for having?

 

[so lucky]

Wow, Bay, Our dads were the same age! Was he a WWII vet?

I would be out playing in the dirt even if it didn't produce anything edible (which is the case pretty often) It is good therapy.
Also, I like to grow my own for the "clean food" aspect.

 

[dewdropsinwv]

We garden because it provides fresh food, it can be preserved and eaten all year long. Yes it causes sore muscles dirty bodies and sweat but well worth it come harvest time! Saves a TON of money
Most of my family members don't garden because they live in the city limits and don't have room. I feel sorry for them because they don't have a clue what they are missing.

 

[baymule]

Wow, Bay, Our dads were the same age! Was he a WWII vet?

U.S. Navy for 8 years. He was in the Navy before WWll and after it was over. He was in the battle of Guadalcanal among others. He has been gone 20 years, I sure miss him.

 

[buckabucka]

Well, I do love food, but I just love watching stuff sprout and grow. I'm not sure I'll ever tire of it, -same with hatching eggs!

 

[Ridgerunner]

With me it's more to grow things. I enjoy that challenge. Some of the harvesting and preserving is fun some tedious, it's nice to not have to buy vegetables, and a few people seem to enjoy their Christmas basket filled with homegrown and homemade stuff, but mostly it's because I enjoy growing things.

Of course, it gives me an excuse to talk to you folks too. Can't leave that out.

 

[digitS']

I don't have any room. Doesn't stop me. First garden on others' property was on the vacant lot across the alley. That lot is still vacant, nearly 20years later. I'm not right across the alley now but if worst came to worst . . .

My Dad may have been one of the reasons I garden. He never really had a garden until he retired but you could recognize his thinking, "a person can always garden." Of course, his taking a wait and see attitude towards farming didn't work but then again, I'm not sure what would have worked with farming. I just always thought of productive gardening as a given.

Mom was an important part of me gardening but not because she gardened. Oh, no - but healthy food, that was just about the most important thing in the world for her. I rebelled by never taking vitamins again after I left home. The price I was willing to pay was paying attention to my diet. "See Mom? I finished my vegetables!"

So, where you gonna get vegetables you can really trust? The garden. I'm all for fresh, tho'. Apples, pears, fruit of every stripe and peel! Yeah, we buy a lot of broccoli in the winter . I have to sell garden produce so I can afford to buy California broccoli 6 months out of the year!

Steve

 

[Smart Red]

Why do I garden?

I think I garden because I read too many books as a child and because I can. I read constantly -- many books were about rugged individuals who were able to make their own way in the world. I read about making bread, hunting game, preserving food in the wilderness and wanted to try it for myself.

Once DH and I were out in the country there was no reason not to try and I found that I really enjoyed growing plants, tending the soil, and preparing homegrown foods for my family. DH also enjoys working in outside so it is something we can do together.

Now it is almost a form of self-preservation to grow food for my family that is pesticide and GMO free. Win/win/win

 

[AMKuska]

When I was a very little girl, my mother gave me a plot of land 10 x10 that I could do anything I wanted in. My sister had one too, and we shared. On my plot of land we grew things -- well, sort of. We grew weeds, long wild grasses, which we then used to make ropes and such for HER plot of land, and on her plot of land we had a "fort" which was an elaborate city made out of dried mud. It was awesome and very detailed.

When I moved here I knew I wanted a garden, just didn't want to grow weeds. Hope to have success this year.

 

[journey11]

Well, if I wasn't a gardener, I would probably be a gambler. LOL

I love the challenge of growing things and hopefully doing it well, especially new things that I hadn't tried before. I enjoy the sense of achievement I get from bringing forth something of substance and value to me and my family.

Secondly, it lifts my spirits and relaxes me. Playing in the dirt is literally quite "grounding".