After eating homegrown zucchini and squash from my garden, I’d much rather eat home grown vegetables then that imported grocery store stuff again. Who wants fruits and vegetables from Mexico when you can eat vegetables that have been picked a few hours ago? Just imagine how many days or maybe weeks that produce has been laying around. Not to mention the places it has been, the fossil fuel that has been guzzled up, or the poor pay labors received. I frankly will say that grocery store zucchini is practically tasteless when compared to my produce that has a natural sweetness to it. My family must be getting tire dof me saying, “I just can’t believe how good these vegetables taste!”
Fact: According to the Web produce in the U.S. travels, on average, 1300 - 2000 miles from farm to consumer.For tomatoes alone it is about 1,369 miles. That to me is preposterous. I’d rather walk a few yards to get fresh vegetables. Now wonder the modern vegetable is almost lifeless by the time it reaches our plate!
We’ve been loading up on oven backed squash, fried zucchini and squash, and zucchini bread. Homegrown and local over imported hands down just makes more sense. If organic prices are too high for your liking, why not grow your own? That is becoming my niche. Sharing my love of growing plants and raising butterflies with others through teaching and writing. Have a question? Post a comment and I’ll get back to you about it. I don’t want to brag and go as far to say I’m an expert, but I am developing a passion for this and some know how on developing a relationship with my customers.
I’ve been getting some pretty hefty harvests. I can’t label my products “certified organic,” but that basically sums it up. Alright, it is definitely more work, but so worth it. Would I trade less de-worming for pesticide laden crops? Never. I’m becoming a pro at squishing caterpillars. Now that I will brag about.
My customers are waiting in anticipation for a harvest of tomatoes. I’ve counted 40 tiny tomatoes on just one row! There are many more. I’ve been getting requests for peppers so I got a six pack of Golden Wonder yellow sweet peppers and California Wonder green sweet peppers. Pleasing my customers is super important to me. They are my friends.
I despise monocultures. Rows and rows of the same thing. You’ve seen it. Rows of pesticide laden corn and such. I’m not ashamed to speak my mind. I will not shy away from standing up for what I believe and encouraging you to do the same. Let’s decide to choose local over imported whenever possible. Our family is big so that is not always possible, but the reason why I get up every morning water for an hour and work hours more is so that I can slowly replace the grocery store produce with home grown. I believe that variety is key. Try growing zinnias amongst squash and parsley and cilantro in between tomatoes. Flowers are appealing to the eye and attract beneficial pollinators.
Flowers like lavender will attract beneficial insects like bees to your garden.
Snapdragon
Plant herbs to repel pests and attract the good guys. Like I said before variety is key. Plant a diversity of plants, be creative, and most importantly have fun. Within the next two weeks I’ll post an update for you all.
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