The Time is Right: Plant a Veggie Garden

The Time is Right for a Vegetable Garden....

There have always been people who just like to garden. For many, it is relaxing and almost, if not, a spiritual activity. Gardening gets us back in touch with our natural world; it's mysteries and wonders, and yes, even the challenges.
This year more people are turning to vegetable gardens to save some money because of the current economic downturn. Done correctly a lot of money can be saved. Certainly, many of these new gardeners will become more avid after their first time working in the dirt.
There are plenty of great sites to learn more about different techniques and plants. Visit Dan Chapman at Urban Veggies or read some Kathleen Richardson advice and recipes at Helium.
What to do with the extra produce? Food banks are one important option; just placing a sign with Free Veggie in the yard next to a table is another. For others, a small roadside stand is another option and could be a source of some income.
Health is another major factor in growing a home vegetable garden and likely the most important reason. Home grown vegetables picked in the backyard and brought inside and cooked (or eaten raw) are simply packed with higher levels of important nutrients than those which have been shipped from thousands of miles away and then placed on a store shelve for...who wants to guess that one?
Properly done, home canning and freezing vegetables from the backyard, or even your local grower, continue to retain high levels of beneficial vitamins, minerals and fiber (and besides, tasting far superior).
Recently, there have been a number of food health safety recalls and scares. People have become terribly ill and in some cases have died from tainted foods. In some cases, not even properly washing the vegetable can solve the problem; harmful bacteria can be under the skin of a vegetable or fruit and no amount of washing will get rid of it.
Factory farms use a lot of pesticides, some of which are done right deadly. The verdict is still out on many of these and there are some serious questions about them. Pesticides were created to kill.
There are outstanding questions about the solutions sprayed on fruits and vegetables to make them look fresh and shiny. And then there are the concerns about genetically modified foods and their impact on human health and our natural world.
It is common sense to plant a garden for health. Go Green. It is important to you, your family and friends and actually for the world. Thoughts or comments?
For more gardening article I have written on vegetables or click the title.
More articles on gardening can be found at my other Blog, SoloKoyote.

Eat healthy: Eat Peas, Plan Now

Spring begins in just about a month on March 20th. It seems like all the snow will never melt but it will. That's the signal to get peas, an early and healthy spring vegetable, planted. My best luck is with a pole variety, called Alaska. The plants, which can climb 8 to ten feet, produce a bumper crop and are usually ready to pick by Memorial Day. The photo above, taken last week, shows part of the fence used for the peas which will need some repairs before planting.
The seed company's claim 50 to 55 days from planting to maturity, and in this case, it's pretty accurate, despite normal bad weather, including late snows and cold, which peas don't seem to mind. Peas can also be planted in late summer for a fall harvest. They don't mind early fall cold and snow.
Do you have a comment on those dates found on the seed packages?
On the subject of dates, March 8th begins daylight savings time. Care to comment on that change?
As February winds down though, there is still plenty of time to think about a vegetable garden. This year having a food plot will be important for many as the economy continues to worsen. Garden fresh peas, and other homegrown organic veggies, are also healthier (think health care) and just plain good.
Planting your own vegetables or buying them from local organic farmers helps the environment and the neighborhood. When more and more people plant or purchase locally, it means one or more less shipments in refrigerated trucks from hundreds, if not thousands of miles away. It is a small step in controlling energy consumption, but a lot of small steps add up. The local community benefits because the money stays local and is recycled back into the region.
Small farm operations often employ young people from the community. Okay, so the wages might be low but there's a wealth of knowledge and experience for workers on the farm to be gained which will last a lifetime.
What's your opinion?
Fresh produce obtained from local stores can be less expensive than the supermarket and can be purchased in quantity to stock up for the offseason months by canning, freezing or drying. During the winters months, check out the Meadville Market House or the Erie Whole Foods Co-op for organic and natural foods and products.

Click on the title for more information on how to grow peas, highlighted words in the posts for related information.