My First Organic Garden Adventure - Spring and Summer 2006

Growing up as a kid in the country, some of my fondest memories of my grandparents where simple things such as, sitting under an apple tree with my grandpa, with a salt shaker and a fresh ripe cantaloupe that he had just pulled from the vine. Thinking back, of watching him peel that melon with his pocket knife, and the two of us eating the whole thing while enjoying the warm morning sun, still to this day, makes me smile from ear to ear.  Or the way that many of us grandchildren would spend the night at my grandparents farm on weekends, to wake early in the morning and go to the garden with my grandma and sneak cherry tomatoes to eat while she was busy picking various other vegetables with her back turned to us. She always knew what we were up to and would simply grin and tell us not to eat too many of them and make ourselves sick. My mom and dad also raised a garden every year. To this day, the wonderful smells in the kitchen at canning time are vivid in my mind. Wether it was fresh vegetables being canned, or fresh fruit for jellies and jams, the kitchen was as busy as a bee hive during the late Spring, Summer, and early Fall seasons as harvest time was a big deal in my family.

The "family garden", has been a big part of country life for hundreds of years now for many people, even though supermarkets have become the modern “hot house” farm markets for most people.  However, the home garden is really making a come back with many people in many locations all over the U.S. 

If taken care of properly, home-grown vegetables just can’t be beat for taste, and a sense of accomplishment as the opportunities for experimenting are almost endless.

The garden is not just a project for older folks and grandparents as some would think or remember from their past. Many young people starting in their teenage years are now taking part in gardening.  Men and women alike are potting seeds and planting seedlings in hopes of raising their own tasty crops.