rowlocal
(Two recently picked basil plants)If you're thinking, "Why the **** would I want to waste time growing or making my own food when I can buy it right down the street?"
1. Growing local, or at least buying locally made foods, drastically cuts economic costs. Wonder why gas is so high? Look to the tens of thousands of diesel trucks moving every single day to deliver food to hundreds of thousands of stores across the country. Why buy a tomato that was grown 1,000 miles away when you can get a better one from your backyard?
2. 4oz of basil costs about $4. For $3 or less you can have a basil plant that will produce many times more than that, up to a pound or more. A container of blackberries costs about $5, while a blackberry bush costs $20, comes back every year and will produce 10-20 pounds each year. Planting seeds from last years harvest costs nothing. You get free food!
3. Sure, five pounds of basil or 20 pounds of blackberries sounds like a lot, but most fruit and vegetables can be preserved for months or years, allowing you to enjoy your harvest well through the cold winters and into spring giving you year-round access to cheap, healthy food. Canning, drying and freezing are all viable ways to preserve.
4. Make your own bread. I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now and to great success. You can make 5-10 loaves of honey wheat bread for the price of 1 from the store. It tastes better and you know exactly what goes into it. Trust me, even high quality store bread doesn’t hold a candle to home made stuff.
5. Lower yourself from the food pyramid by doing all of the above. Most of us live at the top where all the food we eat has been worked for and prepared by many, many other people and puts unnecessary demand on our oil supply.
America was built on the farmer, the independent grower. Everyone has an opportunity to take part in one of the world’s oldest professions. All it takes is your time and the time you spend pays back in dividends. I challenge you to grow something, even if it’s a couple basil plants in your windowsill. And when you have basil pouring out of your ears over the next few months and you’re making pesto, spaghetti sauces and bruschetta with it make sure to invite me over!!
Up Next: Update on my own garden…where’s my damn food? And the wife brings home more seeds to plant, should I rip up the front lawn to plant more?
1. Growing local, or at least buying locally made foods, drastically cuts economic costs. Wonder why gas is so high? Look to the tens of thousands of diesel trucks moving every single day to deliver food to hundreds of thousands of stores across the country. Why buy a tomato that was grown 1,000 miles away when you can get a better one from your backyard?
2. 4oz of basil costs about $4. For $3 or less you can have a basil plant that will produce many times more than that, up to a pound or more. A container of blackberries costs about $5, while a blackberry bush costs $20, comes back every year and will produce 10-20 pounds each year. Planting seeds from last years harvest costs nothing. You get free food!
3. Sure, five pounds of basil or 20 pounds of blackberries sounds like a lot, but most fruit and vegetables can be preserved for months or years, allowing you to enjoy your harvest well through the cold winters and into spring giving you year-round access to cheap, healthy food. Canning, drying and freezing are all viable ways to preserve.
4. Make your own bread. I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now and to great success. You can make 5-10 loaves of honey wheat bread for the price of 1 from the store. It tastes better and you know exactly what goes into it. Trust me, even high quality store bread doesn’t hold a candle to home made stuff.
5. Lower yourself from the food pyramid by doing all of the above. Most of us live at the top where all the food we eat has been worked for and prepared by many, many other people and puts unnecessary demand on our oil supply.
America was built on the farmer, the independent grower. Everyone has an opportunity to take part in one of the world’s oldest professions. All it takes is your time and the time you spend pays back in dividends. I challenge you to grow something, even if it’s a couple basil plants in your windowsill. And when you have basil pouring out of your ears over the next few months and you’re making pesto, spaghetti sauces and bruschetta with it make sure to invite me over!!
Up Next: Update on my own garden…where’s my damn food? And the wife brings home more seeds to plant, should I rip up the front lawn to plant more?
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