Topic: Why Garden?

[Pharmerphil]

brought this over from Our phorum...
thought the link would be helpful here...

Someone mentioned the price of produce, and saving money gardening....
I doubt that we will ever add it up, but If anything, we most likely spend more for our garden delights than we would buying the food we eat.
from the start, we spend money on
Electric...we start everything in the basement, under lights, with bottom heat...
Now, I never phigured the cost, But, we have
6 double flourescent fixtures @ 80 watts each.
400 watts of HI lighting...so thats 880 watts, ran 11 hours a day, for almost 2 months 
Plus the bottom heaters...

Wear/tear on Me, and equipment.
fuel for equipmment

And, then the supplies and ELECTRIC...to put it all in the pantry/freezer

Now, We may spend more on the garden than we would IN THE STORE....However,
We KNOW what we are eating, and that is
Good, organically produced food.

I hope everyone that reads this, will click on this link, right

HERE

and see what YOU ingesting when you purchase store bought produce...washed or not!!
now..Thats why WE garden.

[Patty S]

Thanx for that, Phil... even though reading the page from your link gave me the heebs! It's interesting that the government would allow such garbage into our food (& then they turn around & don't do a thing about the cost of health care in this country) ...but I'd better not say much more about that, cuz I don't wanna hafta use this graphic any more than necessary...
               
(Sorry, boss! I couldn't help it! By the way, have I told you lately that you're my favorite?) 

Before they came up with that word, "organic", people asked me why I busted my behind growing my own veggies, & I told them it was because I wanted to know for sure what was in my food!  It became harder to garden after we left the country, where we had a well that never went dry.  Now, we have to pay by the drop in order to raise our own food, but I justify the cost & my efforts for the same reason.  It's worth it to me, cuz I believe that we're a whole lot healthier for it.

AND... since it's about the only thing that gets me outta this chair, I don't sit here & atrophy, cuz gardening keeps me in shape! 

Thanx for the info!

[duh]

Even if I never grew an edible it would still be worth every penny for the spiritual, emotional lift it gives me as well as the physical activity that I would never get any other way.  Even if I could compost and not grow a thing I think I would and just get the joy of giving the compost away.  It was great fun last year and this year just giving the finished compost to friends.

[Jim]

Some great info Phil. 

My Dad worked for the Department of Agriculture for the state of Tennessee for over 30 years.  He was a soil scientist and he created maps that the county extension offices use when the advise commercial farmers on what crops to grow where, etc.  I always enjoyed hearing him talk about growing things and he always had a garden.  I guess I got the itch from him.  I just love to plant the seeds and watch them grow.  The added benefit for me is that it is much healthier than what you buy in the grocery store.

I enjoy working the land.  I wasn't always able to have a garden but now that I do, I really enjoy it.  It's a lot of work but it's a labor of love.

[Dianna]

I like to garden because I love seeing something I have raised from seed, bloom with brilliant colors. When I start my flower beds from seed it is a lot cheaper than paying $5 and up for a six-inch potted plant that probably hasn't been taken good care of and may be half dead.

I like to garden because home-grown veggies just taste better!  Not to mention the prices in the grocery store are too high to be able to afford all the veggies I would like to have.

I like to garden because I don't even mind pulling the weeds out of the beds. It is a calming experience for me and a good place for me to commune with Mother Nature.

Why garden? Because it just plain makes me feel good!