Quote Originally Posted by GLC1968 View Post
And even though it may not be cost effective at the moment, I whole heartedly agree that learning to grow is a vital skill, whether or not your harvests are ideal. Yes, it may be easier and cheaper to buy organic at the grocery store - but that's not taking into consideration the knowledge you are building or the skills you are developing. Those things are priceless right now and even moreso someday when those organic grocery stores aren't there any more. And if you do one day aspire to your own little place like we have, those skills will come in VERY handy!
I wholeheartedly agree, and it's part of my motivation to get going. Although it's also being so disappointed with the ridiculous vegetables that we get at the grocery store. Of course there's the farmer's market but it can be complicated. I am the inheritor of a long line of farmers and growers - my parents themselves had greenhouses and oh! how much have I weeded tomatoes in my childhood! - but not a whole lot got passed on to me somehow.

I was raised on sandy land and we grew asparagus, which I would spend many a morning, before school, harvesting with the rest of my family. On a hot day, you could sit there and watch it grow before cutting it again at dusk. Oh! The wonderful taste of fresh asparagus. The other day I almost passed out when my mother-in-law served us - in January - asparagus (from Argentina?) with dinner and everyone was ooohing about how wonderful it was. The poor stems looked so sad, and just didn't have much to do with real asparagus. One could say it's being a snob, I think it's just about respecting food and the people that grow it. (Not the companies that export it.)

Anyway I'll quit ranting and go back to writing my dissertation now!! Thanks for the insight everyone!