Grow your Own!

I was at dinner with a good friend of mine a few days back when the subject of gardening came up in conversation. For the past few years, she and I have planted a kitchen garden outside her house to feed weekly dinners that I cook with her and her family. For us, the garden has been both a bonding exercise and a practical way to feed our constant craving for vegetables. Regardless, she's a nurse, and she works in a normal office, with normal people who are not the radical-organic-food activists that so dominate the rest of my social sphere. In her story, she told me that much of her office lunch conversation of late has been around the topic of gardening. These normal everyday Americans, who probably don't stalk the isles of the farmers market, or obsess over the best dark leafy green at the local natural food store are talking about growing vegetables! Folks, this is huge. The downturn of the economy is shifting people's world view enough to refocus their attention onto what really matters- stability, shelter and food. The enclosed link will take you to a recent article that highlights statistics from a new survey from the National Gardening Association that says the recession has already spurred millions of new gardeners; people who are growing their own food in order to cut grocery costs and ease their stress about basic survival. If nothing else positive comes out of this recession, leastways there is a glimmering possibility that a new generation of gardeners will emerge, people who understand the simple power and beauty of learning how to grow your own! 

Click the title to be taken to the referenced article.