I was aghast to find that yellow summer squash is 98 cents per pound at the grocery store today. Yellow summer squash? Nothing could be easier to grow! If you have the tiniest plot of land – or even a patio or balcony – you could purchase a pack of seeds for about a dollar and, depending upon how much you sow, reap HUNDREDS of pounds of squash this summer. Most of that 98 cents for the store-bought squash goes to gasoline, trucking and middle men. Do we really want to encourage this?
My sister, who is a vegetable gardening newbie (but a social media expert) put a small garden in her side yard this spring and is already cooking and loving her home-grown organic zucchini and other goodies. You can too. And you should. There are options too:
- join a CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) and take home a basket full of veggies and fruits every week. Membership can run a couple of hundred dollars per year but when you scrutinize it you may be spending that much on store-bought squash alone.
- join a community garden and meet like-minded individuals who will encourage you, share with you and teach you.
- start a garden in your own backyard (or front yard!). Don’t relish the thought of a whole garden? Get with your neighbors and do some “modular gardening”. You grow the squash, cucumbers and zuchini. Someone else grows the tomatoes. Someone else grows strawberries or melons or beans. And then you share amongst yourselves. You get the picture….
We need to do this for ourselves, for our communities, for our environment, for our elderly and, especially, for our kids. Ever spent an adventuresome hour in the garden with your kids? My grandmothers did so with me and they gave me a love and lifestyle that I will cherish forever. Please contact me on Facebook (fan CityFarmer) if you have any questions or need inspiration and resources!
City Farmer (tm) 