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Grow Your Own – Be Sure

January 5th, 2012

I really love the old posters from the 1940’s when the government was encouraging people to grow Victory Gardens and to preserve their harvests. I’ve always thought about buying some, but never have gotten around to it. This year, a good friend, gave me one for Christmas. It’s the perfect one because of what is says:


We all have our reasons for growing edibles in our gardens, mine is to know exactly what’s going into my vegetables. Sure, I buy from local farmers who’s farms I’ve visited, but even that’s not quite like plucking things from your own little spot of earth.

When I eat a tomato from my garden I know the seeds were saved from a previous year, the plants were nurtured from tiny seedlings to rampant vines, they were grown in soil lovingly cultivated to be as healthy as possible, and the fruits were harvested just a few minutes before being eaten. I am familiar with every moment in the life of this tomato and it makes me smile. I love knowing that it wasn’t picked to early or sprayed with anything scary.  Not only is this good for my health, it’s good for my pocketbook as well!

Why do you include edibles in your garden?

18 Comments to “Grow Your Own – Be Sure”
  1. Kathi Cook on January 5, 2012 at 7:53 am

    Beautiful poster-I love those vintage “victory garden” posters. I would love to get some vintage seed packs and frame them. When I was growing up (70’s), everyone who had a patch of land grew vegetables just because you could and it was free. I even remember selling seeds around the neiborhood as a school fundraiser. Now it seems to be a trend again and I think it’s great. I guess I grow edibles because I can!

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  2. Rhonda on January 5, 2012 at 8:43 am

    I grow food because it tastes so much better than anything else you can get at the store. I don’t use any pesticides or any other chemicals at all so I know it’s all safe. Also, it’s so inexpensive! Your ROI on a packet of seeds is just incredible. I really don’t understand why everyone isn’t growing their own.

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  3. Songbirdtiff on January 5, 2012 at 9:20 am

    First and foremost I grow because I love it and it’s good for my soul. I love watching the plants grow and evolve, and I get a very fulfilled feeling when I can feed my family with the work of my hands. A close second is definitely knowing where my food comes from and that our food has the nutrients it was intended by God to give us.

    I grow primarily edibles, and this year I’m doing my best to make them pretty, too :)

    Reply to Songbirdtiff's comment

  4. Melissa on January 5, 2012 at 9:29 am

    Love it! Do you know where your friend got it? I have 4 of the Victory Garden of Tomorrow posters hanging in my kitchen. Everyone loves them when they walk in!

    Reply to Melissa's comment

  5. kristin @ going country on January 5, 2012 at 9:35 am

    Simple: I like to eat and the food I grow (and raise, in the case of animals) tastes better. Everything else is a bonus.

    Reply to kristin @ going country's comment

  6. cherise on January 5, 2012 at 9:55 am

    Awesome poster! Do you know where it was purchased?

    Reply to cherise's comment

  7. goatpod2 on January 5, 2012 at 11:11 am

    So we don’t spend too much on groceries!

    Amy

    Reply to goatpod2's comment

  8. risa on January 5, 2012 at 12:23 pm

    All of the above. I believe that if times get really tough, and my neighborhood finally gets together and inventories its resources, I want to be listed as a resource and not a liability!

    Reply to risa's comment

    • Susy on January 5, 2012 at 12:41 pm

      Love the thought, me too. Though I must admit, the limited # of us that would be resources can in no way make up for those that are liabilities!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  9. KimH on January 5, 2012 at 12:43 pm

    Gardening is as necessary to me as breathing is.. and I agree with Songbirdtiff.. its a soul/spiritual thing. Always has been & always will be.
    I first grew edibles, then added flowers & beauty in mine..

    I played in gardens my entire life, growing up, so it was just something we did. I’ve always had a love of the land & nature, so its just another part of nature to grow food.. mine.

    Reply to KimH's comment

  10. Angela on January 5, 2012 at 1:29 pm

    Yes–I do grow edibles and I love doing so for all the reasons you mentioned and because it’s just fun. This may sound corny, but it always amazes me that a little seed can turn into a big juicy pepper, or tomato, or something nourishing. Growing my own veggies also makes me feel self-sufficient. Love the poster. What a great gift for a gardener!

    Reply to Angela's comment

  11. Teresa on January 5, 2012 at 1:37 pm

    All of the above–plus my husband is much more likely to eat and enjoy homegrown veggies than storebought. He grew up eating vegetables from tin cans (or more likely, not eating them), and his firist wife was…well, not a cook…. Homegrown and locally raised veggies have been a revelation.

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  12. Mich on January 5, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    Early memories of bottling up fruit & digging up spuds with my granny; obviously instilled the joys of growing your own from a young age! :) Lets face it the taste of fresh produce, the joy of pulling out a jar of homemade jam in the midst of winter….cant beat it!

    Reply to Mich's comment

  13. daisy on January 5, 2012 at 5:26 pm

    I love vintage too. How fab that you got one as a gift. A thoughtful friend indeed.

    I look forward to seeing what you’re going to be growing in the spring.

    Reply to daisy's comment

  14. Jennifer Fisk on January 5, 2012 at 9:23 pm

    I grow edibles for the flavor, I know how things have been grown and the independence.
    Are reproductions of that poster available to purchase?

    Reply to Jennifer Fisk's comment

  15. Melanie on January 5, 2012 at 11:40 pm

    Because I love to garden, so I may as well get dinner out of all the sweat equity!

    Reply to Melanie's comment

  16. Kath on January 6, 2012 at 1:04 am

    I grow edibles for the taste and for the amazing process of planting a small seed and watching it grow into a plant and then into food.

    Reply to Kath's comment

  17. Judy Meade on January 6, 2012 at 5:15 am

    Have grown edibles off & on since I’ve been married. Loads of memories as well, of me as a “wee l’il thing”, my aunt & grandmother in gardens or foraging for wild berries. When we bought our first house, we grew tomatoes & beans in our little yard. Eventually, the neighbor across the street wanted to grow tomatoes. She was so thrilled to have those few plants in her yard. When we built out here, we had 4 acres to chose from for gardening. It gives you feelings of independence, self-fulfillment & satisfaction in what you accomplished. And you end up with such goodies!

    Reply to Judy Meade's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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