There will be a meal served at 6:30 p.m. before the meeting starts. Please RSVP if you plan to attend the meal by contacting me (Barry Bailey) at 678-986-6430 no later than Aug. 16. If you can’t attend the meal, still come to the meeting.
While preparing for this article, I ran across a website called the “Vegetable Gardener.” There were a couple of lists giving reasons to grow your own vegetables. I would also encourage you to buy locally grown fruits and vegetables. I looked at the lists and added some of my own thoughts beside them. Even though these are mostly common sense let’s consider a few.
First, freshness. Sounds pretty elementary and may be the first on anybody’s list.
Safety. There is a growing interest in organically grown, pesticide free food. If you grow your own food, including meat, you take total control of this concern. Growing your own food is cost effective. Of course you need to put a pencil to it, because depending on the vegetable some varieties might be just as cheap to buy. Also, buying fruits and vegetables reminds me of the old adage “a bird in the hand….”, No one can predict before the season what the yield will be. For the most part though, homegrown vegetables and fruits are a less expensive way to provide for the family.
Cooking and Preserving. There is a lot of satisfaction is being able to prepare your own food.
At our table, we get satisfaction from looking at the meal and pointing out the dishes that were produced on our own farm.
Choice. There are hundreds, if not thousands of heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables. You may feel that some are better tasting or they may remind you of times past with your family. Education. I got a lot of this growing up, but I am thankful for it. Teaching and sharing with youth and learning new things for your self are advantages of gardening. It is also a great way to reconnect with family and friends.
Sharing. I used to have a neighbor who passed long ago that always grew more food than was possible for him to use. I know he got as much satisfaction by sharing vegetables as he did consuming them. It seemed to be a great way to entice folks to stop by and visit for a while. Finally, growing your own vegetables is very rewarding and the exercise and fresh air you receive is certainly good for your health. Please make plans to attend our meeting on the 17th.
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