The Garden Shedde

Will it really be the tomatoes next time, the spinach, the peppers?  What will be the next salmonella outbreak and why some people will never be affected?

The answer to the first question is an easy one.  No one knows what food source will be infected with salmonella and potentially transferred to the tables of America.  No one knows because the powers that be from the FDA (Food & Drug Administration), congress and down, we no longer have the protections on our food source that we once had.

At least that’s what you’ve been told.  However, since the fifties more and more families have been giving up their gardens and buying everything from the local grocery store.  It is easy and mindless and is proving to be dangerous, which brings me to the people who will never be affected.

These are the gardeners in your neighborhood, your local farmers and those who purchase from the local farmers.  These people know where their food comes from, when it was picked and what chemicals, if any; have been used on their foods and they’re taking it to the next level.

For the first time you will see greenhouses going up like never before.  The modern greenhouse allows you to grow year-round and with the easy greenhouse kits, anyone can put one up in their backyard.  When you are growing your own, you won’t worry about the next outbreak because you won’t have too.

I have had a garden off and on for over 20 years but one thing I have never grown until this year is lettuce.  Don’t ask me why I have never tried growing lettuce because I don’t have an answer for you.  I can say that I will be growing lettuce from now on because store bought lettuce cannot compare.

Have you been under the impression like I have that lettuce has no taste?  It’s just not true.  Fresh lettuce has a great taste and you can eat it as you garden if you’d like.  I can have a salad as I pick through the garden and it is good for me, tastes great and is safe.

If you live somewhere where you don’t have a place to garden, try putting lettuce, tomatoes, spinach and other vegetables you like in a pot, basket or raised bed.  You can do this on a balcony, some ledges and stoops.  Another thing you might try is group gardening.  I’ve done this before with people who wanted to garden but didn’t have the space.  We all pitched in and shared the work as well as the harvest.  No matter how you do it, you can garden.