Raining where not needed and not where needed

The rain is coming down in sheets at the ballpark, and I am sure there will be a long delay tonight.  At home, my wife says it is as dry as a bone with just thunder and lightning.

I probably won't be home until after Midnight if the game is not called, and still, I will have to go out and water at 5-6 AM tomorrow.

Tell me why I don't just buy a CSA and leave the growing to Farmers that need the money!

Razed Bed, it has rained and rained here for over a week, and the forecast shows no sign of a break.  Very patchy, spotty though in some areas, but overall wet!  

OT, I lived in Nashville for 6 years, near Vandy in the Craighead historic district!  Great town!

CSA vs growing your own. Hmmm. Cuz sometimes something of your own, even if small, can be rewarding. A 2" orange bell was so exciting yesterday.

You never know what farmers, even ostensibly organic farmers, put on their stuff. You know what YOU put on your stuff, though.

Plus, there are a number of crops whose taste changes soon after they are picked. Corn and papaya come to mind immediately and dramatically, but I think tomatoes have some of that quality too. I think snap peas and snap beans share some of that quality. I'm sure there are many more. How many hours from picking do you get to eat your vegetables and fruits if you get them from somebody else?

Taste and safety/purity are things you can't pay for, generally even if you've got a lot of money. But you can get them, even if you're poor ... from food you grow nearby, yourself.

Plus, I grow lots of stuff I could never find in the local markets. Different beans and tomatoes and greens ...

Gardening sucks in some ways. It's sure a lot of work. But eating is one of the joys of life. And, like cooking well, one of the best ways for a person without many resources to live way above their ostensible "station" in life. A poor man can eat as well as a king if he is willing to put that extra little bit of elbow grease into it. I like eating healthy and well, and feeling happy about how lucky I am, enough that I'm willing to go to a good bit of trouble to do it and still feel like I'm coming out way ahead.

Plus, isn't there something primally satisfying about it? In a way that doesn't depend on the market economy and our real or imagined place in it? Seeing a seed sprout, grow, thrive, throw off babies in that odd little reflection of an ideal personal world we're creating when we garden ... saving the babies to make more babies, keeping the cycle going, our cycle and theirs, keeping something beautiful and nourishing still here and present on this earth as its steward ... Maybe not? For me, though: Yes.

Poetic

I agree all the way, Marc!

Wow, that is it.  Well put.

My biggest reason for gardening is for the spiritual connection. I love being in the moment watching and listening to the plants. There's a little frog living in the sugar pea box and I built a tiny pond for him in there. We talk. Communing with nature keeps me sane in the world that, from my perspective, seems a bit out of control.

I also enjoy the physical health aspect. Knowing that everything I'm eating is organic is worth it to me. It also saves me a lot of money, and is great exercise. Especially turning that ding dang compost pile and hauling those buckets of water !

And lastly is the mental challenge. Every year is different and every year there's another hill or mountain to overcome, all the while maintaining synchronicity with nature. I've also been challenging myself to not spend any money on this. The whole thing is just amazing in my book! And when it's not I'll stop.

Oh, another lastly... the fun and excitement. Like I was just outside and noticed that I may get raspberries in my new bed shortly! and my cherry tomatoes have baby tomatoes on them. I'm so excited I just can't hide it! I was dancing around in the yard singing. The poor neighbors, hahaha.

CC

You guys are just so eloquent about it, it is exactly how I feel too.

Can't tell you why you should do something, but here is why we keep at it - ups, downs and all.
I help our local farmers by buying animal products such as farm raised eggs, milk, beef and chicken. Hubby is a big meat eater, but I insist on clean, organic food especially animal derived as much as possible.
By growing most of my own produce, I can defray a good portion of the extra cost of those things and hopefully as I get better at it, I can grow an even larger percentage. Also, I feel it's good to practice and to learn all we can about gardening while things are relatively easy.  Someday, it could be a handy skill to have. With grocery prices rising, it's like an investment in our future food supply.

CapeCoddess wrote:...I've also been challenging myself to not spend any money on this....CC

I hope you're more disciplined than I am. I was very pleased with myself for only spending half of what I had budgeted for seeds this year. So...I used the extra money to buy a new grow light that I could've lived without just fine!

I agree with everyone's posts: gardening is about so much more than growing plants.

FeedMeSeeMore wrote:
By growing most of my own produce, I can defray a good portion of the extra cost of those things and hopefully as I get better at it, I can grow an even larger percentage.

I frankly couldn't afford to buy the tomatoes I grow except as a rare treat. Not at $4.00/pound. Same with the snap peas -- they can go for $6.00/lb. around here, and more! -- and even non-organic peppers can be expensive. Snap beans are $4.00 at Safeway for the non-organics. Let's not even get into herbs -- less than a handful of basil can go for four bucks.

Growing them myself, though, I can quickly go through the equivalent of hundreds of dollars in tomatoes alone, never mind the other stuff I grow.

Also, I feel it's good to practice and to learn all we can about gardening while things are relatively easy.  Someday, it could be a handy skill to have. With grocery prices rising, it's like an investment in our future food supply.

I think the economic uncertainty a large segment of the population has been facing since the 2008 recession(the one that never really went away) has turned a lot of people's thoughts toward ensuring their food security.

You guys and gals know how to cheer a fella up.  The last two days have been hectic.  The 90 minute rain delay kept me at the ballpark until almost 1 AM Friday/Saturday, and by the time I sent in my report to the big brass, I had enough time to eat a half grapefruit, kiss my sleeping wife on the forehead and try to get 2 hours sleep before I would have to get up and water.

The Lord must have heard my angst, because just as I was turning in to bed around 3 AM, the sky opened up and gave us a couple inches of rain.

Tomorrow, it will be above 100 again where we live, but at least we will have several plants to harvest something from.  There are zucchini and yellow squash that have reached "the size" and can be picked.  We now have more basil than we thought, so there is a pesto in our future, using something besides pine nuts, maybe macadamia.  We must thin the thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and oregano square before it becomes one large matted mess.

Somehow, we will get the strength to make it through the day.  For now, I have fallen asleep twice while typing this.  Thank you for reminding me why it is important to be the #1 green grocer for our needs.