Here in the bleak mid-winter with patches of soot-spackled snow on the ground, gardening begins. The seed catalogues have arrived. They’re irresistible, replete with gorgeous photos and mouthwatering descriptions of hundreds of varieties of beans and tomatoes and squash and cukes and herbs and much, much more.
Ingredients.
So begins this year’s garden. Few of us grow ALL our own food but these past two years have seen an exponential increase in people growing SOMEthing they can eat, whether it’s in a pot on the patio or a bed in the garden. The University of Maryland Master Gardeners program last year launched Grow it Eat It to encourage everyone to grow at least one thing they can eat. (Lettuce is a great starter veg.).
In addition to Grow It Eat It, there are school gardens. The objective is to strengthen young bodies, increase practical and environmental knowledge, and teach kids to eat well, goals espoused by that icon of fitness, Michelle Obama. Interestingly, school gardens have recently been lambasted in an Atlantic Monthly piece that was notably short on informed specifics; the writer assumes that school gardens shorten the time spent on the critical three R’s. While individual programs might need tweaking, we know our children’s eating habits – and school lunches — need work. Additionally, studies support the benefits of gardening in a broad spectrum of applications, so take THAT Atlantic Monthly.
Some of you may prefer to wait for the garden centers’ seed racks, to support our local economy. Bon. Many centers have considerably upped their offerings. But I still order my seed to get specific varieties. I don’t want just ANY hot pepper, I want aji lemon, which I preserve in sherry and use for bean soup, multi-colored fish peppers for salads, and mariachi peppers to stuff and dip in tempura. I want the lovely French haricots verts from The Cook’s Garden that stay pencil thin and tender way longer than any others I’ve ever grown, and those delicious pineapple tomatoes with the rosy sunburst shot through the middle.
Seduced by the catalogues, I always overfill my plate but hand surplus seed over to Colchester CSA, so it’s not wasted. And while I don’t need more to maintain, I’m thinking of adding blackberries to the garden this year — there’s nothing like homemade blackberry crumble pie. I was encouraged in this extravagance by a recent clue on Jeopardy that asserts that January 23 is National Pie Day. Blackberries in the freezer would have us celebrating next year in delicious, homegrown style.
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