Hello garden gals and guys! I can’t believe we are a little over a month into the NMGS challenge! Time is going by very quickly. I haven’t cut the grocery store completely out yet, but I am getting there little by little and that’s what counts.
You know, I read a lot of articles about gardening, not just here in the U.S. but in other countries around the world. Sometimes I don’t think we here in the U.S. realize how fortunate we are. I mean, we grow food, but for some people it is just a hobby.
In other countries, if they don’t grow their food, they don’t eat. I thought about this a lot when a few of my plants that I started from seed failed. I was very upset about it. I worked really hard growing those plants and, this late in the game, vegetable plants are really kind of picked through at the local nurseries.
I did manage to get some extra tomato plants from the farmers market, and also found a woman on Craigslist who had plants for sale, so I just bought some to replace the ones I lost. But many people in other countries don’t have that luxury. If their crops fail, they don’t eat. When you think about it in those terms, it’s kind of sobering.
I started this journey because food security is important to me. I wasn’t able to get meat at the Crofton market this week because my meat vendor had a prior commitment (which she did tell me about ahead of time). I am going to go to another local farm for my meat source this Saturday. I consider myself very fortunate to have access to local farms to supply my family with their nutritional needs. Again, many people don’t have (and many can’t afford) this luxury.
Here’s another thing: I don’t like having to go to the grocery store because to me, depending on a grocery store to feed my family just isn’t secure. Any number of things could happen to make food unavailable, i.e. a snow storm or other major weather event (which seem to be increasing in number every year and in every season).
Anyhow, that’s just some “food” for thought (pun intended). Why don’t you take a trip to your local farmers market this week, even if it’s just to buy some produce for a salad. I promise you produce is actually either comparably priced to the supermarkets or sometimes cheaper! Meet the farmer who grows your food, tell them thanks for all the hard work. They appreciate that, they really do!
Check out my video for week 6 to see what goodies I brought home to feed to my family: