Okay, Listen Here

Okay, Listen Here

Friday, February 24, 2012

Organically Speaking

I grew up organic. Tomatoes, peaches, greens, watermelons, even peanuts were grown right there in the dirt for me to see, help tend and ultimately eat. I don’t say enjoy because frankly as a 10 year old I didn’t think there was much to enjoy about shelling peas, but I did eat them. Digging up potatoes and carrots was fun. Peanuts growing underground fascinated me. But pleasure was not a word I would attach to growing a garden. That is, until I bit into a juicy ripe organic tomato grown with love and eaten right there in the garden row. My Papaw or Uncle M would pour salt on the tomatoes from a shaker they retrieved from their overalls pocket and we’d pop them right into our mouths and enjoy their warm sun drenched flavor on the spot. Yum! That was a pure delight. But not shelling peas. Ewe. Not fun.

After fast-food was introduced into my life I got away from eating homegrown goodies. The fast pace of life took over and stores provided everything I could need to feed me and mine, right?

A few years back, a friend of mine wrangled me into going organic again. I wasn’t exactly the most willing participant due to the difference in the price. (I’m cheap. I admit it.) But I tried it out and got the surprise of my life. Over and over again I found myself comparing organic produce to non-organic. And I found that over and over again, when a organic and a non-organic tomato is put side by side and tasted, you can experience firsthand that organic has flavor and non-organic is merely substance. It didn’t take long for me to be hooked on organic. It tastes better and it satisfies. Besides that, I don’t eat as much either. And that’s always a good thing. (Milk proves an interesting taste test too, fyi.)

So why am I going on and on about organic? Because its February, of course! And you know how I have that inner planner going on inside my head. Right now it’s screaming…..”Lesia! February’s almost over and you haven’t planted! Get on it girly!” And so I venture online to look up seed packets and consider ordering them (again) to plant in little cups while I wait for the earth to warm up to its growing season. I consider the flavors they’ll generate and the yummy dishes I can prepare with them. Mmm….delicious! But under it all lurks the memory of shelling peas and freaking out at cold bursts and bugs and such. And the price tag at the organic market becomes clearer. The grocery bill doesn’t seem so out of bounds any more.

Of course, the cattle grazed in fields free of chemicals back then, too. And I can’t imagine Uncle M ever giving them hormones. I’m not compelled to raise cattle for food (though you know how I love the cows that belong to my across-the-river-neighbor). But this growing a garden idea haunts me every year. And here I sit, perusing the seed possibilities and considering yet again how to get a garden going, even after being removed from farm life so long that I’ve forgotten everything except the agony of shelling peas.

Plant or buy? Which should I do? Which will I do? Am I blowing it all out of proportion? Maybe I should start with just one plant, right? Ok. There’s snakes out there too. See. Now I’m being irrational. Will they come into my garden? Will the deer eat my tomatoes? And the badger…what havoc will he wreak? Maybe I should just grow potted herbs inside the house. I could start with Basil. I love Basil! Or Perhaps I could plant a few tomatoes in pots? But then, what of the squash and cucumbers? What to do? What to do? Would you plant or go to the market?

10 comments:

  1. I grew up eating homegrown too but I'm not sure it was organic. I'm pretty sure there was some fertilizing and poisoning going on. But it was tasty. Buy. You quit your day job to write and eat lunch with me--not become a farmer.

    I don't buy a lot of organic, but I do find that it stays fresher longer. What's up with that? I do buy organic apples because I eat the peel.

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    1. Hmm...I don't know Jean. I've seen my sister (the real organic gardener) leave squash in a bowl on her buffet for weeks and it still look beautiful and enticing. The tomatoes, not so much. Somebody gobbles them up before they hit the bowl!

      So when are we going to lunch again? And you're right, as much as I like Liz Claiborne clothes, I would NEVER EVER consider becoming a seamstress for her! (Blek! Sewing...doubldy-triple EWE!!!) Same with tomatoes, I suppose. But I can sure stitch these things into a story. ;)

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  2. I love organic food. I know it's expensive, but I buy as much organic as I can. I had a grandma who always had to have a garden, so when I was little we had a lot of fresh produce. One of my favorite things was when she would boil potatoes and turnips, then put butter and salt and pepper on them and serve them in a bowl. It was a game as to which you'd get when you took a bite. I loved it.

    And the tomatoes, the lettuce, the peas -- jeez, so much stuff that I wished I had the time and inclination to grow myself.

    But I don't. I can barely keep houseplants alive. So I go to Earth Fare, or the organic section of Publix, and in season the Farmer's Market. It tastes better and it's better for you.

    Some things I don't buy organic. Bananas, for instance. Why, when you're going to peel off that skin anyway?

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    1. Oooh! Lynn! I love that game! I think I'll try it out on V and see if she can choose between the two. Fun!

      As for Earth Fare, I admit, it's a definite feel-good trip for me. Even all the other stuff they have. I like to browse through, touch, examine, wonder at, and explore the whole store. And Trader Joe's...oh how I love Trader Joes! No trip to Nashville is complete without stopping by there.

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  3. If you decide to buy, you don't have to buy thick-skin produce organic (pineapple, for instance) because the pesticide ickies are on the skin, which you don't eat (unless you're weird). I'll find the article that I read this in, if you want me to.

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    1. Thanks Clair! I'd love to read that article. I'm pretty fuzzy on what matters and what doesn't when it comes to organic. The skin thickness is the general rule for me, too. Although, watermelons throw a wrench into that plan. Flavor-wise, organic watermelons win hands down. (My favorite is a yellow meated one. Yum!) Actually, there's nothing quite like picking your own watermelon in the field either.

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  4. I also grew up with a garden and pea shelling. It was a GREAT day in my life when the local Co-Op got a shelling machine. For $5 they would shell all that you had. YEA!!

    I love fried okra with fresh tomatoes. Hard to beat!

    I am not really tempted to plant a garden but like others here I will go to the farmer's market or take fresh grown veggies from friends.

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    1. Stephanie, I coveted your shelling machine! No, really! There wasn't one in my hometown til after I went off to college I don't think. That or somebody did some fancy-schmancy storytelling! I suspect it was the latter. I come from a long line of storytellers. Tall tale tellers, mostly. :D

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  5. Oh, Lesia, you tickle me. ;)

    Hubby grew up farming and growing vegetable gardens. That was how he got his spending money. He's a whiz at gardening. I learned to can goodies, homemade spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, jam, pickle relish, applesauce, pickles and so forth, thanks to his green thumb. (Since writing takes much of my time now, I don't can anymore.)

    We grow a lot of vegetables here out our house. LTC loves to garden. He leaves the flowers to me. But who can complain with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, squash, peppers and so forth. We don't have much luck growing pole beans because rabbits get to them. We've tried English peas and sometimes can get a few (pardon me if I don't mind saying the work isn't worth the small amount of peas you get). We've tried melons, no good in our soil. We've tried corn. Nope! Carrots. Not a one. But we do love what we do get. ;)

    I've never been to Earth Fare. Boy, I need to go.

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    1. Canning? That's a whole other story there! lol But there's nothing in the entire world like home canned Spiced Peaches! Yum, yum YuM!!! But I don't can. I let Sister do that ALL by herself! Oh! And Mayhaw Jelly! But y'all probably don't even know what that is around here, do you?

      Sounds like we need us an Earth Fare Field Trip! :D

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