Official SS Poll: What is your primary reason for gardening?

[akroberts]

Grazing is what I believe to be the best thing about gardening. I can pick 25 or more of cherry tomatoes and only make it in the house with 10 or less. I love grazing in the garden. It's like having your snack without the toxins or hassle. Oh yes it doesn't cost me anything. SWEETNESS ! SAVING MONEY AND EATING!!! What could ever be better.

 

[SFergie]

I want everything to be fresh and to know exactly what is used when growing my fruits, veggies, and herbs. I want to make sure everything is organic for not only myself and hubby but for all my animals! I have allergies to an abundance of fruits! I can have cooked fruits and sometimes juices are raw and I don't realize it til my mouth gets tingly and itchy. Some fruits it doesn't matter so it's a safer bet for me! Also for mental health, being grounded to nature is so important! Also, the economy is crazy right now and it will work out better for us in the long run!

 

[mkirkpatrick6411]

As a teenager I worked at a local family owned and farmed Fruit & Veggie stand we sold gorgeous green peppers for $1.75 per Peck basket. The supermarkets were 75cent / pepper ish. That memory stuck when I started my own garden my choices were always what will grow well and is ridiculously over prices at the supermarket ... So herbs, peppers, fennel, leek, scallions, now San Marzano tomatoes' etc. I am stuck with this what is the real value of .... in my head and can't/won't let it go ... It not even about the money anymore but the "how stupid do they think I am" that voice in my head keeps saying ...

 

[Mini Horses]

Same price issues here with peppers -- esp the colored ones While they are not as productive as the green, sure not that much off. Nope, not paying $1.25-1.50 per pepper!! Yes, taste is different and I have plenty frozen from garden. Geesh....guess they have to make that $$$ somewhere! Butternut squash -- even zucchini & yellow summer -- more price issues. Of course, there's spoilage & that loss. But donate!! Don't keep gouging the buyers. Corporate . Squash does beautifully here, bumper crops. I give so much away.

Wish more people would garden! Save groc $$$.

 

[mkirkpatrick6411]

Same price issues here with peppers -- esp the colored ones While they are not as productive as the green, sure not that much off. Nope, not paying $1.25-1.50 per pepper!! Yes, taste is different and I have plenty frozen from garden. Geesh....guess they have to make that $$$ somewhere! Butternut squash -- even zucchini & yellow summer -- more price issues. Of course, there's spoilage & that loss. But donate!! Don't keep gouging the buyers. Corporate . Squash does beautifully here, bumper crops. I give so much away.

Wish more people would garden! Save groc $$$.

And the taste difference is WAY more pronounced over the years. All the methods used to store / spray / GMO if i LOOKS fantastic in the store it's probably plastic ... or simply has 1/4 of the taste it should have Thats probably my no 1 reason simply tastes much better ...

 

[Mini Horses]

True....better taste, no chems, better variety with more nutrition! I'm with ya. Corp has ruined many foods.

 

[akroberts]

Same price issues here with peppers -- esp the colored ones While they are not as productive as the green, sure not that much off. Nope, not paying $1.25-1.50 per pepper!! Yes, taste is different and I have plenty frozen from garden. Geesh....guess they have to make that $$$ somewhere! Butternut squash -- even zucchini & yellow summer -- more price issues. Of course, there's spoilage & that loss. But donate!! Don't keep gouging the buyers. Corporate . Squash does beautifully here, bumper crops. I give so much away.

Wish more people would garden! Save groc $$$.

Anyone that doesn't want to pay 1.25- 1.50 per pepper should consider themselves lucky. Here at Walmart the peppers that are green are 1.75 plus at times and they look like garbage. The orange, red, yellow are over 2. per pepper and they barely look big enough to pay that much for them.

 

[Hinotori]

$.68 for green bells at Winco here right now.

I did a rough calculation on cost of dry beans because we've been eating a lot of them. I'm just better off buying them after all the work they would need plus the space.

 

[flowerbug]

...
I did a rough calculation on cost of dry beans because we've been eating a lot of them. I'm just better off buying them after all the work they would need plus the space.

true, dry beans do take up space to grow and do need picking and shelling but they are not that hard to do. i use them as a cover crop (which at times fails if i don't get around to weeding them soon enough), but i also grow rather wimpy bush beans that if i would instead grow pole beans they would likely smother everything even if i never put up poles, but weeding through all of that is even harder on me in the end...

anyways, growing bush beans that also provide fresh green, purple or wax beans is something that really does work for me and in the end as a by-product of my cross-breeding hobby i also get some dry beans and then i also do grow specific dry beans in bulk because we really like them and the stores don't sell them and i hate doing mail-order (mail-odure is how i first typed that and find that a fitting description too).