From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: why bother with corn?!!
Date: 9 Sep 92 14:52:29 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <1992Sep9.160952.18856@samba.oit.unc.edu>, Doug.Hemken@bbs.oit.unc.edu (Doug Hemken) writes:
> 
> Why would any American bother vegetable gardening when we have such
> abundant, cheap food?  We know you love gardening, Kay.  You just enjoy
> being around living plants.  Don't give me that "slob-gardener"
> least-effort crap!  How about explaining to us what you *really* get out
> of gardening?  :-)

Well, I'm a semi-picky eater.  I'll eat anything that doesn't walk off 
my plate when I'm really hungry, but otherwise, I prefer stuff that tastes
good.  Most of the grocery store veggies are pretty bad in comparison
with homegrown.  In the past 30-40 years, plant breeders have concentrated
on yield and "shipability", plus being able to harvest an entire field at
once.  I prefer edibles bred for taste and texture, and about the only
way I can get them is to grow them (even goodies from the farmers'
markets tend to be too long-picked for me!).

As to the arrangement with the neighbor for sweetcorn, he's a semi-
retired farmer, and all he plants is those 3 or 4 acres of corn.  Then
he hand cultivates, and practically begs people to take his corn when it
starts ripening.  Keeps him feeling like he's still farming, and it keeps
me from re-injuring my back (digging is still very difficult for me).  
'Sides, the field is 100 ft from my back door, and I'm allowed to pick
it myself, and take as much as I want (I also freeze about 50 qts for 
him).  I think I'm getting an incredibly good deal.   And not growing corn
means I have more room for other goodies. 8-)

Why do I garden?  Well, when I'm mad at the world, there's always weeds to
pull, pruning to be done, compost to be turned, perennials to divide.
When I'm feeling contemplative, I can just go out and watch my plants,
and the bugs, and the birds, and the various other creepy-crawlies...
and I often learn alot of good biology in the process.

And because I read about plants all the time, I occasionally have a 
wild hair to try to grow these myself.  Sometimes it works, sometimes
it doesn't, but I always have the pleasure of trying.

Three other important satisfactions for me:  Giving stuff away, getting
someone else interested in living things, and feeling like I've
actually accomplished something.  (In the winter, about all I have for
that feeling of instant accomplishment is a fun thing like cleaning the
bathroom).

And I really am a slob gardener.  I try to devote time to my gardening,
but there are so many other fascinating things to do during the growing
season that I try to streamline my gardening as much as possible (lots
of mulch, and I've been known to "weed" between rows in my pre-mulch
days with a lawnmower!).  I spend a couple of days planting and mulching,
maybe a few more sessions watering, then about all the attention the garden
gets is 10-20 minutes at a time until harvest starts.  Now I may stop and
pull a couple of weeds while I'm on my way down the lane to find the cats
(they like to go down to the old grain elevator and shoot pool and play 
with the mice), or I'll do a bit of pinching or thinning, but I SURE
am not a gardener of the class of my great-aunt Myrtle, who spent hours
a day in her garden and fed her entire family (and a few other families
too) from the produce.

Kay
Newsgroups: rec.gardens