Few years ago at a Foundation for Economic Education seminar, I listened somewhat skeptically to one of Leonard Read's lectures concerning our present degree of dependency on others for the necessities of life. He stated that should the market suddenly cease to deliver the accustomed goods, he would find it difficult if not impossible to provide even his own food. Well, I thought smugly, he might have a problem, but surely my husband and I could manage quite nicely. We live in a rural area and, though we were no longer actively raising our own food, we knew how and could do it again if necessary. Now I remember why the respite.
Planting is the easy part.
The rest is a never-ending battle against weeds and bugs and nature's capricious weather conditions. Of course it has its rewards. The food is good - after you have chased every creepy crawly thing from its hiding place by a thorough washing. Finding a 1-inch cutworm reposing among the broccoli on your dinner plate is not among the rewards. It doesn't matter that he's been thoroughly washed and scalded and no longer crawling, it still tends to detract from your appetite.