Living Off The Land: Foodie Week #2 (hard to call it Foodie week when it’s now taken a month. Such is life as a dad, husband, entrepreneur, and employee. No more promises or schedules for this blogger.)

So, getting back to my Foodie posts, I want to take a few minutes of your time to encourage you to live off the land this summer. Well, not really, but what I would like you to do is to close the gap between the food on your table and the field it was grown in.

Last Spring, I surprised my wife (not in a good way, she was just surprised) by heading out in the backyard in the middle of the night and digging up a strip of grass to do some planting. It wasn’t huge, but neither is our city plot of land. A deal was struck! She got some room for flowers, I got some room for veggies.

I’ve been wanting to grow some of my own food for a while now. Here’s a few reasons why:

To Close the Gap.
When you walk around the grocery store and see boxes and cans and microwavable trays, and each product has 50 ingredients in it, you get a very abstract picture of where food comes from. I wanted to close the gap between the field and the table. I wanted to cook with veggies and herbs that I could see their whole life cycle.
To Teach My Kids About Real Food.
Those products in the grocery store have dozens of ingredients that I can’t pronounce, much less tell you where they came from. One day my son who was 3 at the time asked me, “Where do Graham Crackers come from?” Not a clue. What does it say on the box? Well, clearly there’s pyrophosphates in there son. Eat up. – Got me thinking, do I really want to give my kids food that I can’t pronounce the ingredients? Or myself for that matter?
I like to cook and I want my food to taste better.
I’m not particularly that good at it, at least, not to where I’d hope to be…but I love to cook. The garden is inspiration. You can’t help but want to be a better cook when you’ve got access to fresh off the vine tomatoes, lush herbs and crunchy lettuce you just pulled out of the ground. When it comes out of the ground, gets washed and goes right into a meal, it tastes better. period.
Saving Money
I think this is possible. I didn’t run the numbers last year, but conceivably, with the right mix of veggies, the right planting schedule, eating what’s “in season,” it is conceivable that you could actually save money. It doesn’t really cost that much to get up and running. Last year we spent less than $100 and had a serious bounty. I plan to do it again this year with more intentionality.

So, that’s why I started and I want to encourage you to grow something. I’m not saying that you should give up your day job and become a farmer. I’m not saying rip up your whole yard and make the whole thing edible. Here’s a few ideas to get you going though:

Grow Something. Anything.
Head to the bookstore and look at the magazines. There’s a ton of them out right now that give you ideas from a window box, to container vegetable gardens, to 3×6 raised beds, to the works. Buy some seeds and grow!
Start at a pace that makes sense for you.
Don’t rip up the whole yard if you’re not ready to deal with the ramifications of it. Not everyone is as crazy or impulsive as I am. Starting with a 5×20′ garden may not be right for you. But, there is a happy place between nothing and full-fledge farmer that is right for you.
Don’t be discouraged by some things not growing.
Truth be told, at least half the seeds I started last year died before I could plant them outdoors. That sucked. But the other half didn’t. That was awesome. Don’t be discouraged. It’s not all going to grow.
Start with plants from the garden store.
Starting from seed can be a lot more work and a lot more defeating. Start with 3-4″ or 12″ plants from the garden store can be a winning recipe. Most of those plants are bred to live in your local area. You’ll have a greater chance of early success.
If you’ve got kids, get them involved.
Everyday, my boy was out in the garden asking if there were any cucumbers or tomatoes to pick. It’s a great way to get them going in the process and even encourage them to eat more fruits and veggies. My boy loves Thyme. He says it’s his favorite herb. Does your kid have a favorite herb at age 5? They could.

I’d love to have some conversation about your successes and struggles.

A few garden shots from last year…