Just read a great article on npr.com about who the new young farmers are and what their seemingly collective hopes and dreams are. I wish I qualified as a "young" aspiring farmer but I think at 42 I am probably more like a "on the cusp of middle age" aspiring vegetable grower. But I wanted to sit and think about why I wanted to devote a large part of my free time and almost all of my husbands time to try and grow food.
First the practical reasons....money has been seriously tight the last couple of years and I noticed a disturbing trend when I was at the grocery store...I wasn't buying fresh vegetables because quite frankly they were not in the budget. Well Tommy and I could both seriously stand to loose a good bit of weight and I figured not eating vegetables was only going to compound the problem and also I love to cook I mean I LOVE to cook so it dawned on me that all the things I couldn't afford to buy to cook well hell we have 2 acres of prime Hudson River frontage I forgot what kind of soil but its good stuff I tell ya and forget buying it we will just GROW it instead. So for the first time this year I was able to make stuffed squash blossoms with ricotta and a dash of red chili tempura style and let me tell you it was incredible.
Second the philosophical reasons which where largely covered in the article (I tend towards practical)...it just seems noble to grow things not only to feed yourself but to feed you neighbor and maybe just hopefully make enough money to cover the expenses but maybe just maybe make a nice little income. I also love the feeling of being outside with my hands and feet in the soil and the wonder and joy of seeing things grow. Its like hatching little babies and frankly its pretty amazing.
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