Home Gardening and Agriculture: Hobby or Necessity

Home gardening has long been a hobby for those who enjoy serving fresh produce to their family. Growing and consuming home grown vegetables, fruits and herbs is not only healthier; it's rewarding! From the garden to the dinner table having your summer bounty feed your family is a major gardening achievement. However, in these economically challenging times with the rising cost of food and fuel the question, "Is home gardening becoming less of a hobby and more of an economic necessity?"

I asked my friends and co-workers if growing their own produce is helping their food budget. Four out of ten said it was a major economic help. Health wise - they further stated that more vegetables in their daily diet is helping them to lower their blood pressure, controlling their diabetes, weight loss, the list went on. In addition, the age old preserving technique of canning, among gardening enthusiasts, is on the rise. I personally plant three varieties of tomatoes to use in summer salads and to can homemade marinara and Italian tomato sauce for the winter. The herbs used in the sauces (garlic, basil, oregano) are from my kitchen herb garden.

Our autumn pilgrimage to the local apple orchards is much more than an enjoyable day trip. I've started making homemade desserts, apple butter and apple sauce for my family and for private co-op exchange at our local general store. Because we also have fruit bearing grapevines on our property we've learned to harvest and prepare grapes for jams and preserves. We also grow hot and sweet peppers which we use to make a unique spread known here in the south as Hot Pepper Butter. It's a spicy sweet condiment eaten with chicken, pork and beef as well as a spread for crackers, bagels, etc.

Since our relocation to North Carolina I've mastered the process of canning. Canning home grown produce is a tremendous help in lowering our weekly grocery bill. Ball Blue Book is the bible for home canners. It explains how to simply and safely can a wide variety of vegetables and fruits. I highly recommend it.

A few of my friends have gone beyond gardening and are trying their agricultural hand at raising egg-laying chickens. The sale of fresh eggs is a booming cottage industry in Western North Carolina. Others are raising goats for milk and homemade cheese. A growing number of Asheville neighborhoods have organized co-op groups to share surplus produce.

As a nation plagued with the end product of over consumption of junk foods we are deluged with information and facts on how well-balanced diets promote good health and how limiting impulse eating may help to control empty calorie weight gain. A recent report from Reuters states, "More than 72 million U.S. adults, or 26.7 percent, are obese, up 1 percentage point in two years, the U.S.Obesity has become "a major public health threat" and is steadily worsening, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported." A sad commentary, indeed! Home gardening could be the cost effective, simple solution for obesity. Eating a diet filled with home grown produce may help to curb this frightening trend.

To find out more about home gardening and how to start one, read my article on, Starting a Vegetable Garden - 5 Tips for Beginners. Another informative writer and Associate Content Featured expert on Gardening is Becca Badgett. Her new book How to Grow an Emergency Garden and gardening articles are excellent resources for both new and experienced gardeners.

I want to personal thank my talented long time friend and former colleague Louis A. Cook, BFA graduate of Temple University - Tyler School of Art and MID in Industrial Design from The University of the Arts, for the use of his Urban Gardener photographs. Louis is not only an accomplished gardener, he is a gourmet cook and an International Catch and Release Carp Angler and the creator/webmaster of The Philadelphia Anglers Club

Source(s):
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/03/obesity-usa-idUSN0318532120100803
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5546606/starting_a_vegetable_garden_5_tips.html?cat=32
http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/199375/becca_badgett.html
Urban Garden Photos courtesy of Louis A. Cook
Philadelphia Anglers Club