how many of us grow our own food?

I was just walking down the hall at work and got into two separate conversations about gardening. (Will we get a second crop of tomatos? I dunno, but I'm getting a second crop of eggplants right now... ) A LOT of people where I work grow their own vegetables all summer... and a few can and preserve and put up for winter, as well. It just made me wonder -- how many people do this in general? Are PeerTrainer folks more or less likely to grow their own food than people in general?

And how many of us think there might be a second crop of tomatos coming along? :-)

Wed. Sep 5, 3:36pm

Second crop! I am Canadian, I only get one crop! Most people with earth garden where I am from. And if they don't have that, then the community garden or on their deck in pots. I would say 95% of the people I know grow stuff....

Wednesday, September 5, 2007, 3:40 PM

I live in Brooklyn and I grow stuff- corn, radishes, tomatoes. Only one crop though. Maybe i'll start my tomatoes inside late next winter and then plant another crop right in the ground. That way i'll get tomatoes all summer long.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007, 3:46 PM

I rent, and therefore can't really dig up the property but last year I did try to grow tomatoes, habanero's, and a whole bunch of herbs in pots. my tomato plants got blight and I tried to correct it w/ some natural remedies but apparently i was too late. i only got 5 tomatoes that were edible. :( japanese beetles killed my habaneros and many of my herb plants. the only things that survived were rosemary and thyme. i decided to not try it out this year. i would LOVE to grow all my own fruits and veggies!! Someday when I own property, I would like to start a full garden, but i think i need some more knowledge about gardening first!!!

there is nothing like homegrown veggies!!! mmmmmm!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007, 9:14 PM

We grow tomatoes (bucket loads of them), zucchini squash, carrots and peas. I wish we could do more but my garden isn't that big and I like to plant flowers too.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007, 9:40 PM

I have good intentions to grow veggies but at heart I'm just not a gardener. Luckily I live in a small town where all the retired people have huge gardens. People here give away produce like candy at a parade. And my mother in law is always giving me veggies too, she has a huge garden. But yeah, I laughed at the whole "second crop" thing, I live in Canada too!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007, 11:25 PM

Growing own food? Really?

I'm really surprised how many of you grow your own food, it's great to hear.

I rent an apartment and therefore don't have a garden - any tips for how I could grow some of my own?

Thanks :)

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 4:47 AM

Just harvested my first little tomato yesterday and it was yummy. Have 4 plants in pots and I have several green. Will be interesting to see how many I get in the end. Started a little late and I am doing the patio thing but it is fun and definitely worth doing because there is noithing better than a just picked vine ripened tomato.

Have a great big basil plant. You can grow herbs on your window sill and that is definitely worth it....fresh tastes fabulous.

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 8:35 AM

That's so cool! I want to grow my own food but I can't even keep a plant alive. How much time does to take to tend to a garden? Once a day? Once a week?

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 10:50 AM

We have about 1/2 acre of veggies and I can and freeze all summer long. My pantry and freezer are full. It's a lot of hard work but much tastier than store bought.

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 11:05 AM

I have a garden and can and freeze all summer long too. I love it and the hard work is definately worth it. The amount of flavor not to mention the satisfaction of eating your own produce is wonderful. This year I have even started selling some of my stuff to a chef in the area and participating in a local farmers market.
For the city dwellers, take time to look up your local growers markets. There is one or more in almost any city. That is also a great place to get ideas and info on how to grow your favorite veggies in your neck of the woods.
I live in New Mexico and our climate is completely different than places where it rains. Here one of our biggest concerns is how we are going to keep our crop watered and how can we conserve what water we have.
Hope you all give it a try. Even if you have to container garden there is something very theraputic about digging in the dirt and watching something grow.

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 12:23 PM

We planted a bunch of plants in planters on our balcony this year - tomatoes and peppers mostly, and spices - but due to storms/winds in Chicago, every time we have some blooms, they all end up falling off, so we haven't had any luck! Any suggestions? Can you grow veggies inside? Don't know if I will, as the dog may eat the plants, but it'd be worth a shot perhaps.

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 2:50 PM

Yes you could grow them inside with a growing light, people grow weed in their bathtubs w/ a grow light all the time, don't see why you could do it with a veggie. We grow our own in a raised garden as well as pots on the patio, lol , veggies people, not pot lol. I love to garden and it burns calories as well. This year it got a bit hot and burned up most of the plants and one of my tomato pots flew down in a storm and my puppy killed it :( I guess she thought the plant was going to get her or somthing. I did get a lot put up in the freezer and canned some okra before we lost it to the heat.

Thursday, September 6, 2007, 3:45 PM

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