Living the Sweet Life: Radishes anyone? “Too much meat and cheese and you’ll get the disease!”
It’s Sunday afternoon and it’s raining. For shooting this is no good but for gardening it’s a blessing. The lessons learned from growing a garden are so many. Our children need to understand what foods are good and what foods are shams and it starts with fresh vegetables and fruits. For our family, all four sides (grandparents Evans, Murray, Batten and Horrell) were farmers in Virginia and North Carolina and we still own today, the same lands our ancestors worked.
Last year we planted some tomatoes and squash and several herbs. James Edward would go out almost daily and report back what had grown and if it was ready to eat. He saw slugs borrow holes into those tomatoes and watched squash not bloom because the bees never came to pollenate. Lessons about caring for and feeding were learned.
Recently Brian and I watched a program entitled “Knives over Forks” it’s on Netflix and I highly recommend you take a moment and watch it as well. Our interest started with a small clip of the program that was running at our doctor’s office. Basically it’s about cancer and obesity and the two doctors that are interviewed throughout are both from farming families. It is very important to understand the relationship between health and nutrition. I know you have heard this before but you gotta pay attention and actually act on it. Too much meat and cheese and you’re going to get the disease is now my mantra. And folks….ain’t nobody reading my column that loves a rare steak and a pile of au gratin potatoes more than me! It’s a sad day to leave it all behind but a necessary one to avoid cancer and in my family the big killer…heart disease.
Yes, several of my family members have been known to be standing there one minute and be dropping dead of attacks the next and I for one know that my risks of this being my exit ticket is pretty crystal clear. Knowing that I must consume a plant and whole foods diet and if I must, which right now I still think I do, consume very little meat and dairy isn’t pleasant, no not even enticing; however I have to in order to see old age.
This year we went a little crazy. There’s tomatoes, squash, lettuce, broccoli, okra, beets, carrots, cucumbers, strawberries, raspberries, onions, radishes, kale, jalapenos, bell peppers and then a full herb garden. It’s going to be a lot of work and a lot of lessons learned about how a garden grows. All worth it of course and what a lesson to teach a child! Plant a seed and care for it and in doing so it not only will feed you but others as well. I already see a lesson I can correlate to parenting for this fall when the harvest is done. That lesson will be for my other child, the 16 year old going on thirty that is always too busy to go dig her hands in the dirt with us!
Well, it’s back to the hoe…again sorry for my humor; but truly having a garden is something we all should do. By growing our own stuff we know it’s not been sprayed with chemical crap and we are more likely to go pick it and eat it if we have tended to it and loved it. I feel more loyal to my lettuce that I have made sure had no bugs and watched daily to eat than that plastic wrapped ball in the grocery. In a few short weeks, James Edward and I “should have a bunch!” as Granny would say; and if you are so inclined you might drop by. I’ll see if I can pick a few fresh veggies for Ya! They won’t be getting any fresher than right out of the garden and hmmmm it’s so good!
Take Care of YOU!
