Grow Your Own Food

In recent years I have become increasingly concerned about what's in the food I feed my children. Everywhere I turn, I am reading or hearing news of preservatives, pesticides, and various other unknown food additives. Additionally, how many times have we heard in the news of food recalls due to salmonella or e. coli contamination? Many! It's very frightening.

I have tried purchasing more organic or kosher foods, but they are expensive. I do think it's worth it, but sometimes it seems I just can't afford those more costly choices. So what's the solution?

Grow your own, of course.

One of the most important foods to grow at home I think is leafy greens. I remember numerous recalls on spinach due to salmonella contamination. Lettuce is difficult to grow here in Georgia, but we can grow other salad greens. At various times of the year, we're growing cabbage, collards, kale, mustard, turnip greens, spinach, and swiss chard.

Berries are a special concern since they absorb whatever is sprayed on or around them. I worry that pesticides won't completely wash off. And I do remember more than one recall on strawberries due to contamination. Strawberries are difficult to grow at home, although it is worth the trouble. Blueberries are easy to grow and have few if any pests. Really the only difficult thing about growing blueberries is keeping the birds from eating them before you do. For more information on growing blueberries, read Blueberry Growing Tips for a Georgia Garden.

Many vegetables can be grown in a small garden. Just a few squash plants can yield more squash than our family of four can eat. This year, we have a freezer, so extra food will not go to waste. A favorite of my children is the sugar snap pea. Pods can be picked right off the plant and eaten whole, making them a great snack for small children. Sugar peas, as my babies call them, can be planted in March here in Georgia. Look for the seeds at home improvement stores or even your local dollar store.

I did read that it's unnecessary to pay more for organic citrus, since citrus requires no preservatives. That's good news, since we don't live in South Florida.