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Post by daylilydude on Oct 22, 2017 11:12:29 GMT -5
When you grow a garden every year do you think of it as a hobby and just have fun with it or do you grow it for necessity and are very serious about everything that pertains to it?
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Oct 22, 2017 12:45:10 GMT -5
Hobbyist here. (With a small suburban backyard, self-sufficient food production isn't feasible.) So I grow what I think will be tasty and interesting, generally in small quantities that I use fresh. I do a bit of freezing, dehydrating, and canning, but not much.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 22, 2017 13:00:14 GMT -5
I wouldn't consider it "necessary", but I am very serious about it, as I am with my long time obsession with cooking, and they go hand in hand. Some things I simply have to grow, as they can't be found, while others, like tomatoes and fresh cut herbs, are never as good if they can be found.
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Post by paulf on Oct 22, 2017 14:00:15 GMT -5
Hobby...we use what we want and give the rest away.
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Post by meandtk on Oct 22, 2017 14:17:20 GMT -5
I'm striving toward putting much aside to feed my family, and I hope to sell a bit here and there, too.
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Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2017 15:55:12 GMT -5
More a tasty hobby though I like to get a return for my expenses and labor. I also get enjoyment from growing different things that I might not have available locally, too.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Oct 22, 2017 17:24:24 GMT -5
How about a serious hobby? I feel like every year I learn more about what grows well here, how to grow it, and how to preserve it so that in a time of necessity, I could totally do it.
During the growing months, I am able to lighten the grocery budget by eating the garden first, so that is a lovely perk to this hobby. In addition, I put up all kinds of salsas, sauces and frozen gems for eating all winter long.
That's kind of how I'm raising my children. They will know HOW to have a successful garden. Whether they have the desire or ability as they leave the nest, who knows, but if they are ever in a situation or time where it is a necessity, they will have some basic know how that, sadly, a lot of their peers may not have a clue about.
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Post by paquebot on Oct 22, 2017 21:10:18 GMT -5
I'm pleased to be the odd man out here. There has never been a hobby garden in this family. The original farm had probably 7 or 8 thousand square feet and not counting the potatoes. Gardening and filling a pantry went hand-in-hand. I bought this home in 1963 and started stripping sod 3 days after moving in. That was in July! By 1966, renting garden space outside the city. Since then, have gardened in 7 different locations in addition to the 1,500 square feet at home. The past 2 years have had 7,200 square feet. What would you call 8,700 square feet? If a hobby, rather intense. If a business, not making a dime profit. But, had 4 gallons of V-8 juice to can today. It's neither a hobby nor a business but a life style.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by spike on Oct 22, 2017 22:14:50 GMT -5
In a way my gardens fit in the "hobby" area as it something I totally enjoy. But they are honestly more of a necessity. No we would mot starve if I didn't have a garden but to me it is a necessity.
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Post by september on Oct 22, 2017 23:33:42 GMT -5
Technically I guess it's a hobby, since we could afford to purchase all our food. But to me it is a psychological and physical necessity, because I can't imagine how else I would fill up all the hours I spend in the garden. It's my main form of exercise, I lose at least 10 lbs every summer (and gain it back as a couch potato in the winter) and gardening is great mental therapy for using creativity and problem solving, both for the garden itself, as well as providing productive thinking time to mull through solutions to family situations.
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Post by coppice on Oct 23, 2017 4:00:02 GMT -5
Hobby, with a touch of going some charity work. I can probably stand some good karma.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Oct 23, 2017 11:23:29 GMT -5
Technically I guess it's a hobby, since we could afford to purchase all our food. But to me it is a psychological and physical necessity, because I can't imagine how else I would fill up all the hours I spend in the garden. It's my main form of exercise, I lose at least 10 lbs every summer (and gain it back as a couch potato in the winter) and gardening is great mental therapy for using creativity and problem solving, both for the garden itself, as well as providing productive thinking time to mull through solutions to family situations. I love this so much! It IS great mental therapy, isn't it. There's nothing like spending time in my garden to soothe my soul and quiet all the noise going on around me. It's like an oasis sometimes.
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Post by paulf on Oct 23, 2017 11:59:48 GMT -5
While gardening in general IS a hobby, it also serves so many other functions. Besides the spiritual and psychological it is a physical outlet that keeps me in as much a condition as I want to be in. As the physical part is winding down, with records keeping and planning about to take over, the mental begins.
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 26, 2017 9:07:34 GMT -5
I garden organically and I can't buy organic produce as good or as fresh as anything that I grow. I also love being able to walk outside and pick something for dinner. It is so much more satisfying that going to the refrigerator.
Every time I hear about some e.Coli or listeria outbreak I think "I am so glad that I grow our own veggies"
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Post by ladymarmalade on Oct 26, 2017 10:57:41 GMT -5
Every time I hear about some e.Coli or listeria outbreak I think "I am so glad that I grow our own veggies" Yes! Just this week there was another big recall on vegetables, and when I saw that, my very first thought was that these are veggies still in season- people should be buying them at the farmer's markets or loose and fresh at the grocery store. Not packaged up in a plastic bag who knows when.
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