Sunday, June 15, 2008

I Made It Myself

I like to say that I have become green through little baby steps.

As a preteen I shopped at Body Shop because they didn't test on animals.
Again in the preteen years I stopped eating red meat after reading The Jungle by Upton Sinclair.
In my teen years I discovered recycling and reusing bags.
In college I discovered vegetables and living simply.
After a horrible health scare with my then toddler daughter I discovered environmentally safe household cleaners.

And I soldier on....

This week I actually ate the first thing that I grew by myself!!! And it tasted good.


The the lettuce that I planted in a pot on the driveway has grown. The family ate three meals worth of delicious, organic, super-locally grown salads!

Little Guy has even gotten into the farmer act. He will periodically exclaim that he is hungry and run over to pick a lettuce leaf to eat. My sugar-loving guy is begging to eat lettuce because he has ownership in the growing of the lettuce. What's next? Overalls and a straw hat?

I even planted a few more lettuce seeds to replace what has been eaten. If you have a magnifying glass handy you can see them. Cross your fingers and hope that they grow bigger.

My other "crops" in the front flower garden are coming along well with the exception of two seedlings that have been munched by some meanie animal. The only problem with my other "crops" is that I forget which is which. I suppose that when they are fully grown I will eventually figure it out. Green beans and cucumbers should look different...

Little Guy has been asking to plant berry bushes. I really think that he is planning for the next snack time.

Pat, pat, pat on my back...for today.

3 comments:

Akkire said...

One step at a time is right - look at you raising the next generation of socially conscious, mindful people! Go Gruppie go.

Mama said...

Yay! Weren't you afraid to cut the lettuce the first time? It looks so pretty, I hated to ruin the beauty!

Gruppie Girl said...

Mama~ My neighbor actually came over and wanted to know the name of the "beautiful plants" that I have potted in the front. I giggled when I told her that those beautiful plants were none other than lettuce.

It is surprising how few of us (self included) can recognize our food in the ground and outside of the food store.

With my last two CSA shares I have been cutting the lettuce more infrequently. Can you use some? I had an entire extra head this weekend and none of my neighbors wanted it...could I have offended them by offering our extra produce?