In today’s uncertain economic times the cost of many of our basic needs have exceeded our ability to manage. I sense a trend of self sustainability when it comes to providing fresh fruits and especially vegetables for our families. Many of us are avid gardeners, compost maintainers, and nurturers of the earth, but there is room for a new emergence of rookie gardeners that we need to support, encourage, and allow to develop.

Not everyone has a plot of land for growing but patio gardens, indoor herb pots, deck planters, rooftops and neighborhood co-ops allow for the ability to grow a rich abundance of plants.

When I lived on the west coast I began a regimen of keeping an empty milk carton near my kitchen sink for perishable scraps like egg shells, coffee grounds and the like for rich compostable nutrients and when it filled or became aromatic is would make it’s way to the pile. Nowadays I also have a house rabbit who donates excellent fertilizer bi-weekly which adds to the formula for my successful garden ground. Feeding the soil is a task that can be ecologically as well as economically rewarding.

Gardens can flourish in every nook and cranny of the land because of the quality and taste available in growing ones own fruits and vegetables, but the economics of gardening are here to stay. It is safe to assume that for the home gardener, the labor factor is one of love, given freely in exchange for the flavor of fresh fruits and vegetables that have no rival in any other commercially-grown product. Through the use of mulches and irrigation, possible with a small plot of ground, even the weather can be controlled to an extent. Other factors of gardening can he controlled as well. The loss or non-production of one plant grown in soil of today's prices is an expense that no gardener can afford.