Today, I reluctantly discarded chopped, frozen mangold from 2021 – a reminder that learning about our food preferences and adapting our garden to suit is both a joy and a challenge.
The Mangold Chronicle
The journey of this particular mangold was long: from a mere seed to its harvest, from blanching to chopping, packing, and finally freezing. It even survived a freezer move. Yet, after all that effort, into the bin it went. Why? We found that the texture becomes fibrous, the color unappetizing, and the taste quite bland when mangold is frozen with its stems. Hence, our garden has seen a shift towards spinach, a crop we have grown to love more. However, the occasional mangold does sprout up, and I enjoy it fresh or whisked into an omelette.
The Contrasts of Gardening
Mangold, being easy to grow yet seldom eaten in our household, starkly contrasts with cabbage. I adore cabbage! Replacing regular salad leaves and iceberg lettuce, it’s my go-to. But growing it? A real test of patience. Each year, cabbage butterflies and their voracious larvae devour almost everything. Every year, I vow, “No more cabbage next year!” Yet, come spring, I plant them again, simply because of our love for its taste. Last winter, we finally had the joy of storing and consuming a few heads of cabbage, not wasting a single leaf.
Strategic Planting
In our early gardening years, I felt overwhelmed with the plethora of choices in seed catalogs. How were we to decide? The solution? Listing our most-cooked dishes and identifying cultivable ingredients. This gave us an idea of what’s truly worth planting. Some crops flourished; others challenged us. We’ve dropped some and increased others based on our culinary experiences.
Exploring New Crops
While it’s comforting to grow familiar foods, the vast expanse of gardening offers myriad possibilities. Every year, we experiment. It could be a variation of a familiar vegetable or something entirely new. By tuning into gardening podcasts and engaging in conversations with fellow gardeners, like my dear friend R, I often stumble upon new ideas. We even compare notes, sharing if we’re trying out any specific theme for the year.
Mindful Consumption through Home-Grown Produce
Knowing what we consume and how it’s grown is a journey. It’s about trials, errors, and delightful discoveries. It has a lot of benefits and can also transform our eating habits:
- Tailored Planting: By understanding family preferences and consumption habits, you can tailor your garden to grow what you’ll most likely consume, reducing potential waste.
- Optimized Storage: Having firsthand knowledge about the produce, you can employ optimal storage methods. For instance, tomatoes might be canned, while herbs can be dried.
- Creative Cooking: Growing a variety of crops encourages culinary creativity. With a diverse garden, you can experiment with different dishes, reducing the chances of repetitive meals and food fatigue.
- Natural Preservation: When you grow your own, you’re more inclined to learn natural preservation techniques like pickling, fermenting, or canning. These methods not only extend the shelf life but also retain the nutritional value of the produce.
- Cost Savings: By being aware of your consumption patterns, you can purchase and prepare foods you actually eat, reducing wastage and unnecessary expenses.
- Reduced Food Waste: When you know what you eat and how much, you tend to buy in quantities you can consume before spoilage, leading to reduced food waste.
- Mindful Eating: Recognizing your eating habits can promote a more mindful eating approach, helping you enjoy your food more.
- Empowerment through Knowledge and Independence: Familiarity with the entire food journey, from seed to plate, provides an unparalleled sense of empowerment. When you know how your food is grown, harvested, processed, and prepared, you possess a deeper connection to what you consume. This understanding allows for greater self-reliance, ensuring you and your family consume wholesome, ethically-produced food. By mastering the art of growing and preparing your own meals, you take charge of your family’s nutritional needs and instill values of sustainability and self-sufficiency. This knowledge not only impacts your health but also serves as an essential life skill that can be passed down through generations.
Happy Gardening!
Grounded gardens 