I never considered myself to have a “green thumb”. I have always been an animal lover and have always dreamed of having many animals. Well I managed to have 2 dogs and a cat as best friends. I cannot imagine life without companion animals. Growing up my grandparents had a big garden an my parents always had a backyard little garden growing tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and green beans. I helped in the garden as a child and certainly benefitted from the fresh backyard vegetables. The fruit I had for the most part came from the backyard apple tree and the berries we picked wild in the summer. Nuts were also collected from the local walnut and hazelnut trees. Fast forward to my grown up years I began to fancy the produce available year round in the grocery store. Living in Florida there was fresh fruit and vegetables in abundance. I never bothered to notice that they were shipped in from around the world and grown under who knows what conditions.
As my plant based journey continues, I have heard discussion of the benefits of locally grown. GMOs and pesticides versus organic. I have also started eating a lot of produce. As my cooking has expanded, I have planted some herbs on the lanai. We have always had a few tomato plants. I decided to try my hand at peppers and now I am taking on greens. I have planted swiss chard, kale and arugula. We are making planter boxes. I have started to think of my yard as more of a garden opportunity than a manicured grass lot. Today, I have started to venture into fruit trees. I planted a papaya tree and a pomegranate tree. I also planted blue berry bushes. Somehow, I feel like I am giving back to the earth rather than taking away from the environment. I cannot wait to see how my garden grows.