You Deserve to Grow and Eat Deeply Flavorful Food

[@chickadeecorner]

I was just talking to someone the other day about the poor quality of commercial veg. It’s selected for color, ability to travel long distances and be hard to bruise. Flavor and nutrition aren’t part of the equation. For anyone that goes to a regular grocery store, the next time you go into the produce section, notice how it doesn’t smell of anything. I had this realization recently, there’s no smell! Soooo different with home grown/small farm grown where you can smell everything if you’re anywhere near it.

[@barbarasimoes9463]

I'm getting excited for the growing season to begin. I pruned some of my trees today and noticed that the snow drops are up and their cut little white flower is thinking about opening. We actually had a pretty sunny day. The first in recent memory. We're supposed to have a stretch of sunny days and it's amazing what a mood booster it is. Tomorrow, I plan to go out and prune the blueberries. It feels like visiting old friends. I'm getting excited for fresh asparagus and all of the other goodies just steps from my door.

[@thifasmom]

I have found the same thing. For instance my eldest refuses to eat store bought lettuce, she says they taste of nothing. I personally do not like store bought carrots and prefer home grown because the store bought ones just taste sweet and not much of anything else, the multi coloured carrot varieties taste carrot-y and a lot less sweet, just how I like it. As for tomatoes, there is no comparison. I totally agree with you.

[@traryvery8851]

I agree with you. I think that there has been a tendency to develop sweeter fruit and veg (may well be what sells) and that other flavours are being lost along the way. Then if the sweetness isn’t there they taste of nothing much even if they look lovely.

[@MattieAMiller]

Even ignoring the varieties chosen between the two groups, commercially grown food will still have less flavor and nutrition, because commercial farms have completely depleted soils. Their land doesn't have the nutrients for the plants to pick up and turn into flavor anyway. Also, pest pressure increases the nutrient content in food, but commercial ag. is based on how much food you can produce, so they make sure there is as little pest pressure as possible.

[@heidiroycroft9465]

Did I see a jar of dilly beans? I’d love your recipe. I’m also interested in hearing more about how to fill in more of the hunger gap. I’m going to try growing purple sprouting broccoli this year for harvest next spring.

[@bridgetmason5893]

I got that same reading light for Christmas from my brother - I too use it mostly for knitting 😄 Tomatoes are a common example, but for me the real game changer when I signed up for a CSA was the cantaloupe. Super fresh and ripe cantaloupe is a totally different experience, almost like it's a different fruit entirely!

[@bradlafferty]

I agree with you about grocery store produce. Pretty flavorless and therefore uninviting. If I must, I choose frozen over canned as commercial are usually frozen immediately after harvest. I do buy from local farmers when in season, and of course grow my own for eating and preserving.

[@MyHumbleNest]

I am excited about a juicy, sliced tomato and some stuffed delicate squash! Good food is such a joy in life.

[@tgardenchicken1780]

Happy 40k. I am hoping more and more of us see the beauty in our 'funny' homegrown food. Those plants are beautiful to me, the food is gorgeous. I know the work I and mother nature invested into this food. I am with you, I enjoy my and farmer market food so much.

[@tassiesnakelady3746]

Hi Angela :) I live in Tasmania Australia, in a rural area. We have significant pressure from wildlife, very little rain, and very little/poor soil which has led to huge investment over the last few years in raised beds, wicking beds and enclosures. Last year we only had one snake, and this year we've had an explosive abundance of rats as well as our beloved nemesis, the Brush Tailed Possums. We've had no harvest for 3 years now. I'm ready to give up. I don't use rodenticides but the myriad of other methods have not worked and I've considered them. With the large amount of raptors, and snakes we want to protect them, not kill them through possible secondary ingestion. Thankyou for this video and a reason to keep trying ❤

[@traryvery8851]

It sounds like you have a good setup. At least we don’t also have critters that eat things from underground here in Oz! I really sympathise re the rats because they are so smart (have you seen the video of the rat springing a trap with a stick?) and I get that you don’t want to accidentally affect snakes and raptors (and poison is a painful way to go for the rats as well). Rat management is a potentially tricky topic, with opinions ranging from don’t harm them to hit them with everything you have got. Although tedious, persistence with trapping keeps the population down because younger inexperienced rats do get caught and it seems the fastest death. Perhaps with more time at your place the predator populations will increase so you might get some sort of equilibrium happening. Do you have the space to grow something to tempt them away from your food garden? Or is it water that is attracting them? Aren’t wicking beds great for a dry climate and so productive. Raised beds are good for fast growing but I find they can dry out quickly. It really does take time for soils to improve, including in raised beds and wicking beds (having mini worm farms in them helps). Don’t be disheartened, Angela has talked about the gradual processes in her garden and I am thrilled to to see the growing diversity of insect and bird life (though that can have its downside with an invasion of very pretty but very destructive lorikeets) on our little plot with no pesticides and an increasing diversity of plants. It is such a joy and worth the inevitable frustrations. What are the ratties mainly after? At our place they have a taste for apricots and figs 😂 At least when they target a fruit they usually tend to eat the whole thing unlike the birds that peck everything!

[@lgerha01]

This video made me check out local CSA's near me. I found one close by and in the winter includes eggs, breads, winter veggies, and a lot more for a reasonable price. Definitely going to look into signing up!

[@corinne6545]

I’ve just read ‘What your food ate’ by David B Montgomery and Anne Birkle, which talks about the flavour/ nutrition paradigm and the differences that both different seed varieties and how we treat our soil makes to both. Fascinating stuff.

[@oliverg6864]

Kale is amazing, so far it's survived under 2 ft of snow. Now the snow melted a bit and it still looks fine! Not growing but still alive. I haven't been picking it, but the other day I saw a bunny eating some. I don't mind sharing, especially when there's nothing else for them to eat!

[@Sunflowerdivinity]

I want to try those yellow carrots now 😊 theu seem really good and would love to grow them.

[@d.-beck7205]

There are also violet ones. I love to throw them into my food just for the fun of the vibrant colour, and they also taste good.

[@rtom675]

Angela- are you planning on doing another full garden/orchard tour (broken up) this year? I imagine they are a lot of work- but I absolutely loved exploring your garden a couple years ago!

[@alexkunnen]

This is my biggest year yet! Mostly intensive annuals. Lots of potatoes and a focus on greens and flowers! I was able to order ALL my seeds from within washington! And I thought that was pretty awesome! The pet chickens have started laying! Lots of interest and positive vibes from neighbors! I just love the animal presence and the poop! my cuddly compost squad. Gotta get some fruit trees for the chicken orchard! Luckily theres 2 nurseries each 5 mins away walk from my house. ABUNDANCE BABY!

[@growinginportland]

Hey Angela. I still have some frozen yellow patio tomatoes and frozen tomato sauce if you want it. I live in the Parkrose district as well. Feel free to reach out. All my best.

[@TheDennys21]

My family has been growing our own food since always, we have a big garden, chickens, pigs, we used to have a couple of cows too but not anymore. The difference between home grown and industrial trash is like night and day.

[@Pausereflectandbreathe]

Wow! This video changed the way I am going to garden. I spent a lot of money for my garden but I don’t always eat what I grow. It’s more on the fun of gardening and experimenting that I grow exotic seeds that I want to try growing. Last year I grew a squash that if I pick and cook it when young, the texture is like butter. I had a problem growing with squashes because of squash vine borer that overwinter in the soil. But I want to try growing the yummy squash so I can eat it again. I can’t remember the name but it’s the best tasting squash I had. I have to plant what I like to eat this year. Thank you for this video! I will try planting more carrots this year, maybe in different colors and see which one taste the best. God bless! ❤️🙏

[@oliverg6864]

Although to be fair, even though the stuff I grow tastes better, I still appreciate having fresh food from the grocery store. Like especially rn when all my fruit is either frozen or canned, it's nice to be able to buy some fresh fruit.

[@permiebird937]

Well said!

[@Rox_and_Fields]

Typically shop at winco for decent prices on produce. But the past year I have noticed that the garlic is already browned and rotting in the store. Thank goodness the Vancouver farmers market is open year round. It's more money, but well worth it, and more fun to shop for.

[@sofielys5452]

So true.

[@JustWestie]

I'm sure the knitting means you're bletting... 😎

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

Hahahaha!!!!

[@flowerpixel]

OT but your hair looks great!

[@julie-annepineau4022]

I have been slowly working to save more of my produce each year. The taste and cost of grocery store produce can be very off putting. Even worse is grocery store eggs after getting used to farm fresh. I can't stomach them at all anymore.

[@MrEunderwood]

Do you have any content about, or know of anyone in particular who's content you could refer me to, so that I could better understand how to store root crops in the ground? I live in the deep south/gulf coast region and in my particular location, a root cellar is not an option as far as I'm aware. Ps. Two weeks ago, I started turning my backyard orchard into a food forest and your videos have been so inspiring!

[@tgardenchicken1780]

Check with your local extension office or Master gardeners if you have any in your area. Love to hear the change in your backyard.

[@MrEunderwood]

@@tgardenchicken1780 why didn't I think of that?! LsuAg has a research facility in my town. They're a great resource for fruit type and specific cultivars but I never thought of asking about infrastructure.

[@tgardenchicken1780]

@@MrEunderwood If they can't help, they may be able to point you to others. best of luck

[@gryphonrampant1]

I'm betting those yellow carrots are Uzbek Goldens

[@kastenolsen9577]

A good book on how to colonize our solar system is Second Exodus Colony located at the Internet Archives. All politicians and adminestrators need to read this book.😊

[@justinarnold7725]

We call it cold composting in bed

[@thecoffelady]

Can you please provide a list of your favorite varieties?

[@kastenolsen9577]

Dehydrate things from your garden. Also meat.