I finished reading “The Botany of Desire” and now I never want to eat any non-organic produce again.
On Saturday I got a bag of salad greens and some red and orange carrots from a stall at the farmer’s market. The greens are incredibly good, tasty, and sturdy. YUM. The carrots taste like actual carrots.
Also the dude who sold them to me was cute. BUT THAT IS BESIDE THE POINT, as I am a married lady.
I also purchased two *perfect* peaches. Maybe not perfect-looking, but they were perfect-tasting.
Anyway, given that commercial produce is apparently bathed in poison all season long, I think going organic may be well worth it.
Not to mention that one store that starts with S (yeah safeway) puts so much wax on their fruit you might as well eat the fake stuff that Grandmothers use to decorate their house.
I know! Well, it’s bred to be transported over long distances, not to be actually eaten.
Cokie and I had this discussion that we kinda sorta secretly prefer grocery store produce sometimes because it lasts longer. I feel like farmer’s market stuff rots if you look at it funny on the way home.
Well, that really doesn’t make sense, since farmer’s market produce was probably harvested the day before you bought it, and grocery store produce, especially out of season, was probably picked many days or even weeks ago, and then flown or shipped to its destination, hence it being covered in preservatives, and most likely, harvested well before it was ripe.
Here is an article about how to store produce: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2008066884_produce230.html
All fresh produce should really be consumed within 48-72 hours after you buy it anyway, unless it is especially hardy, like broccoli or something.
also did I mention my grocery store is a block away?
We joined a CSA, it isn’t organic but it is local and I definitely taste the difference.
My mom and dad have started growing their own produce and have actually done a lot of research. Like how much a particular plant can be expected to produce in a season and what grows best in our climate. they’re keeping it small and starting slow. A little trial and error involved of coarse. My mom is not exactly looking forward to canning and such but she figures it will be worth it. I did remind her that we are not talking about cannining on the scale of what they did when I was a kid. (days and days and days of it.) Anyway that is what I would like to do as well and my 14yr old is really pushing for us to start first thing next spring.
I should post pics of my tomato plants. I think they should be ready to eat in a couple weeks.