Why did you start a garden (for food, a hobby, aesthetic appeal, etc.)? My Mom & Dad always had a garden when I was growing up. One of my grandfather's gardened too.

How old are you?Old Enough...Enough Said!

Where do you live and what type of environment do you live in(urban, suburban, rural, etc.)? I'm in a suburban to rural area. My nearest neighbor is about 300 feet from my house. Two side of my house are surrounded by farmers fields and an abandoned apple orchard. The nearest shop is a1 1/2 miles away. It just opened a year ago. Before that the nearest shop was 6 miles away.

How long have you been growing fruits, veggies, herbs or flowers? It's been 7 or 8 years now.

What is your favorite thing about gardening? I still get a rush picking that first bean, first squash, first tomato, first winter squash!

Why did you start a garden (for food, a hobby, aesthetic appeal, etc.)?
I basically started for a hobby. Our property had been very neglected and I wished to spruce it up as well as kill some time lol.

How old are you? I am 32

Where do you live and what type of environment do you live in(urban, suburban, rural, etc.)?
I live in a rural area in the Sierra foothills, Ca. but I am in a subdivision with 1/4 to 1/2 acre plots. HOT HOT Dry summers and coldish winters, we are right below snow line.

How long have you been growing fruits, veggies, herbs or flowers?
I have been gardening about 6 or 7 years

What is your favorite thing about gardening?
I love growing from seed, seeing something come from nothing. I also love to grow roses and fruits/veggies.

Why did you start a garden (for food, a hobby, aesthetic appeal, etc.)?
I started primarily for food to store for winter, but I (very) quickly expanded to include flowers.

How old are you?
29 years.

Where do you live and what type of environment do you live in(urban, suburban, rural, etc.)?
I live in a very, very rural area, by most people's definitions. I live 9 miles from the nearest town, which has around 5000 people. There is a neighbor across the road, but the road dead-ends beside our driveway, and the next nearest neighbors are 1/4 mile away. After them, there's no one for a mile or two, etc. The winters here are extremely cold, the summers are probably somewhat hot (I just moved here), it's usually pretty dry, and it's windy every day.

How long have you been growing fruits, veggies, herbs or flowers?
2 months, counting the time from when I started seeds indoors (I have to take what I can get, you know?)

What is your favorite thing about gardening? That's a tough one. So far, I think it was watching my seedlings sprout on a windowsill.

Why did you start a garden (for food, a hobby, aesthetic appeal, etc.)?

I think itÂs genetic  IÂm from a long line of organic gardeners. Also, I love to cook, so even if I donÂt even have access to outdoor space, I still try to at least have some herbs growing in pots.

How old are you?

Early 40Âs

Where do you live and what type of environment do you live in(urban, suburban, rural, etc.)?

I live in Los Angeles, CA right in the downtown area, so about as urban as it gets! However this time I am lucky enough to have a tiny front yard that I have turned into an edible jungle complete with a few flowers, and even a little froggy pond. I also put three half wine barrels in the back parking area that I have stuffed with corn and melons for this summer.

How long have you been growing fruits, veggies, herbs or flowers?

IÂve had three small balcony container gardens over the years with progressive levels of complexity and success, but I now have my first ever "real" garden planted in the ground, so for that effort, itÂs been since February of this year.

What is your favorite thing about gardening?

HmmmÂ.where to begin? With all the fakeness I am inundated with as a musician in L.A., the garden is something real. Also, with all the externally imposed deadlines, crises, hassles, and hustling about that my ridiculously overextended life is run by, it is calming and grounding to sit with my husband and the cats on the balcony sipping a glass of wine and looking forward to which veggies will be done next. Amidst my jadedness, gardening has an endless learning curve that keeps me from developing early-onset dementia. Also amidst the jadedness, I enjoy the challenge of putting the "intensive" back in "bio-intensive" and seeing how many plants I can stuff into ridiculously small spaces and then watching them grow up, singing the Little Shop of Horrors song ("Grow For Me") to the ones that are struggling, and then being ecstatic when they pull through.

Hi Jac. I'm always glad to share my story with others, so here goes.

I started my own garden because I've never been without one. My parents had a huge kitchen garden in the middle of a truck farm (ask me if you don't know what that is) and I've been digging in the dirt ever since I was old enough to be put down on the ground. I followed my Dad while he plowed and taught me how to drop bean and pea seeds at just the right spacing, learned early how to hoe a row without killing too many crops, and shelled and shucked with Mom all summer. It was the very best life a child could have. I wouldn't know how to exist without a veggie patch. It's what keeps me sane.

How old? Well, lets just say my oldest granddaughter has her driver's license and let it go at that! LOL

I'm in a suburban area but have 3 acres surrounded by woods. It's the best of both worlds, privacy with the convenience of being close to everything, too.

As you can tell from my answer to your first question, I've been growing edible stuff all my life.

My favorite thing about gardening is the smell of lima (butter) beans growing in the hot sun. It brings back so many memories of childhood and the delicious foods Mom served. That along with the taste of a tomato still warm from the garden are all the reasons I need to keep gardening as long as I'm able.

Good luck with your gardening. I looked at your blog and you've gotten off to a good start. I hope you find it as rewarding as I always have.

Sandy

Well, I think it's part genetic for me. My parents always had a garden and still do. I do it because I feel that being as self-suficcient is very important. I have great childhood memories helping or watching my mom harvest the veggies and'play' in the dirt. My own daughter helps me and she has fun. I know where my food comes from. I know it's healthy in a world where most things are not healthy.

Cool thread :-)
Why did you start a garden (for food, a hobby, aesthetic appeal, etc.)? To have better quality ingredients!!
How old are you? 24
Where do you live and what type of environment do you live in(urban, suburban, rural, etc.)? Studio apt in a rowhouse in the city
How long have you been growing fruits, veggies, herbs or flowers? Since last summer. I only grow edible things.
What is your favorite thing about gardening? It makes me feel calm and gives me a sense of accomplishment.

I agree - neat thread.

Why did you start a garden (for food, a hobby, aesthetic appeal, etc.)? First for food. Then for hobby.

How old are you? Second half of the the third decade.

Where do you live and what type of environment do you live in(urban, suburban, rural, etc.)? Suburban. Very small lot, HOA, the whole bit.

How long have you been growing fruits, veggies, herbs or flowers? As long as I can remember. Which translates to over 30 years.

What is your favorite thing about gardening? This is hard to put into words and even harder to choose only one thing. Gardening has meant alot of things to me over time. I like the self sufficiency, it makes me feel more confident and secure. I like the satisfaction of watching your work become fruitful (sometimes quite literally). These days my favorite thing is that while I'm working in the garden I can lose the stress that follows me home after work. I can focus only on digging up sod, pulling weeds, watering etc. And that is such a welcome break for my mind which tends to dwell on stressful situations or at best fills its time with the making of endless to do lists.

~Cindy

This is a neat idea!

Why garden? Well because for me not growing anything is like not having air- I need to grow and create in order to live- its compulsive.

I am 23 years old and live in the country in the midwest

I've been growing things since I was a little kid with gramma's encouragement, but started growing seriously when I got married and we moved to our own home on 70 acres.

I love knowing where my food comes from and the sense of accomplishment that growing something where there was nothing brings me. I love the physical side of it too- getting dirty and the inevitable farmer's tan. Finally I love being able to say I made that dish and I grew the vegetables that went into it.

> Why did you start a garden (for food, a hobby, aesthetic appeal, etc.)?

To me, it's like making love to the place that I live and adore. I want to taste what this dirt can grow, and eat the sunshine and rain.

> How old are you?

41

> Where do you live and what type of environment do you live in(urban, suburban, rural, etc.)?

Semi-rural. Just under 2 acres, abutting conservation land, but in a historic district.

> How long have you been growing fruits, veggies, herbs or flowers?

8 years

> What is your favorite thing about gardening?

The taste of fresh food, and knowing that it is of this place.

Why did you start a garden (for food, a hobby, aesthetic appeal, etc.)? Because I see a patch of dirt and I just have to put a plant in it. My main interest in gardening is food though.

How old are you? Late thirties.

Where do you live and what type of environment do you live in(urban, suburban, rural, etc.)? Suburb, about 15 mintues by bus to the city centre. My entire section is about 300 square metres, that's including the house and large decks. But I have a 100 sq metre patch that is perfect for gardening out the back.

How long have you been growing fruits, veggies, herbs or flowers? Thirty years (ish) for flowers and vegetables, but with varying levels of intensity as I haven't always had the space (sometimes I just had a couple of dozen pots). About 10 years, on and off, with soft fruit. Fairly new to tree fruit.

What is your favorite thing about gardening? Getting home from work and walking around the garden deciding what to have for dinner (instead of looking in the cupboard or fridge). Having enough to give away. Wandering around the garden snacking on peas and raspberries etc. Daffodils - they are like a smile on a stalk. Eating the same thing day after day until I'm sick of it then really craving it 6 months later and then when it is finally in season again it's just lovely. The way you look forward to summer rain when you are a gardener, even though most city dwellers just want the weather fine all the time.

Most things really.