The headlines coming out of Europe about the new strain of E Coli are a little scary.  It use to be most people knew what it took to successfully grow something to eat.  Now we just expect risk free products from the grocery store.  There was a Headline this week making a big deal of Mark Zukerberg vowing to only eat meat that he has personally killed.  It wasn't long ago that that was the norm.  I personally, only eat figs that I have hunted with my bare hands.   

I have 20 heads of lettuce growing in my home garden right now, I'm glad I planted those a few weeks ago now. Tomatoes are growing strong too, maybe 300-400 from my 5 plants of Juliet Hybrid, Beefstake and Big Boy's.

I think it's a good thing to be more connected to the food we consume. Kids should know that milk does not just come from the grocery store. We can all be more informed about what we eat.

These days, there is risk with growing your own food as well.

For example, there is a closed down construction dump on the east side of my neighborhood right next to the Department of Defense.  on the north side, there is a closed acetylene plant and there are two gigantic mounds of what would seem to be phosphorous or some other byproduct which washes within 10-15 feet of the neighborhood community garden - the property is owned by a man known for swindling non-whites out of property, and it has a million dollar environmental lein against it.

With that said, many people have no clue how polluted the water table is in their area, or what may be leeching from nearby sites.  Many of the older people that lived in the same houses we live in have died of some form of cancer or another - many planted their own veggies in this soil that's been tainted up until the last decade or two.

It's not always safe to grow your own.  I feel like I'm smart about it, doing raised beds everywhere, and only eating (for the most part) things in raised beds with fill dirt that I know is clean because I know the source and history of it.

Urban areas can be tough sometimes!

We had our soil tested before we bought the property, and we are very careful about what we bring onto the property.  We use no animal fertilizers, only sea products (kelp meal; fish meal; etc.) that have also been tested for toxins.

Still, for almost everyone, you can be sure that what you grow yourself is going to be a lot cleaner and safer than what you get from the store.  Better the devil you know than the one you don't.

We have a 2,000 square foot deer fenced garden in which we grow vegetables year-round.  In summer its mostly tomatoes, potatoes, corn, beans, peppers and herbs; and fall and spring we cabbage, carrots, lettuce, beets, and other cooler weather crops.  With the fruit orchard (apples; pears; grapes; berries of all sorts; cherries; persimmons; jujube; plums; pawpaws), we grow at least 50% of what we eat.

We are thinking about getting some chickens, but just for eggs.

I've noticed that some of our neighbors are also starting gardens.

No matter what your circumstances, try to become a little more self-sufficient, even if it's just growing some sprouts inside, and a few figs and tomatoes outside in pots.  It is rewarding is so many ways from savings to health.

Best wishes to all.

John