I'm not a fan of vegetables. I didn't grow up eating many of them and certainly not fresh from anyone's garden. Flash-frozen and bagged were the variety I was used to and I viewed it as an obligation to eat them. I did not pay attention to the 'season' of how things grew nor did I care to do so. Vegetables were relegated to a small portion of my plate, as they should be!
Naturally, gardening is not a hobby I would have chosen for my own enjoyment or pleasure. It is not easy; I find it straining on the mind, taxing on my out-of-shape winter body and utterly exhausting after a day of planting. The aftermath of that debacle leaves me with zero collective energy to see it through the largest effort of the season of watering, weeding and hoeing the damned thing.
Yet, I find myself yoked to someone that comes by this whole thing quite naturally. It is something to witness the fervour, determination and exuberance for such things as dirt, seeds and digging. What is she expecting to happen in the soil, anyway? She does know we can simply get these things from the frozen section of the grocery store, right?
Thanks to Darcie's passion, albeit a curious endeavour to start, I've been able to ease myself into a better appreciation for 'green things', understand where my food comes from and participate in the yearly tradition of gardening. What once seemed so 'unnatural' to me at first has now awakened something within me. What lay dormant in me for so long is now a measured anticipation for each variety of produce we have the fortune to enjoy. I am now part of the holistic tradition of sowing, growing and harvest of our produce for the summer; Out of the soil emerges life itself.
Our hope is that each of our customers can catch a bit of the same spark of enthusiasm for new things this summer. Delight in the anticipation, the new, the unexpected delights and the satisfaction of a season spent fully in nature that I myself grow to love more with each year. I look back and wonder sometimes at how I could have gone without this appreciation in my life for so long. I bond with my wife and children over what goes on in the garden. It has become a part of who I am and I remain grateful that this nature has rooted itself into my heart.
I invite you, as someone who once was so apathetic towards vegetables of any sort and obligatory consumption, to awaken your inner veggie lover and savour the tastes of the season we have the privilege to witness, together.
