Backyard market

Having 16 veggie beds is like having a market in our own backyard. We used to do our grocery shopping once a week from Wholefoods on Lygon Street in Brunswick. Now we only go once every three weeks for things we haven’t grown in our backyard, and dry goods like tea, coffee, grains & pulses, soy milk, cooking oils, wine and bread.

We do save a bit of money from not having to buy fresh produce, mainly greens and eggs but the best thing about growing your own is freshness. I only take what I need for what I am about to make for a meal.

Growing our own food takes eating to another level. It is another new experience. When we switched to eating mainly organic (about 98%) four years ago, we rediscovered the real taste of food. Some people say there is not difference in taste between organically and non-organically grown produce. These people are grossly mistaken. There is a huge difference in taste. Organically grown food is so flavorsome. There is an intensity of flavour and texture that just explodes with every bite. And you don’t get that from conventionally grown food.

But with food grown in my own backyard, the freshness is beyond compare with anything else I have even eaten. To bite into a cherry tomato fresh on the vine full of sweetness is like eating a soft-centred lolly, or a freshly picked apple from the tree with all its crunchiness unwaxed.

Then there is the joy of preparing a meal with fresh produce from my own backyard. It is like having a market a few steps away from the backdoor – my own personal backyard market, a living market grown with heritage variety of produce I like to eat, the type not available at Coles or Woolies, or even most organic shops for that matter.

Dinner from our backyard

Amaranth and silverbeet quiche made from amaranth, silverbeet and eggs from the backyard.

Related articles

• Buy Organic. Eat Better. Eat Healthier. Spend LESS? (thewhitedish.wordpress.com)