One of the first steps to eating local can be as simple as growing produce in your own backyard.  I am our home gardener and I have a love-hate relationship with our garden.  Fortunately I learn from my mistakes and the garden slowly improves every year!

This year I was ambitious and eager and decided to start my garden from seed.  I had recently seen a news story on Seed Savers Exchange and was eager to try some of their varieties.  Seed Savers is a unique non-profit organization dedicated to preserving genetic diversity in crops and making heirloom varieties of vegetables available to the public.  Heirloom varieties are simply vintage varieties of garden plants that we grow today.  For more information on heirloom plants check out this article from the National Agricultural Library.  I ordered numerous vegetables and herbs and zealously planted them in our spare bedroom, eager to taste the fruits of my labor.

Spring in Iowa came incredibly early this year and my planning for transplanting outdoors around the 1st of May (generally the average latest frost date) resulted in my plants being incredibly behind.  Every time I went to a nursery or garden store I saw plants much further along than my tiny seedlings and was disheartened at my efforts.  Some of my feeble seedlings did not make it and were replaced with supermarket varieties but the plants that did survive have produced amazing results!
Take, for instance, the Martino’s Roma tomatoes I planted.  In the past, I have only planted one or two tomato plants and if I was lucky enough to prevent them from succumbing to blossom end rot, I still would only harvest 1-2 tomatoes a week.  What is one to do with 1-2 tomatoes?  My favorite dishes are sauces and salsas that require a bumper crop to be successful.  Well, this year I have turned that around!  Traditional Romas tend to be oval-shaped, while this variety is more of a pear shape.  I planted about 8 plants and have been lucky enough to harvest 5-6 tomatoes a day, plenty to keep me rolling in sauces and salsas all season!

My heirloom Roma harvest from over the weekend!

My failures this year were butternut squash and zucchini – I had a nasty run-in with squash borer beetles that I couldn’t beat.  I am still waiting on my heirloom jalapenos, onions, and leeks but am looking forward to savoring them as well.  I can’t wait to order next year’s seeds from Seed Savers!

Backyard gardening is an easy way to have produce readily available at a minimal cost.  If you choose, you can grow organically.  I did not this year – I applied calcium to prevent the blossom end rot and applied Miracle Gro when I noticed signs of nitrogen deficiency.  I applied an organic pesticide (Safer Brand Killing Soap) to try to combat the squash bugs but I was unsuccessful.  What summer gardening tips do you have?  What are your favorite vegetables or fruits to grow?