Home » Remember the Old Fashion Kitchen Gardens? ©

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We did not have a garden when I was a kid because I lived in a tenement in Brooklyn. However, every summer we went to stay with relatives either in Staten Island or New Jersey and that was real country in those days.

My relatives had kitchen gardens and they grew everything including herbs. We were coming out of the Great Depression, money was scarce, and there were no shopping centers near by. Usually only one person in our family had a car so food was grown close to home.

I remember all my uncles went to work each day and all my aunts were stay at home moms and each day they would go out into the garden and pick the food that they would cook for our meals. Most of my country cousins helped with the gardening and weeding and some of my aunts had chickens to provide eggs or a roast chicken for the big family Sunday meal.

Eventually progress came, moms had to go into the work field, summer trips ceased, we grew up and kitchen gardens were forgotten.

Now we are looking at food in our supermarkets that often times have been grown with pesticides especially now that produce comes from many countries all over the world with many of these countries having no regulations about pesticides. The cost of food is getting higher as gas prices are escalating and we are seeing a reemerging of the old fashion kitchen garden.

The name Kitchen Garden evolved simply because the lady of the house planted a small plot near her home and usually near the back door that lead into her kitchen.

If you do not have a small spot near the back door of your kitchen you can create one with window pots or containers. Plant something easy to start with. Salad greens, radishes, tomatoes. Of course we must not forget herbs such as parsley, basil and thyme which will grow easily in pots on your window sills or the back patio or porch.

I remember the aunts, who did not have automatic dishwashers, opening the back door and throwing out their dish rinse water into their kitchen gardens which today is a good idea, especially now that we are seeing global warming and eventually water shortages or perhaps summer water bans and even the soapy water might be a good deterrent to pesky bugs or insects on your plants. I am sure the aunts did not think about washing whatever bug away, they were just automatic recyclers in those days and they recycled the water by throwing it into their gardens.

It's time to remember the old fashioned kitchen gardens and to bring them back in some sort of fashion that is convenient to your life style.

"Tread the Earth Lightly" and in the meantime… May your day be filled with…

Peace, Light and Love,

 

Author's note: This article was originally written for GreenThumbArticles.com