Why I am drawn to gardening, farmer's markets

Talking plants is probably immensely boring to most people but it's my hobby-turned-small business venture this year. As I dove in to the world of Farmer's Markets midway through last year, I knew little of what to expect. After just a handful of outings, though, I had a pretty good handle on things and decided that 2013 would be the year to jump in to Farmer's Markets full steam ahead.

It began last year as a product of necessity. Sure, we had way too many apples, tomatoes, squash and peppers but the financial aspect of it was what really worked. So with very little investment we set forth to can stuff. Lots of stuff. Apple sauce one night. A huge batch of salsa another night. Our first time canning jam another evening. We had the jars already making the only investment the lids.

To our surprise this stuff sold. We sold plenty of jam. We sold all of the salsa. We sold most of the peppers. We sold plenty of apples. We sold a bunch of tomatoes too. All of the squash disappeared as well.

As the seed catalogs appeared around Christmas, I set forth to make up a better plan where I wold be able to start at the Farmer's Markets earlier in the year. I threw down a few bucks to get an indoor mini greenhouse. Last weekend, after having my seeds growing for 2-3 weeks already, I invested in a daylight spectrum light (grow light) and wired it into my mini greenhouse for additional light for the little seedlings.

Already, the tomatoes and peppers are growing well. Broccoli and cauliflower are growing fast as well. Once outdoor temperatures warm, I'll be able to get the squash, green beans and assorted collection of seeds planted. I even ordered sweet potato plants because I could.

I don't see this as turning into a full-time venture but it gets me closer to my roots. I like getting my hands dirty and meeting the people who will eat what I have grown. It's hard work but I'd be lost without working hard.