Vegetable Gardening, the Camping of the Yard

Quite a title eh? What does it mean. Well it's pretty simple: as humans we do two things that we have long ago evolved out of, living outside and growing our own food. That's not to say that I don't enjoy these two activities. I do, but that doesn't take away the fact that they revert us to our evolutionary ancestors. Long ago Man emerged from the caves and began to live in a more sophisticated fashion. Caves served us well for a long time as they are wonderful shelters, well, besides the large carnivorous animals that also reside in the dark recesses. We've now replaced these caves with tents, which actually offer very little protection from the elements, or with large unwieldly campers. Of the two I prefer campers as it won't require me to defecate in the woods or walk a mile to a communal shower, a shower that is the breeding ground for who knows what. Does that make me less of a real man? Probably, but I'm okay with that. But the main subject of this post is vegetable gardening. Why do we do it? Most people, myself included, live within a couple miles of a grocery store. And with the advances in supply chain technology we could be eating fruits and vegetables that are fairly fresh. So why take all the time and effort, not to mention money, to grow our own plants that may or may not survive? Growing own fruits and vegetables requires a not insignificant commitment. We must water, fertilize, weed, hoe, rake, spray, pick etc. And that's if the bugs don't decide to chow down on our delicate plants. Or maybe we overwater the plants and they develop some type of weird fungus. We could possibly underwater the plants and have them shrivel and wilt. Of course, in a humorous bit of natural irony, the symptoms for over and underwatering are exactly the same. Talk about a cruel joke that Mother Earth performs on us. So we've established that gardening is full of trial and error, especially for a beginner. I have had little to no success in recent years, my one consolation is my 50 pound pumpkin that I was reluctant to toss away even after it had outlived it's usefulness (and it was completely rotted). So why do we do it? One theory posited is that it gets us in touch with nature and is a hobby that is done purely for joy. If by joy you mean cursing the beetles that destroy your crops, then yes, gardening is full of joy. Maybe it gets the human race prepared if there is ever some sort of disastrous event that disrupts the food supply. If that's the case then we're all screwed. Perhaps we do it to enjoy the fruits (no pun intended) of our labors. It evokes a sense of accomplishment as we have tended to our tiny plant until it bore fruit. It's really difficult to find the answer to this conundrum. A bit like why we put jigsaw puzzles together when we can just purchase an image to hang up on our wall. Solely for the enjoyment factor. Men enjoy completing projects and gardening is a long term project. It makes us feel like we can be self sufficient. Plus, it gets us out of the house, away from screaming children and a possibly screaming wife. Men also love to compare their gardens from afar. Much like we compare everything else. Being able to say that my pumpkin is larger than yours, or my tomatoes are more juicy than yours, is a great feeling. So we can conclude that their are various motivations involved in gardening. Which begs the question: why don't we do the same thing with meat? There's not a lot of backyard warriors raising cattle. Unless I have just predicted the next big thing! Probably not as most people cannot bring themselves to harm an animal and will become attached to their livestock. Chickens have definitely become a new backyard fad as they are fairly easy to care for and there is nothing like fresh eggs. As for me, I just enjoy the sense of accomplishment that gardening allows me to have and it is fun to watch the little plants grow. I wish that I lived in a climate that was conducive to gardening year round but alas, for half the year my yard is under snow. So get out there while you can and return to your primal state. Pull some weeds, hoe some dirt and enjoy the thrill of gardening.