3 ms·

I also want to encourage people to just try with something basic. Get a planter box, and grow some Tomatoes! It's almost a wonderful luxury. What you eat and ta

I also want to encourage people to just try with something basic. Get a planter box, and grow some Tomatoes! It's almost a wonderful luxury. What you eat and taste from the grocery store is a pale, awful facsimile of what real fruits and vegetables are.

hopler 8y ago
This snobbery is one of HNs chronic illnesses. The stuff you grow at home isn't any more real. https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/7-fruit-and-veggies-that-used-look-whole-lot-different-than-they-do-today https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stor...
- chr1 8y ago
  Maybe real isn't a good word, but because you can grow varieties that are more optimized for taste instead of transporting, and you can pick up the fruit when it is ripe, instead of picking early to optimize for storage, locally grown tomatoes are on average better than greenhouse tomatoes.
  - rgrieselhuber 8y ago
    I think real is a good word. The taste is night and day. Also, if you grow with heirloom seeds vs. GMO, you can harvest seeds for the next season.
    - chr1 8y ago
      while "real" is somewhat debatable, "GMO" in this context is certainly not a good word, all organisms are genetically modified, and all cultivated plants are modified by humans, the difference is that most of them were modified by waiting for random errors, and some were modified in a more controlled manner. It is counterproductive to group under one word things as different as seedless tomato, roundup resistant tomato, spicy tomato and millions of other possible varieties that can be created with crispr (often starting from the wild version of the plant).
      - rgrieselhuber 8y ago
        Fair enough. The things that are most important for local food and self-sufficiency are open (vs. proprietary / locked) and seed-bearing (vs. barren / sterile), IMO.
        chr1 8y ago
        I agree, but in many cases sterility is a very nice feature. For grapes and banana people managed to breed seedless varieties long time ago, and for other things like peppers or watermelon many would be prepared to pay extra.

hopler 8y ago

This snobbery is one of HNs chronic illnesses. The stuff you grow at home isn't any more real. https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/7-fruit-and-veggies-that-used-look-whole-lot-different-than-they-do-today https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stor...

chr1 8y ago
Maybe real isn't a good word, but because you can grow varieties that are more optimized for taste instead of transporting, and you can pick up the fruit when it is ripe, instead of picking early to optimize for storage, locally grown tomatoes are on average better than greenhouse tomatoes.
- rgrieselhuber 8y ago
  I think real is a good word. The taste is night and day. Also, if you grow with heirloom seeds vs. GMO, you can harvest seeds for the next season.
  - chr1 8y ago
    while "real" is somewhat debatable, "GMO" in this context is certainly not a good word, all organisms are genetically modified, and all cultivated plants are modified by humans, the difference is that most of them were modified by waiting for random errors, and some were modified in a more controlled manner. It is counterproductive to group under one word things as different as seedless tomato, roundup resistant tomato, spicy tomato and millions of other possible varieties that can be created with crispr (often starting from the wild version of the plant).
    - rgrieselhuber 8y ago
      Fair enough. The things that are most important for local food and self-sufficiency are open (vs. proprietary / locked) and seed-bearing (vs. barren / sterile), IMO.
      - chr1 8y ago
        I agree, but in many cases sterility is a very nice feature. For grapes and banana people managed to breed seedless varieties long time ago, and for other things like peppers or watermelon many would be prepared to pay extra.