6 ms·

Glad to see they are having some success. What surprised me the most about growing my own fruits and vegetables in my back yard is that many of the cultivars fo

Glad to see they are having some success. What surprised me the most about growing my own fruits and vegetables in my back yard is that many of the cultivars for standard things like tomatoes, strawberries, etc. are bred to survive transport at the expense of flavor. Basically things like rock hard tomatoes when they are picked that become soft (but not very much more flavorful) after traveling to the produce market. When you grow your own, you can grow berries that are "too delicate" to grow economically on big farms because too many berries don't survive transit. As a result it opens up different berries (and other produce) that you might not otherwise have access too. That said, getting seeds can be a challenge, I'm super blessed to live within driving distance of an excellent Ag college (UC Davis) but reaching out to the heirloom seeds community is another strategy some have pursued.

Alex3917 4y ago
The USDA designates germplasm repositories for every edible crop, where you should be able to get seeds or scion wood for free.
andrelaszlo 4y ago
The amazing flavors you get from some varieties! No wonder people think they don't like vegetables... The ones we have in Swedish stores are high quality, organic, but taste pretty terrible to be honest. One thing about growing your own veggies is you realize how much work it takes to get a single tomato, carrot or potato.
- thelittleone 4y ago
  By "the ones" do you mean tomatoes in Swedish stores?
  - andrelaszlo 4y ago
    Vegetables in general, but especially tomatoes, yeah! They're crunchy, sour, and taste like generic "vegetable".
    - gostsamo 4y ago
      Most people can't even imagine the amazing sweetness of a tomato freshly brought from the garden while it is still full of sunlight. One can have an entire meal with two tomatoes, a pinch of salt and half a loaf of bread.
- brador 4y ago
  How do you deal with insects eating your grows?
  - mjepronk 4y ago
    Netting mostly. Only downside is that these do not last forever and are made of plastics (PE, PEHD, PA, ...).
  - rhesa 4y ago
    The three easiest ways: 1. provide ample habitat for predators of said insects 2. grow a surplus so there's enough for you and the bugs 3. use the partly-eaten produce in sauces, jams, stews and other meals where presentation doesn't matter
tkojames 4y ago
UC Davis grad and still live in the area. I believe almost all strawberries grown commercial come from UC Davis. Was the whole big issue with this strawberry commission thing that a few professors ran and tired to take the IP when they left. Was interesting. I love being able to grow really delicious tomatoes with almost no effort. Always look forward to tomatoes season. I cure my own homemade bacon and make sourdough bread. Best BLT sandwich even use lettuce I grow sometimes. UC Davis has some great online resources for gardening. I have even thought about starting a beehive but I am not sure I want to go through the effort.
- iancmceachern 4y ago
  It's amazing what a big impact Davis has had on our modern food. Wine too.
Tenoke 4y ago
I'm normally a 'fan' of mass produced stuff or at least the benefits of economies of scale, see home growing as an awful (to me) hobby and yet have to admit that homegrown vegetables taste much better to me even though my prior was that it should be the opposite. Not optimizing for looks, transit and spending more resources per unit of produce are the main factors I suspect for the difference but I'm curious if there are others.
- beambot 4y ago
  I'd be curious if home gardening is actually more resource intensive -- especially if your time & labor is considered free (whether donated or a sunk cost).
  - bell-cot 4y ago
    There is a huge range of output/resource ratios for home gardens...even for home gardeners who say they're trying to achieve a high ratio. (Vs. love puttering with a garden, or want small quantities of perfect-in-their-eyes baby vegetables for salads, or ...). Note that for many modern folks, "regularly gets you outside and exercising a bit and perhaps interacting with neighbors" is a valuable output. And you should also consider the vast processing, handling, & transportation wastes (including your or a delivery driver's time at the wheel) of the alternative.
  - chiefalchemist 4y ago
    As a gardener, it's difficult to put a price on: - Peace of mind - Sense of accomplishment - Food independece - Giving the gift of veggies If you don't (veg) garden, this is the most inspiring piece of content I've seen on the subject. I'm generally not a TED fan, but this one is seriously inspiring. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w
  - brainbag 4y ago
    For both time and money spent, I have eaten very expensive okra and tomatoes from my meager garden.
  - 4y ago
Jedd 4y ago
Berries are the obvious example, as they're fragile & fiddly, typically need to be picked when ripe (plenty of other fruit will ripen after being picked), and have a short shelf life -- but there's other surprising items that home gardeners discover. Sweet corn, for example, starts converting sugars to starch soon after it's picked. Many people don't really understand why it's called sweet corn, as they've only ever eaten corn that was picked a few days ago. Asparagus I believe is very similar, with significant flavour changes happening rapidly after harvest. We've enjoyed dozens of varieties of cherries straight off the trees all with wonderfully distinct flavours, but a day or two after picking, they're all merely 'cherry-flavoured'. William Alexander wrote, somewhat humorously, about the dollar & effort costs of growing produce at home [1] but in addition to unique / superior flavours, advocates will often assert the intangible benefits (a new problem domain to engage the brain, a tighter connection with your food, the near-meditative aspects of some repetitive gardening activities). Oh, and for seed acquisition, in AU we've got a few really good options - Green Harvest, Diggers, Edens etc - that maintain many of the heirloom varieties that found there way here, but I thought stateside you'd have way more options? Check the Seed Savers Network[2] if you haven't found them already. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_$64_Tomato https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_$64_Tomato [2] https://seedsavers.net/ https://seedsavers.net/
- sokoloff 4y ago
  I grew up near some small farms in MD and we’d turn our nose up at yesterday’s Silver Queen (corn). It really does change over the course of just a few days.
  - c5karl 4y ago
    For this reason my grandfather wouldn't pick the corn from his backyard garden until my grandmother had the water boiling.
- nanomonkey 4y ago
  One of the best methods for getting seeds for good tasting fruits (that breed true) is to just purchase the fruit of something you like and plant the seeds inside. I do this with tomatoes all the time, just go to the market, pick up the a few pounds of heirlooms and squish out the seeds before I eat them at home. I get so many tomato starts this way, that I generally have to transplant or kill off a few. With other plants, it's also easy and advisable just to let some go to seed instead of harvesting them. You'll have plenty for the next round.
zokier 4y ago
> What surprised me the most about growing my own fruits and vegetables in my back yard is that many of the cultivars for standard things like tomatoes, strawberries, etc. are bred to survive transport at the expense of flavor. I might be in a bubble, but I would have thought this to have been common knowledge for ages? I got gut feeling that it is even bit outdated info at this point, and the trend is swinging back towards improving flavor instead of so solely focused on yields and transportability (etc).
- yardie 4y ago
  It’s seasonal. In North America it’s very easy to get locally grown fruits during spring and summer. But once the fruit season is over you have to import those fruits from Mexico and South America. And they will require being transportable and we’re back to flavorless. Now I’ve seen the vegetable farms in Europe that are equipped with plastic greenhouses to extend the growing season. Which is lacking in the US. Farmers prefer GMO, hardier fruit that can stand the cold rather than expensive bubbles.
smugma 4y ago
I live close (enough) to Davis. How can I get magic seeds from them that will give me flavorable fruit?
- nanomonkey 4y ago
  Purchase fruit from the farmer's market and collect the seeds before eating them. For fruit that breed true (not apples!) you should get something similar enough.

Alex3917 4y ago

The USDA designates germplasm repositories for every edible crop, where you should be able to get seeds or scion wood for free.

andrelaszlo 4y ago

The amazing flavors you get from some varieties! No wonder people think they don't like vegetables... The ones we have in Swedish stores are high quality, organic, but taste pretty terrible to be honest. One thing about growing your own veggies is you realize how much work it takes to get a single tomato, carrot or potato.

thelittleone 4y ago
By "the ones" do you mean tomatoes in Swedish stores?
- andrelaszlo 4y ago
  Vegetables in general, but especially tomatoes, yeah! They're crunchy, sour, and taste like generic "vegetable".
  - gostsamo 4y ago
    Most people can't even imagine the amazing sweetness of a tomato freshly brought from the garden while it is still full of sunlight. One can have an entire meal with two tomatoes, a pinch of salt and half a loaf of bread.
brador 4y ago
How do you deal with insects eating your grows?
- mjepronk 4y ago
  Netting mostly. Only downside is that these do not last forever and are made of plastics (PE, PEHD, PA, ...).
- rhesa 4y ago
  The three easiest ways: 1. provide ample habitat for predators of said insects 2. grow a surplus so there's enough for you and the bugs 3. use the partly-eaten produce in sauces, jams, stews and other meals where presentation doesn't matter

tkojames 4y ago

UC Davis grad and still live in the area. I believe almost all strawberries grown commercial come from UC Davis. Was the whole big issue with this strawberry commission thing that a few professors ran and tired to take the IP when they left. Was interesting. I love being able to grow really delicious tomatoes with almost no effort. Always look forward to tomatoes season. I cure my own homemade bacon and make sourdough bread. Best BLT sandwich even use lettuce I grow sometimes. UC Davis has some great online resources for gardening. I have even thought about starting a beehive but I am not sure I want to go through the effort.

iancmceachern 4y ago
It's amazing what a big impact Davis has had on our modern food. Wine too.

Tenoke 4y ago

I'm normally a 'fan' of mass produced stuff or at least the benefits of economies of scale, see home growing as an awful (to me) hobby and yet have to admit that homegrown vegetables taste much better to me even though my prior was that it should be the opposite. Not optimizing for looks, transit and spending more resources per unit of produce are the main factors I suspect for the difference but I'm curious if there are others.

beambot 4y ago
I'd be curious if home gardening is actually more resource intensive -- especially if your time & labor is considered free (whether donated or a sunk cost).
- bell-cot 4y ago
  There is a huge range of output/resource ratios for home gardens...even for home gardeners who say they're trying to achieve a high ratio. (Vs. love puttering with a garden, or want small quantities of perfect-in-their-eyes baby vegetables for salads, or ...). Note that for many modern folks, "regularly gets you outside and exercising a bit and perhaps interacting with neighbors" is a valuable output. And you should also consider the vast processing, handling, & transportation wastes (including your or a delivery driver's time at the wheel) of the alternative.
- chiefalchemist 4y ago
  As a gardener, it's difficult to put a price on: - Peace of mind - Sense of accomplishment - Food independece - Giving the gift of veggies If you don't (veg) garden, this is the most inspiring piece of content I've seen on the subject. I'm generally not a TED fan, but this one is seriously inspiring. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w
- brainbag 4y ago
  For both time and money spent, I have eaten very expensive okra and tomatoes from my meager garden.
- 4y ago

Jedd 4y ago

Berries are the obvious example, as they're fragile & fiddly, typically need to be picked when ripe (plenty of other fruit will ripen after being picked), and have a short shelf life -- but there's other surprising items that home gardeners discover. Sweet corn, for example, starts converting sugars to starch soon after it's picked. Many people don't really understand why it's called sweet corn, as they've only ever eaten corn that was picked a few days ago. Asparagus I believe is very similar, with significant flavour changes happening rapidly after harvest. We've enjoyed dozens of varieties of cherries straight off the trees all with wonderfully distinct flavours, but a day or two after picking, they're all merely 'cherry-flavoured'. William Alexander wrote, somewhat humorously, about the dollar & effort costs of growing produce at home [1] but in addition to unique / superior flavours, advocates will often assert the intangible benefits (a new problem domain to engage the brain, a tighter connection with your food, the near-meditative aspects of some repetitive gardening activities). Oh, and for seed acquisition, in AU we've got a few really good options - Green Harvest, Diggers, Edens etc - that maintain many of the heirloom varieties that found there way here, but I thought stateside you'd have way more options? Check the Seed Savers Network[2] if you haven't found them already. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_$64_Tomato https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_$64_Tomato [2] https://seedsavers.net/ https://seedsavers.net/

sokoloff 4y ago
I grew up near some small farms in MD and we’d turn our nose up at yesterday’s Silver Queen (corn). It really does change over the course of just a few days.
- c5karl 4y ago
  For this reason my grandfather wouldn't pick the corn from his backyard garden until my grandmother had the water boiling.
nanomonkey 4y ago
One of the best methods for getting seeds for good tasting fruits (that breed true) is to just purchase the fruit of something you like and plant the seeds inside. I do this with tomatoes all the time, just go to the market, pick up the a few pounds of heirlooms and squish out the seeds before I eat them at home. I get so many tomato starts this way, that I generally have to transplant or kill off a few. With other plants, it's also easy and advisable just to let some go to seed instead of harvesting them. You'll have plenty for the next round.

zokier 4y ago

> What surprised me the most about growing my own fruits and vegetables in my back yard is that many of the cultivars for standard things like tomatoes, strawberries, etc. are bred to survive transport at the expense of flavor. I might be in a bubble, but I would have thought this to have been common knowledge for ages? I got gut feeling that it is even bit outdated info at this point, and the trend is swinging back towards improving flavor instead of so solely focused on yields and transportability (etc).

yardie 4y ago
It’s seasonal. In North America it’s very easy to get locally grown fruits during spring and summer. But once the fruit season is over you have to import those fruits from Mexico and South America. And they will require being transportable and we’re back to flavorless. Now I’ve seen the vegetable farms in Europe that are equipped with plastic greenhouses to extend the growing season. Which is lacking in the US. Farmers prefer GMO, hardier fruit that can stand the cold rather than expensive bubbles.

smugma 4y ago

I live close (enough) to Davis. How can I get magic seeds from them that will give me flavorable fruit?

nanomonkey 4y ago
Purchase fruit from the farmer's market and collect the seeds before eating them. For fruit that breed true (not apples!) you should get something similar enough.