Yep, seems like anything in a grocery store these days is trash. Strawberries the size of apples that taste like nothing are my favorite example. It's horrible. What has this world come to?

Try some carrots if you've got space.

I rarely grow any due to lack of said space -- with store carrots so cheap I have to raise the stuff I can't afford to buy -- but the taste is amazing.

Fresh collards from your own garden are sweet and tender since you can pick them young. They outclass the frozen ones by miles.

YES! I just posted as much to my blog if you care to look.
It's gratifying and yet makes you huble as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Corner Yard

This is my first year growing shell peas, as well. Last night, I made some wide rice noodles, threw about 1.5 cups of freshly shelled peas in the water with the noodles just enough to blanch them, then drained the whole thing, threw it in a wok and scrambled in egg, radish, scallions and sesame seeds with a little sesame oil and soy sauce. Heavenly!

I am now anxiously waiting for more pods to fill so I can try another dish with these lovely little veggies.

Try some carrots if you've got space

If you've got room for an 18" flower box, you can grow carrots. For the past three years, I have grown them in a flower box 18" long and 10" deep. They come out fantastic. Granted, they arent as big as store bought, but you're not looking for size. The smaller, the sweeter :-)

{{gwi:73652}}

My peas will be ready in about a week and I can't wait . There is no comparison, a lot of mine get eaten right off the vine, just pick a pod and eat them like candy.

Lantanascape,

That recipe sounds delicious... might have to try it myself when my next batch is ready! Hmm, with a little chicken, it could be an entire dinner...

Gardener1908,

I agree... that's my biggest problem, too many of the peas get eaten before they ever make it inside... I'm having a hard time coming up with enough to use in a recipe! I AM glad though that my 3yo daughter has decided she loves veggies now... as long as they're straight from the garden.

I have carrots in my garden too, actually. Last year, none germinated. I think my watering schedule is too lazy. So this year, I presprouted the seeds inside on a coffee filter, then planted out after they sent out roots. Much more success this way!

:) My husband had his first homegrown peas last year (and frankly they were the first I had had in about a decade) and they knocked his socks off! He used to be tolerant of my "little hobby", but after a couple of years he has come to realize that he actually LIKES vegetables... as long as they come from our garden!

I think everything from a personal garden tastes better than store bought, and often even better than from a farmer's market. One that surprised me was kale. I mean, it's ok from the store, but out of my garden after a little frost? Sweet and tender and not a thing like that stuff in baggies! But I also love carrots(love the flowerbox idea!), potatoes, tomatoes, beans, broccoli, onions, garlic, cabbage, corn, strawberries, okra, lettuce, sweet potatoes, squash... :) And the other thing about fresh picked veggies is their tenderness. Easy to eat raw and faster to cook! Mmmmm....

Hooray for gardens!

Sunni

My 7 and 8 year old grandkids were over a few days ago. Neither of their parents like beets or turnips, but when I pulled a few small samples of each the kids asked what they were. I told them and then peeled one of each for both of them. They like the turnips OK, but they LOVED the beets. They ate the roots right to the stems I had left on, and when I told them the green tops could be cooked like spinach, which both of them like, they tried them....a bit to green tasting raw for their taste. However, I now have someone to eat the beets and turnips only my wife and I used to like!

Chuck

Oh my yes, there is a taste difference in veggies from your own garden and there are several reasons for it. For one thing, the varieties used in home gardens are often not the same ones used in mass agriculture. Factory farms use veggies bred for easy harvesting, and and they are often picked before peak ripeness, and then they can be treated with gasses or chemicals to retard or bring on ripening, prevent sprouting or like someone once said, embalm them. LOL.

I notice the difference in homegrown carrots. They are so rich, they're almost sinful. Without saying, tomatoes! And the humble potato, dug fresh from your garden actually has a real taste.

Of all the things I grow, peas (I grow sugar snaps) stand alone, as the biggest bang for the buck. And figs. And apricots. And...