A New Leaf... Vegetable Gardening

When late spring hits, my husband is transformed into a farming machine. Even though we are in a suburban area, over a third of our backyard, which isn't large by most people, get prepped for gardening of the vegetable varieties. This year, his summer obsession also has been transformed as we're almost exclusively planting non-GMO (non-genetically modified food) plants, which he started from seed -- I threw some random seeds from store-bought cantaloupe, squash, and peppers into a pot to see if any of them would grow, and a few of them decided to sprout up!

But since we'd grow vegetables, we decided to grow ones which hadn't been genetically modified for the good of our family. I don't want my daughter to become a science experiment on reactions to alterations of natural foods. For more ideas of avoiding non-GMO foods, visit Healthy Child, Healthy World.

It was our first year starting plants from seed, so that in itself was an experience. Most seeds sprouted, but since the seeds had not be altered in any shape or form, some became sick and never made it to be planted outside. But most are now thriving outside, and we're anticipating full-flavored, organic tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, okra, and even corn -- I think we're the only ones in the city growing corn in our backyard!