A better way of life

Written by Joe Pisani
Thursday, 13 August 2009 00:00

In the foothills of Beacon Falls, where the Naugatuck River winds through the valley and you’re far enough from urban turmoil to enjoy life, my friend Umberto led me through the world he created — a Garden of Eden with flowers on a terraced hillside, low-hanging fruit and fresh vegetables soaking up the sun.

There were beanstalks climbing garden walls, trees laden with figs and grapevines creeping up trellises, along with potatoes, squash, lettuce, collard greens and tomato plants, bordered by a row of tall poplars.

It reminded me of my father, whose love of gardening compelled him to seize every patch of sunny soil in our yard to grow vegetables and herbs. In fact, our Shelton home was surrounded by sunflowers that reached seven feet into the sky and looked like a fantasy world out of Dr. Seuss.

My father was proud of what he grew, and he always had more than enough tomatoes and zucchini to share with friends and enemies alike.

An estimated 25% of all U.S. households grow some produce to put on the dinner table, and their numbers are increasing. There’s a lot to be said for having a home garden, particularly at a time when more Americans are turning to a green lifestyle.

Barbara Kingsolver, author of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, the best-selling account of her family’s adventure living for a year on what they grew, said, “If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week.”

This savings would result largely from energy costs associated with transporting, packaging, warehousing, refrigerating and fertilizing the food that you eat, which is typically grown thousands of miles away.

An additional benefit is that you get more nutrients and flavor out of what you grow than what you buy at the supermarket.

Some 60 years ago, families commonly grew vegetables, and most towns had a network of gentleman farmers who sold their produce locally. When my wife was growing up in Orange, it was still a farming community, but over the years, many of those family homesteads were transformed into developments where McMansions sit on small lots.

Just as troubling, one of the oldest working farms in America on Route 34 sold much of its acreage for what will be a retirement development.

In the past 10 years, an average of 300 farms have shut down each week. Even though they’re part of a dwindling population, a few farmers still survive in the suburbs and have joined forces to organize farmers’ markets in cities and towns throughout southern Connecticut.

Unfortunately, many of us have neither the time nor the inclination to grow our own fruits and vegetables, largely because we crave fast food and junk food and all the other foods that have led to an epidemic of obesity. But it’s time to leave behind the processed and the packaged and start living the better way.

Joe Pisani has been a writer and editor for 30 years. Questions or comments, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .