As some of you know, I’m an urbanite. I don’t grow vegetables…I buy them at the store or the Farmer’s market! Condo living unfortunately doesn’t exactly lend itself to major agriculture. However this year I decided to get my inner farmer on by starting to grow tomatoes, chive, and basil on my small balcony. Well, the chive & basil came ready to eat, so it felt like I was cheating! However, the tomato plants started out small and scrawny. The one I got from “Farmer Bob”, as I like to call him, grew to be as tall as I am. I got all three plants months ago. But are they ready to eat yet? NO! This is not an easy process and one must be patient! So, I patiently click my heels, visualize green thumbs and water the growing creatures, expecting something to happen any day now that at least one of them is looking halfway edible.  Seriously, I now have such a newfound appreciation for farmers & am so thankful for organic farmers!

I learned something new, from reading Peter Singer‘s fantastic book, “The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter”, and that is that even though it may not say “Certified Organic” at the farmers market, that doesn’t mean that it is not. Getting certified for some farmers can be long and expensive process, so do ask. For example, last week I walked by one stand at the farmer’s market and the sign said, “No pesticides”. They had the cherries that I wanted, so I asked the lady, “Are they organic?” She assured me that they were and then we talked about exactly what Peter had written. This family comes from Mexico, but farms here in the United States. They can’t afford to go through that process, but they don’t use pesticides.

The next time you buy little heirloom tomatoes, put one in your mouth & savor it because trust me…it doesn’t come out of a machine ready made…and while you’re at it send a kind thought to the farmer, pickers & the people who got it to you!

Good night, sleep tight and may your dreams be full of sweet little tomatoes!