Fresh year, fresh life.

It’s all about enjoying yourself and those you love, and connecting to your surroundings and your health.

With the advent of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics it’s become totally impossible to know what you are eating and the effects it may have in the long term. An innovative alternative which is both beautiful and cathartic is growing your own vegetables. It is vital to know where your food comes from, so whether that means going to a local farmers’ market, turning over a bit of soil or planting a pot of something both for the experience of watching something go from a seed to a piece of food.

LA guru Lauri Kranz had this to say “I think most people who have grown lettuce from seed won’t throw it away or let a head of lettuce wilt in the refrigerator, there is value in that, and of course for the environment.”

The greater picture is that if we are all growing some of our own food, we’re really off-setting a lot of damage to the environment from commercial farming, pesticides, fertilizers, and natural fuel sources being spent on shipping food from one part of the world to another.

Lauri gives novice gardeners this advise “For a first-time gardener, If you’ve got a pot or a garden bed, or even a windowsill, use it…”

If you have a couple of pots, say you have three good sized pots, I would grow broccoli in one, kale in another and with the third you can put a little trellis and grow some peas or just make an herb pot so you have your favorite, whether it’s parsley or basil or thyme—whatever it is that you like to have on hand to cook with.