Free Food or Not?

Last night I received an email from a disgruntle person in Maine, USA. I had posted an ad title "Free Food" to attract traffic to this blog. The person went out of their way and childishly emailed me this message:

"It ain't FREE FOOD if you have to grow it. There is a lot of work that goes into farming.

Do not attempt to grow a brain."

 

 

According to Webster Dictionary one definition of free is "not costing or charging anything". So lets figure out if my gardening is free according to this universal definition. Whether or not I am growing a garden I have to eat just like everyone does. Many of the foods I come across have seeds in them as I am sure most people eat something with seeds at one point or another. If not, healthy eating is obviously not a concern. If there is something I want to grow, I will save the seeds from that item whenever I eat it.

I use strictly rainwater to water my garden. I do not know about anyone else but I don't pay for it to rain. Maybe my bill has just gotten lost all these years. So, anyway, my water is free. The ground I use is part of the property I pay for to have a place to live. The dirt is free by definition since I am not paying for dirt.

My fertilizer is made from compost, water, and other naturally growing items. Therefore, all my plant food is free also. So that is everything needed, other than labor, to grow food. So far, I would say it is free. I do all the labor and don't charge myself for it, so labor is free too. Wow, I am at a whopping cost of $0.00 so far. Oh, wait that's all there is so I guess the food I will get from the garden is FREE! Sorry to disappoint you "Michael" but my food harvested from my garden is indeed absolutely free.

As far as the work, yes it is a lot of work to be a farmer, but I am a gardener which is much less labor intensive. I am not saying it won't take any work to grow a garden, but whether you grow it or buy it you have to work for it. Unless someone is just giving you money for nothing, which makes you a mooch anyway and you aren't going to care whether it takes work or not.

A little bit of work, which is also free, in the garden pays for itself ten-fold or more even if you have to pay for seeds or a little water. Check out my page "Why Garden?" for an example of how much money you can save and other benefits of gardening.

I hope this guy realized what he said is foolish and my garden is proof. As for the growing a brain comment, I have a college degree so apparently I grew that just fine too. Don't be foolish like this guy and go out and start growing your FREE food!

If you need idea, help, or want to argue more about whether it is free food or not, feel free to comment below or shoot me an email through my profile. Good luck and happy gardening!

Remember, Mother Earth smiles when you garden!