I like carrots, spinach, and lettuce, and I like all three even more when they come from the garden me wife has in the backyard. She enjoys spending time in the garden after work and if that yields a few salads a year, that's great. I don't think we could survive on it, and I don't think her time spent weeding is "worth" the vegetables that come into our house, but I don't complain. Growing your own vegetables should be fun, don't get too caught up with "worth" and "value." If it becomes burdensome, give it up.

Yes, planting vegetables and growing your own food can be very time-consuming and tedious, but I think, overall, it is very rewarding. We also need to be conscious of educating our children and sending them positive messages about why it is beneficial for the environment to grow your own garden. I think it is great that Michelle Obama has taken the lead by growing a vegetable garden at the White House and involving local children in the process.

I've been growing my own organic produce for the past 9 years. It has taken a considerable amount of time and work, but the benefits are worth it. My family's health is very important to me, and I have become very wary of the pesticides that may be lurking in the produce section of our supermarkets.

Even in containers on the balcony or in a south facing window you are doing good for your family by growing yourself what you can. All the food in the grocery store is either dead or poisoned. All of it. The industry that has been built around the processing and distribution of food has been largely ungoverned by public concern practically since its inception. What the government will allow and what is good for us is two very different things. Gardening is relaxing, it helps keep you mindful of the larger picture and it can be fun. It doesn't have to be tedious back breaking work any more. There are dozens of tools and techniques to make it easier. I have bad knees so I can't work at ground level because I can't kneel. So I cant garden at all, right? Wrong! I container garden! Those "topsy tervey" potters are a riot! I have a lady friend in a high rise who has her entire balcony covered in tomato and strawberry plants. She loves it, she gets to sit outside on her balcony in her civvies if she wants to and no one can see her through the green curtain!