Back in May I was worried about my cabbages. It was already warming up beyond ambient cabbage temperatures and they hadn’t formed heads yet.
I feared they never would.
But they did.
Mainly this one:
A beautiful 2 1/2 pound purple cabbage.
A humble cabbage, just like the piles of cabbages in the produce department. What does it cost, an organic purple cabbage? More and more these days, but for all the coddling and watering and fertilizing and daydreaming and photographing this thing has been the object of . . . I don’t know, it’s more to me than the going rate for cabbage in the store. But it’s still only a cabbage. Thousands more people may have seen this particular cabbage than the average cabbage, but it’s going to be turned into slaw all the same.
When you’ve grown it yourself, though, you think about it a lot more.
Emerson said, What is life but the angle of vision? A man is measured by the angle at which he looks at objects. What is life but what a man is thinking of all day?
By this reckoning right now my life is about 2% cabbage.
Gardening changes the angle from which we look at things. For the better? What do you think?
Awesome cabbage! Congratulations! I know you are going to love that cabbage when you eat it. I love that we know what is in the food we eat when we grow our own.
Definitely for the better! Gardening reminds me that life is fragile – don’t take it for granted. Also, that the world is full of miracles. After decades of gardening I am still in awe that I can eat delicious vegetables that, months before, were just a tiny seed.
Very nicely put 🙂 Every time I eat a veggie, use an herb or pick a bouquet of flowers from my garden it brings me joy. I love every aspect of gardening, from planting the tiny seed to picking weeds. I squealed with happiness last night as I sliced this season’s first fully ripe Heirloom tomato. My husband looks at me like I’m crazy, but I say it’s these small things that make life worth living 🙂
This is totally true. When I make anything I know that it’s a collection of its parts, it’s common in a lot of ways, and I don’t care. Making something yourself, growing food yourself, doing a project yourself is a kind of food for the soul. (At least when it isn’t frustrating you, I won’t lie! There is often a percentage of cursing involved, too)
My dude-in-law has an amazing garden with raised beds and drip irrigation, and I’ve come to respect the work it takes to grow organic, and to appreciate the amazing taste of fresh vegetables. People have forgotten how good something right out of the earth can taste.
Seeing a tiny seed mature into one or many fruits or vegetables never ceases to amaze me. Growing food is hard work, but it’s enjoyable, and there’s just something about being in the dirt that heals my soul. That soil, sun, and water can make a cabbage (or turn a single zucchini seed into an entire harvest) is a true miracle. Thanks for reminding me of this!