So I grew this tomato

In a world where many of us are heavily invested in our businesses and might not always balance our work time with personal time, my recent gardening experience reminded how a simple task of growing some of my own food could bring about so many satisfying benefits.

Over the last year I've worked to move beyond a few potted herbs and vegetables into a full garden plot. In just a few short months, the effort has yielded delicious food, great memories and some new life lessons.

Productive Family Time - My backyard farming endeavors include participation from my daughter, giving us an activity to share together with no screens required. We enjoy each stage of the gardens maturity from seed to sprout to seedling all the way through a flowering and then ripening plant, with each day bringing forth something new to admire.

Building Community - We've been able to share the bounty of our efforts with family, friends and neighbors - tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, corn, and other goodness, giving us an opportunity to knock on a neighbors door, bringing smiles to their faces and allowing us to share the story of what we grew, while encouraging them to join us in starting their own garden.

Respect for our resources - The effort it takes to produce a bowl of food has been a reminder as to the amount of resources (soil, water, space) required to truly support all that we consume individually and as a family. Locally sourcing, in this case our backyard, has allowed us to reduce our household impact and have just in time food production.

Delicious food isn't always beautiful - Nature produces oddly formed food under normal conditions that doesn't inhibit the quality but might not win a beauty pageant. By also growing everything pesticide and fertilizer free, there is no question about what you are consuming and nothing tastes better than seasonal food that fully ripens on the plant.

I don't just harvest veggies - In addition to the garden plot in the back, we have solar on our roof. Often out of sight it can be out of mind but our system is working day in and day out to harvest highly productive sun rays to fuel our homes energy needs and shares excess energy with the grid for my neighbors to consume during the day. Since we also have a home battery, I can tap into solar energy at other points during the day or when the grid is down. Locally sourced electricity goes hand in hand with with locally sourced veggies.

There is a larger opportunity here - What if every one of us grew just one food that we enjoyed and could share it with those around us? Every person across the country and around the world with one food producing plant (at least!) in their yard, on their deck or balcony or in a kitchen window. What if every one of us had solar on their roof, powering their homes energy needs and sharing the excess with those around us. Freshly grown produce, clean renewable energy, a higher quality of life leading to stronger self sufficient communities while protecting and extending our natural resources.

What an amazing impact we could all have.