My Favorite Grocery Store Is My Garden

 

Most weeks, I find myself shopping at places like Walmart, Aldi, Sam’s Club, Kroger, and Azure Standard. Like most families, we rely on grocery stores and food suppliers to help feed our family.

 

But if I’m honest, my favorite grocery store is my garden.

 

I have gardened on and off for nearly twenty years. Like many things in life, the size of the garden has depended on the season our family was in. Some years I planted only a small garden with a few vegetables. Other years I planted enough to fill two garden spaces and spend much of the summer preserving the harvest. Through years of homeschooling, raising six children, church activities, graduations, and now grandchildren, the garden has looked different from season to season.

 

 

 

 

Today, we grow a variety of foods for our family.

 

Throughout the season, we harvest green beans, tomatoes, peppers, kale, spinach, lettuces, snap peas, zucchini, yellow squash, potatoes, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, pumpkins, eggplant, cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon.

 

We also enjoy fruit from our blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, apple trees, and peach trees.

 

One of my favorite additions is our patch of mint. We grow several varieties and enjoy using them for tea throughout the year. We also grow parsley, thyme, oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, marjoram, and dill. During the summer, many of these herbs find their way directly into our meals. As the season ends, they are dehydrated and stored for winter cooking.

 

 

 

As the harvest comes in, much of it finds its way into our pantry and freezer. Tomatoes become salsa, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. Green beans are canned and frozen. Fruit becomes jam, apple butter, and freezer bags ready for future recipes. Herbs are dehydrated and stored for winter cooking.

 

One of my favorite sights each year is watching pantry shelves begin to fill with jars. Each one represents a summer harvest that will continue feeding our family long after the garden season is over.

 

The freezer fills as well. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, shredded zucchini for breads and muffins, and prepared ingredients make it possible to enjoy the harvest throughout the year.

 

 

 

As a family navigating celiac disease and food intolerances, the garden has become even more valuable. Many of the foods we grow are naturally gluten-free and fit perfectly into the meals we already enjoy. Fresh vegetables, fruit, potatoes, beans, and simple ingredients often form the foundation of our family’s meals.

 

Every little bit helps move us toward our goal of serving delicious gluten-free meals to our family.

 

While our garden provides a tremendous amount of food, it is only one part of how we stock our pantry. We also purchase bulk staples through Azure Standard and supplement our harvest with produce from local farm markets. Our fruit trees and berry bushes are still maturing, and they do not yet produce enough fruit for all the preserving I hope to do. Because of that, we enjoy visiting local farm markets during harvest season and preserving additional fruits and vegetables alongside what we grow ourselves.

 

Together, these sources help us fill our pantry shelves, stock our freezer, and prepare meals throughout the year.

 

Of course, not everything makes it into the pantry.

 

One of my favorite parts of gardening now is watching my girls share it with the next generation. They love showing my granddaughter where to find her next bite. Whether it is a ripe raspberry, a blueberry, a grape tomato, or another garden treat, they eagerly lead her through the garden in search of something to taste. She especially loves grabbing a snap pea straight from the vine.

 

 

 

 

The garden has become more than a place where food grows. It has become a place where memories are made.

 

I also enjoy spending time there with my grandson. Sometimes we simply sit together and watch the pinwheel flowers spin in the breeze. In a world that often feels busy and rushed, those quiet moments remind me to slow down and enjoy the season God has given us.

 

The garden has taught me many lessons over the years. It has taught me patience when seeds take longer than expected to grow. It has taught me flexibility when weather, pests, or weeds change my plans. It has taught me gratitude when the harvest is abundant.

 

Most of all, it has reminded me of God’s faithfulness.

 

Every spring begins with hope. Tiny seeds are planted into the ground, and we wait. We water, weed, and care for them, but ultimately God is the One who provides the growth.

 

Some years the harvest is larger than others. Some years certain crops fail altogether. Yet year after year, God continues to provide.

 

By the time winter arrives, I can walk into the pantry, open the freezer, and see reminders of His provision everywhere.

 

That is why my garden remains my favorite grocery store.

 

Not because it replaces Walmart, Aldi, Sam’s Club, Kroger, or Azure Standard.

 

But because it provides food for our family, supports our gluten-free lifestyle, fills our pantry shelves, creates memories with our children and grandchildren, and reminds me of God’s faithfulness through every season.

 

Those jars and freezer bags are more than food. They are reminders of summer harvests, family memories, and God’s faithfulness through every season.

 

“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.” Psalm 126:5