So you've made the commitment to vegan living. You have a stack of vegan cookbooks, you've tried out many of the recipes for vegetables for vegan diet, and you're feeling pretty good now that you're getting all those servings of vegetables and enjoying your fruit pots, whole grains, and beans.

But you still feel as if there's something missing, something not quite right. It's not the meat. You've gotten over the stage where it seemed like all of your dishes would be better with just a little bacon. It's not the milk, cheese or eggs. You're okay with using tofu, and milk no longer appeals.

But there's still something...

Then it strikes you as you browse over the produce section at the grocery store. Where did this food come from? How was it grown? Even in the organic section, you have questions.

How far was this apple shipped before it got here? How much petroleum was burned in shipping it? You committed to veganism not just for the sake of your comrades in the animal kingdom, but for the betterment of the planet.

The variety, too, leaves something to be desired. Sure, they have zucchini, kale, and lettuce. There are peppers, apples, and pears. But that seed catalogue that came in the mail yesterday - wow! Five varieties of zucchini! Dozens of colourful kales. And the lettuce! Five PAGES of lettuce, in shades of green, red, and chartreuse.

That's what's missing. You want food. Real, honest-to-goodness, grown in the earth kind of food, not grown with chemicals, and not shipped across oceans or continents to reach you. You want choices. Lots of choices. What's up with a bin at the store that says "tomatoes," when you've discovered that there are hundreds of varieties of tomatoes out there? You want adventure. You want variety. You want to know if a Purple Calabash tomato really tastes different from an Ananas Noir. So why not start growing your own veggies?

How to start growing your own food

If you've got a yard, a porch, or even an apartment balcony that faces any direction but north, you can add that adventure and variety to your diet by growing your own growing your own veggies.

Grow vegetables for beginners: the key is to start small. A 10 foot by 10 foot patch, divided in two, is enough space to grow two or three tomato plants, lettuce, a cucumber bush, and some radishes, carrots, and onions for fresh salads all summer long. Add a pepper plant and some cilantro, and you can concoct your own fresh pico de gallo salsa.

What you need to be successful

The secret to a successful vegetable garden is preparing the soil long before planting. Most gardening books for beginners will tell you how to get your soil into shape for gardening as well as how and when to plant seeds. "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew is one that will show you how to get the most produce out of a small space, while "Lasagna Gardening" by Patricia Lanza will help you build great soil with less work. Also, read "Teaming With Microbes" by Jeff Lowenfels to understand the soil food web and how to support it.

Small space gardening

If all you have is a porch or a balcony, you can still grow food in large containers. Beg some 5-gallon pickle buckets from a restaurant, drill holes in the bottom, and you have containers large enough for tomato or pepper plants.

Or fill planters with homegrown herbs to season your cooking. Growing food in containers can be both fun and challenging. The book "Bountiful Container" by Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Maggie Stuckey is the best reference for getting started.

Order a variety of seed catalogues, especially those that feature organic seeds and heirloom varieties. The range of choices may be confusing as well as dazzling, so it may be helpful to find a gardening discussion board online and ask about other people's favourites.

You can also get advice and support from other gardeners. Heirloom varieties often deliver the best and most interesting flavours, but lack the shipping qualities that commercial growers need.

Since the farthest, you'll "ship" them is from the garden to the kitchen, shipping qualities hardly matter. It's the flavour you want, and it's the flavour you'll get in spades.

There is something deeply and spiritually satisfying about coaxing food from your own land, feeling that the land has indeed become a part of you. There's also the smug satisfaction of saying to your guests, "Oh, wait, I need some thyme for this dish," then opening the kitchen window and plucking fresh thyme from the planter outside.

Either way, growing vegetables vegan style will add nutrients and variety to your diet. You'll be amazed at how much better your food tastes when it is as fresh as fresh can be.

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