Gardening "porn"

A big part of me wonders why I torture myself with reading about gardening in the wintertime. I can't do anything right now, when it's not only below freezing out (now with windchill!) but also too dark for most plants to survive, let alone thrive. But I still read all about it, and remind myself that in the process I'm learning a lot more about what works for other people.
Specifically, I'd love to learn more about how to extend my growing season. Would a cold frame work? Could I make one without spending any money? Greenhouses and hoop houses are out of the question in our apartment. We also don't have hay for thick layers of mulch to keep the ground warm. So, what else is out there? I'm constantly exploring ideas and ways that I can get just a little bit more out of my garden in the coming summer. And it has worked, since every year I've gotten just a little bit more produce for myself. That's something to be proud of, and I am.
The other part of the equation is learning more about preserving what I have, and using it all up. Sharon Astyk had another post about learning to make the most of one's food supply. Her farm was hit by the hurricanes this past summer and she was writing about preserving as much of the food as possible. I think the moment when she talks about the holocaust survivor (who uses her thumb to scrape out every last drop of egg from a shell because her father died of starvation) is probably the most memorable part. I can't imagine living through something like that and then seeing the excess and waste in our society. Something like 1/3-half of the food in this country is thrown out. How can we stand it? It's not that eating everything on your plate will help starving children in Africa (in her blog post, Astyk says that by growing food for herself she leaves more on the market for others but that glosses over the fact that many starving people don't have access to or money for food), but I do think it's is a lesson in being grateful for what we have. There are so many moments that we take for granted when we should be thanking God or Buddha or Mother Nature or the universe, or whatever you want, for all of the good things in our lives. Food is at the top of my list.
A big part of my mission to reduce waste in our household has to do with reducing our wasteful food habits. Throwing away food is a last resort. If we can't/won't eat it, do we know anyone else who wants it? (I successfully got rid of some chili I knew we wouldn't eat by giving it to a friend.) If not, is it safe for the dog to eat? It usually is. As for the rest, can is possibly be composted? As long as it doesn't have meat in it, it can. In this way we've *almost* completely gotten rid of food "waste" in our house. We don't have to throw things in the garbage because there's almost always a secondary purpose to it. If we didn't get to that last little bit of cabbage, or a few of those lettuce leaves went bad before we could eat them, at least they'll feed my compost and thus, my garden and next year's supply of food.
I bought tons of peaches last summer. They were from far away, and peaches don't travel well. So a lot of them were in danger of rotting before we could get around to eating them. (Although we did our best--for a time I was eating two peaches or nectarines each day. And now I want summer again!) So I froze most of them. They stayed good for far longer than they otherwise would have and we were able to enjoy peaches and nectarines for more than a few weeks during the summer.
Making the most of what you have and buy is good for so many reasons, I don't understand why most people don't do it. How much more disposable income would most people end up with if they actually ate all of the food that they buy--enough for an extra mortgage payment every year? For some families, I'm sure that's the case. That's a lot of money to be thrown away.
Oh, and don't let Ziploc fool you. They're not necessary for food storage. In fact, Pyrex and even Tupperware do a much better job. Ditch the disposables and you'll save even more money.
The other reason for gardening more myself (and buying seeds for heritage vegetables) is the dubious safety of GMO foods. I came across this article earlier, which talks about how much more complex the issue of GMO foods affecting our very DNA is than companies want us to believe. Yes, that's right: food affects our DNA. The science and research behind it is still very new (only about 10 years old) but it's solid. 'Monsanto's website states, "There is no need for, or value in testing the safety of GM foods in humans." This viewpoint, while good for business, is built on an understanding of genetics circa 1960.' When a company such as Monsanto obviously has something to hide (otherwise why would they fight so hard against safety and toxicity testing?) and they stand to make a lot of money off of what we don't know, I don't trust them. I'd rather not give my money to them. If there is such a thing as an evil empire, it's companies like Monsanto. So, if you'd like to join me and also stop contributing to the giant profits of GMO producing companies, here's this handy website listing organics certifiers and companies that have pledged not to source from GMO growers. You can also avoid the biggest sources of GMOs in our country by switching to organic: corn, cotton, canola, soy, wheat, and sugar. Here, read this.