Jeff, the A.D.D. Chef

My Last Home-Grown Cucumber for 2007

Growing vegetables - such as cucumber, broccoli, tomatoes, zucchini - is the perfect A.D.D. activity. Here in the Northeast U.S. where we experience (most of the time) four seasons, growing vegetables is a part-time pursuit that runs for approximately six months. By the time the boredom of weeding, watering and pruning sets in, the growing season is over. So there is no guilty feeling for neglecting your garden. In fact, you get to release a little tension by pulling everything out and turning over the soil. You then take a rest from it for six months. In April of the following year you start anew.

Some Broccoli Florets

Vegetable growing has a relatively fast payoff: that’s perfect for A.D.D.ers. Within about two months of planting (sometimes sooner) some of your vegetables are ready for picking and eating. By about the third month you get to my favorite part of growing vegetables: giving away the surplus to your neighbors. It’s like Christmas without the snow and ice!

Habaneros - the orange one is ready…and hot!

Eggplant

Finally, there is the calming effect of working in a vegetable garden. Compared to a regular job, there is no tight schedule to keep, no train to miss, no deadline hanging over your head. All you need to do is keep at it consistently and for only six months. You get to see the fruits (vegetables?) of your labor and you get to taste it too. You get to be outdoors.¹ You get some sunshine. You get your hands dirty as you pull weeds out of the soil. And you get the satisfaction of finding out what a cucumber (or tomato or eggplant) is REALLY like.²

[The following was added on Sept. 21, 2007]

With the image above I hope to be able to convey the high moisture content of the homegrown cucumber. That glisten on the slice of the cucumber is caused by the moisture that is in the cucumber.

1. For me, it’s a mental health break from sitting in front of the computer. [↩]
2. For example, REAL cucumbers are NOT waxy on the outside. They have a mild aroma and taste. And they are so moist that you may find yourself plucking them from your garden and just munching on them…instead of potato chips. FYI: “Supermarket cucumbers are often waxed to seal in moisture.” See: Cucumbers. This year was the first year that I grew Bok Choy. I was amazed at the amount of water that was in each stalk. I would break it off from the plant and in the palm of my hand were drops of water…which came from the plant itself! I’ve been purchasing Bok Choy in the supermarket for years. I NEVER saw that happen. [↩]