In you happened to read my very first blog post, you know that I am the daughter of a lifelong gardener.  Having been raised in this way, I have much passion for getting my hands dirty, tending to plants and the luxury of being able to go out my back door and pick fresh peas, tomatoes or herbs.

For years, I tried having a garden in my yard.  I would have a beautiful teepee of pea pod shots growing perfectly one day.  The next day, it would be destroyed by a family of deer that live in our neighborhood.  They are my gardening menace.  No matter the number or type of fences, barriers or sprays I tried, the deer (and some bunnies, I suspect) destroyed all my work and with it, my harvest.

Eventually, after eight years of trying, I sodded over the garden plot, and conceded victory to the deer.  I know my husband silently cheered (as we were the only house in the neighborhood with a garden plot!), but too this day, I’m still a little ticked off at those deer.

But conceding defeat to the deer doesn’t mean I gave up.  I have simply moved to a solution that I can keep out of reach of the animals searching for a snack.  Container gardening has become my answer.  I can still grow tomatoes, herbs, strawberries, and others to fuel my passion for playing in the dirt.  But I do it closer to the house where the animals don’t venture.

Why do through all the trouble?  Partially, because it’s just part of who I am.  I love the creativity of gardening, the seasonality of it, the challenge of it, the attachment to the earth.  But it’s also important for me to teach my son, Jack, about the glory of food, where food really comes from, the taste of foods at their absolute peak of freshness.  Engaging him in this process make him more likely to try new vegetables, to eat them more often, and to gain an appreciation of their importance in his eating habits.

Visit www.nuval.com to decide on perfect scoring foods you can plant this spring.