At the beginning of the summer I decided that I wanted to try growing my own herbs. I wouldn’t exactly say I have a “green thumb”, but that didn’t stop me from trying. How hard could it be right? Literally three days after I purchased my basil and cilantro plants, my cilantro plant died and my basil plant started wilting.
My roommate had to deal with me abruptly screaming "NO NOT AGAIN" while running outside to attempt to revive my plant every day. Thankfully, I realized I needed to increase the amount of water the plant was receiving and that I needed to transplant it to a bigger pot.
The struggle to keep my basil plant alive had me thinking:
At any point during the day, we can go to the grocery store to get almost anything we want for food. It is a seemingly endless resource. We don’t have to worry about the supply of food running out. Whatever is taken off the shelf will be most likely be restocked before the next time you go again. The thought of the work that goes into each finalized food product often doesn’t even enter my mind as I hurriedly shove items into my shopping cart.
Believe it or not, there are more than 570 million farms throughout the world and more than 90 percent are run by an individual or a family--most of which rely primarily on family labor. Family farms even produce about 80 percent of the world’s food!
Needless to say I have a new-found appreciation for the agriculture industry. I am so thankful for all of those who work so hard to provide food for our world. Eventually, I would like to grow my own fruits and vegetables. And yes, I have become a bit overprotective of my basil plant. My mom teases me about taking it with me to Miami when I drive home to visit family.
“What’s the big deal? It is just a basil plant you can get another one.”
IT IS NOT JUST A BASIL PLANT MOM YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I’VE BEEN THROUGH TO KEEP IT ALIVE.
Meet Basil (Such an original name right?)
