I have a lot of fond memories of the huge garden my family habitually planted in my youth, complete with what seemed like every vegetable under the sun. Tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, beans, peas, carrots, onions, radishes, potatoes, beets, corn, squash in all varieties – you name it, we grew it. And ate it, usually straight from the garden.

There is nothing like the snap of a carrot just pulled from the earth, or biting into a ripe, juicy tomato still warm from the sun that you’ve just plucked from the vine. And don’t get me started about beets. I love beets.

I’m getting hungry just think about it.

While we definitely enjoyed the fruits of our labor, there is no getting around the fact that keeping a large garden is a lot of work. It takes unwavering commitment to carry the process through from start to finish.

Over the years, as time was at more of a premium, keeping the garden going started to become more work than enjoyment and the size of the plot grew smaller and smaller as our interest faded.

The last straw was the year my father planted a copious amount of tomato plants, which grew to amazing heights and yielded a tremendous amount of tomatoes. The problem was, they never ripened. (Even after they were picked.) It’s still something of a sore subject.

You’re not totally out of luck, of course, if you don’t grow your own produce. There is always the grocery store. But once you get used to eating ridiculously fresh vegetables, it’s hard to resign yourself to pallid supermarket fare. Thankfully there are other options, particularly this time of year when all sorts of wonderful fruits and veggies are available at local farmer’s markets, roadside stands and, if you beg well enough, from that neighbor or coworker who (over) planted a garden for the first time this year. (Get it from them while you can, before they learn how to can.)