I gotta say that every time I look at the grocery store bill, the idea of growing my own food gets more and more appealing. I don't have a green thumb -- I once under-watered a cactus, to put it in perspective -- but how hard can it be to grow your own vegetables?

I see people on the news do it, our first lady has made room in her backyard, and even some of my neighbors are on it. I guess my concern would be all the extra -- I have enough problem with raccoons, possums and stray winos in my backyard -- I'll be really upset if I see some hobo puffing a pipe and picking peppers on my property. But I got the room. My first lady has inspired me, and I'm up for the challenge ... kinda. I guess I wanna do a straw poll first.

I'm curious to know if any of our Root fam have started gardens, and how that's going. To be clear, growing loco weed in your closet does not make you a gardener, Cheech. I want some real-world stories about how much money it takes to get started, to sustain and what kind of haul you can expect.