South Mississippi gardens yield not only fresh vegetables, but in most gardens you will at least find a couple varieties of summer fruit.

Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, dewberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew, apples, pears and plums, are just a few taste-bud tempters you’ll find in the South.

There is nothing quite like the first bite of a juicy thirst-quenching cantaloupe to let you know summer is really here. What would a 4th of July celebration be without slices of cold watermelon, and fresh grilled corn on the cob?

Thanks to research, there are even species of lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, and banana which can be grown in the southern climate. Heat and disease resistant, I have seen beautiful citrus grown in and around Pearl River County.

The vegetables available in our area are limitless. Whatever you would normally buy in the grocery store, you could grow in your own garden bigger, better and definitely fresher.

Nature provides a way through which no one should ever go hungry — if they are willing to put in the work. The smallest of gardens can grow enough fruit and vegetables to feed several families.

My uncle, an octogenarian, still plants his garden every year. I haven’t known a year in which what he planted failed to grow. He consumed what he needed, canned what he could, and the rest he gave away to friends and family.

It’s okay if you’ve never planted a garden or fruit tree; there are step-by-step instructions on the web, just search “How to plant a garden.” From preparing the soil to harvesting, the knowledge is just waiting to be gleaned.

If you are a little behind times and don’t have internet access, then check out your local library. A little light reading and a little dirty work can bring a bounty of deliciousness to your table.

Just think, a $2 tomato plant can easily yield 10 pounds of tomatoes over the course of its lifetime. Now that’s an example of nature’s bounty.

A tomato sandwich on white bread with mayo sounds pretty good to me, how about you?