Hi there. I’m Amy
Welcome to The Edible Terrace
Hello. Hello. I am soooo happy you are here. Do you want to grow your own food too? You know it’s a beautiful thing to walk 20 steps out your back door and pick fresh lettuce, bell peppers, and oregano for the salad you’re about to make. 🥗 I do that almost every day, and it’s an amazing feeling!
But hold up. Before I go down the rabbit hole (so to speak) of how fabulous freshly picked veggies are for us, you are here because you want to know a little more about who is behind my beloved blog, The Edible Terrace.
I was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. I had an unusual childhood, as my parents were party-loving hippies (they had a special grow shed in the backyard 😉) who hosted a ton of parties (toga party anyone? 🥳).
My mom wasn’t a fan of cooking, so my typical meals consisted of pot roast with carrots and potatoes, or ground beef tacos and canned refried beans (frankly, this was one of my favorites!). Suffice it to say, I didn’t grow up with much of a food repertoire and was a terribly, terribly picky eater. In fact, my mom would have to hide the onions in the food, or I refused to eat them!
Fast forward to 2011, I suddenly began feeling really lousy. My energy totally disappeared, I had become very forgetful (left the stove on for hours once), and my face turned this gray color. Frankly, it all scared the bejeezers out of me.
But because I had been raised by hippy, naturalist-kinda parents, instead of immediately making a doctor appointment, I started researching my symptoms online. I realized almost immediately that my crappy diet was a major problem. Because I was a calorie-conscious gym rat at the time, my meals consisted of a LOT of chicken breast, a little bit of bread, and whatever side dish out of a box I made. Everysinglenight.
So the night I figured this out, I informed my sweet hubs, Kevin, I was going vegetarian. His response? “But you don’t eat vegetables,” which was true – but I was going to learn because I knew that’s what my body so desperately needed. I had been starving it of nutrients for a really long time…and Kevin, bless his heart, said he would go veg-only with me. 🥰
In 2013, Kevin and I moved to South Florida. 🏖️ The thing I noticed immediately was that there was an inverse relationship between fresh and affordable vegetables in their grocery stores. The affordable vegetables were soggy messes wrapped in cellophane, and the vegetables that actually looked fresh were sky high in price.
So, I decided to begin growing my own produce. I’m not gonna lie, it was not pretty at first. I was literally starting from zero knowledge. The only plants I had ever grown were the occasional houseplant my mom gave me (no special grow shed for me if you were wondering 🤣). I didn’t know what soil to buy. I didn’t know pots required drainage holes. I didn’t know there were such things as growing zones. I had to learn all of that over time.
I have to admit I caught the bug pretty quickly though.
There was something incredibly special (and Divine) about putting those tiny seeds in some dirt and seeing a green little sprout emerge, which eventually became something I could actually eat. 🙏
In 2016, we moved from the Keys to the Florida Panhandle. This time we bought a house with a 100×100 lot. I continued to grow everything in containers until the pandemic, when the one grocery store in my town of 4000 started to run out of my precious produce. That’s when Kevin and I decided we needed to up our game. We started out with two small raised beds at first (lack of room) and then over the course of winter we cleared a larger space for a larger raised bed.
I want more though!
That bug I caught just keeps getting bigger and bigger! We are currently looking for a few acres we can call our own here in FL. I have a dream to start a permaculture garden. As that progresses, I will keep this page updated. What an adventure! 👩🌾
Are you just starting out and have the bug too – or do you want that bug? LOL. Then let’s get you started. Go here to find out how you can get your vegetable garden started too.
Find me on Pinterest where I share all of my best pins as well as those I feel will inspire, educate or motivate my Edible Terrace readers.
Connect with me on Facebook and let’s share our gardening pictures, going veg stories and anything else we can think of.
Email me directly. I’d love to hear from you! amy [@] theedibleterrace.com