From lake perch on Wed, May 28, 2008

I heard Ms. Cullen’s interview yesterday on WNYC, and was very interested in her subject and this organization.  However, a phrase she used kept bothering me.  I see from the above article that there seems to be be something called the ‘Grow Out Challenge’, which I will need to learn more about.  But, in speaking, she continually used the term ‘grow out’, as opposed to merely ‘grow’.  It just sounded wrong to me.  You can ‘grow out’ a bad haircut.  Teeth ‘grow out’ (or in, as the case may be.)  One hopes you can ‘grow out’ of a bad habit.  And you can unfortunately ‘grow out’ of a pair of jeans.  But… in my 50+ years as a gardener, I don’t believe I’ve ever ‘grown out’ a tomato, strawberries or a row of beans.  While I concede that our language is constantly growing, this phrase seems…. bizarre?  Was there a reason that the simple word ‘grow’ was inadequate or imprecise?  Or am I just being a stick-in-the-mud?  (My apologies for this cranky first comment.  I look forward to keeping an eye on this site, and subject.)