Our parents' generation took it for granted that they would grow their own vegetables.
Most of us Mid Lifers are used to buying all of our food at the supermarket -vegetables come in pre-packaged containers or weighed by the Kg.
Now, there is a trend towards growing vegetables at home and that is to be welcomed.
There is a lot of satisfaction to be had from digging your own potatoes, picking your own peas or cutting your own asparagus - and home grown fruit and vegetables taste wonderful.
You may have managed to rent an allotment or dug up part of your garden to grow the vegetables - well done, you're on your way.
Seeds can be purchased in your supermarket or at the garden centre.
They aren't expensive but the cost of buying a range of vegetable seeds soon mounts up.
You can also buy seedlings and young plants but these are, of course, more expensive.
Fruit trees - apples, pears, raspberries, etc - can also be purchased and once established, will provide fruit year after year.
So there you are, off you go, easy! Or is it? Let the Mid Life Devil's Advocate give you the view from the other side.
What could go wrong? The Advocate isn't trying to dissuade you from growing your own, just making sure that you're aware of some of the 'warts'.
So what is the Devil's Advocate's view of growing your own? Here are some points to ponder:

• A packet of seeds contains an impressive number of seeds.
  Disappointingly, they don't all germinate.
  
• You also have to factor in the cost of the potting compost and pots.
  
• Your windowsills or conservatory will be full of pots - don't forget to water them.
  
• Your cat will knock the pots off of the windowsill.
  
• After germination, the seeds grow.
  Some grow too quickly and become 'etiolated' (long and thin) - then they die.
  
• Some dry out - then they die.
  
• Some get too wet - then they die.
  
• The seedlings that remain must be 'potted on' - planted into larger containers.
  Some die in the process.
  
• Vegetable seedlings which are started off indoors must be 'hardened off' outside.
  If you forget to bring them in at night they will get too cold - and die.
  
• Once the danger of frost has passed you can plant direct into your vegetable patch - so no hassles with pots indoors and 'potting on' - when the seedlings appear above ground, make sure that the pigeons or rabbits don't eat them for breakfast.
  
• If we have a late frost your delicate plants will die.
  
• Once your plants are established they will grow quickly.
  Don't forget to water them regularly or they will wither and die.
  
• Young plants are a favourite food for slugs and snails.
  Buy slug pellets to kill the pests - more expense.
  
• Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Sprouts, etc have large green leaves.
  As they grow you will notice holes appearing in the leaves and the edges becoming frayed.
  Closer inspection will reveal that the culprits are green and black striped caterpillars - hatched from the eggs laid by a passing cabbage white butterfly.
  Your local garden centre will have a spray to deal with the caterpillars - more expense.
  
• You may decide that you will forgo the spray and grow organic vegetables - good luck!
• If the caterpillars don't get your vegetables, watch out for Greenfly/Blackfly/Whitefly infestations.
  
• Every vegetable has its own pests and viruses which attack it.
  It's a constant battle.
  
• Heavy rain can ruin your crop if there is a downpour when the plants are in flower.
  
• Too much sun, too much rain, too much shade, too hot, too cold - the weather is very fickle.
  
• You need bees to pollinate your fruit trees.
  There aren't enough bees to go round as they are dying out in a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder.
  
• You plant the seeds and plants in neat rows.
  When they grow, you realise that the peas and beans have grown so tall that they keep all of the sun off of plants behind them - which don't grow properly.
  
• You proudly cut your first lettuce and take it home for lunch.
  Your children ask what the soft green squidgy things are.
  Free protein - caterpillars.
  
• The birds will notice that your raspberries and strawberries have ripened before you do - they will leave a few small green ones for you.
  
• You dig up your potatoes and wonder why they have little holes in them.
  When you boil them you realise that the things that made the holes are still inside the potatoes - more free protein.
  
• You didn't realise that vegetables could be so dirty - they aren't like that in the shops.
  
• Most of your vegetables have odd shapes and aren't as big as the picture on the seed packet.
  
• All of your vegetables will mature at the same time - just when they are at their cheapest in the shops.
  
• So you freeze most of them - then forget about them.
  
• When you start again the following year your soil will need enriching with more organic materials - more expense and more hard work.
  
• After all of this, you can only wonder how the supermarkets source so many varieties of fruit and vegetables in perfect condition, of uniform size, with no mud, available 12 months of the year - pity the poor growers!

If you are committed to growing your own, don't let the Mid Life Devil's Advocate put you off.
The points above are deliberately exaggerated (though all may happen to you).
The best advice is to concentrate on vegetables that you can store or freeze - potatoes, onions, peas and beans are the first choice.
By all means grow your own vegetables - it is a very rewarding thing to do and you and your family will benefit in several ways.
Just don't expect all of your vegetables to look like the pictures on the packets! Good Luck, The Devil's Advocate