Yes, game night is definitely the cheat day. I try to go light before hand

Usually I plan dinner into the game session. Sure there is junk food, but I prefer real food. Usually something meat and pasta. Pasta is easy and can be prepared before hand, and I'll often assemble it before company comes over so I can bake it as a casserole in the roaster. It's usually vegetarian because I live with one, so lots of veggies and fortunately cheese is good. For everyone else who are carnivorous like myself, I roast something. I keep stuff in the deep freeze for this purpose unless I find something nice at work. It's kind of handy when you get along with the meat cutters. I have several hams, though sometimes I make something beef or even turkey, the latter of which is often in the form of ground thigh made into meatballs.

In the summer, the pasta casserole becomes a salad. And there is often some sort of greenish salad to go with it, because garden. Nothing green and leafy though because I can't eat anything with nonsoluable fiber. But something like a Capresse salad is common. I'll make dips as well, and have a manual chopper than can make stuff like guacamole and salsa in under 50 cranks of the handle.

If you plan a meal to go with the game, it goes a long way to mitigating bad food choices. As well if your game table is properly fed, then the game tends to not crash in time with blood sugar levels.

Just eat whatever the fuck you like.

I have a large garden and many fruit trees. How to care for them in the spring?

My folks used to have a semi-little harden taking up most of the back yard. Eventually they stopped and never knew why. One relative they'd visit once a year grew giant greenbeans. The things were like a foot or two long!

One other set of relatives started the proverbial market in a barn that eventually became a grocery store and then moved out of the barn-turned-store into a real store built off from the barn. Which remained as the open produce area. They also own a pretty big farm. Cattle for milk, and bot sure what else really.

Grandparents have close connections with the local Amish community. Fresh eggs and other produce. Think they bought more from them that the relatives with a store.

Great grandparents built their house themselves way in the middle of no-where up in the mountains. Overlooking a cliff on one side and a little chicken farm off and not sure what else before endless forest. I assume the place was originally self sufficient or nearly so. Also formerly a fishing pond they built and stocked. But was later destroyed by persons unknown. Mysterious caves below and a natural spring out of the side of the cliff. Crank phone and not sure if the place had any electricity at all or other utilities. All I ever remember were oil lamps. Place was straight out of Lovecraft.

Two players of mine retired gaming pretty much after acquiring farms as it took up so much of their time.

This is something most city folk don't realize. A farm life can take up alot of your time. Alot! Small backyard farms are relatively easy and low maintenance depending on the type. But the bigger ones you can kiss your free time goodbye! Especially if animals are involved.

It is no wonder some want to break away and become adventurers!

Then theres game hunting. This was one that surprised me but theres actually some thought and management needed to make a good game forest to attract the right animals.

If you plant zucchini, try to be sparing. Zucchini is, honest to God, a reincarnated weed. Damn stuff will grow almost anywhere.

For a D&D class, my garden would definitely be a Magic User. I put things in the ground and weird shit grows out of it. Sometimes it feels like someone has rolled on a random D20 table to see what appears, but its probably down to the fact that I rarely label anything and then forget what I planted where! I spend a lot of time in the garden and for some reason I'm obsessed with composting.

Dragon had over the decades a few articles on weird gardens and strange plants. And some modules features such locales too. And Dungeon of course had a few farm or garden based adventures as well.

There was also an Ares article for Gamma Worlds moon which featured a botanical dome full of mutated plants. Gamma World itself is pretty much one big mutated garden where everything and its seedling wants to eat you. And eventually had the option for plant PCs via optional rules or Dragon articles.

We have a gnome cleric garden!

It's tiny and full of medicinal plants, and the garlic turns the undead!

LA is weird. Its an urban blight, but there's good farmland within two hours so we are spoiled with farmer's markets, including specialty stores that stock nothing but small farm produce. Still, it's nice to have basil, rosemary and chives growing on the balcony that can be instantly added to chow.

Quote from: Omega;1126996There was also an Ares article for Gamma Worlds moon which featured a botanical dome full of mutated plants. Gamma World itself is pretty much one big mutated garden where everything and its seedling wants to eat you. And eventually had the option for plant PCs via optional rules or Dragon articles.

What issue of Ares?

I love, love, love the mutant plant options in Gamma World. There's something awesome about combat vs. terrain and as GM, designing the symbiosis/competition between plants and beasts and how the sapient beings use the mutant plants.

Quote from: Spinachcat;1127105What issue of Ares?

I love, love, love the mutant plant options in Gamma World. There's something awesome about combat vs. terrain and as GM, designing the symbiosis/competition between plants and beasts and how the sapient beings use the mutant plants.

It was Dragon #86, "A World Gone Mad" by James M. Ward.  Fantastic article!

Quote from: RPGPundit;1022985The pressure to have a garden reduces when you have a farmer's market every week two doors from your house.

I wish this was us. We have about a 30 minute drive to get to a farmers market. If it were that close for us we could nearly forgo the grocery store.

Both Dark Albion and Lion & Dragon have an extensive section on medicinal herbs and poisons.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1127395Both Dark Albion and Lion & Dragon have an extensive section on medicinal herbs and poisons.

Based on real world plants or fantastical creations? Or a mix?

Quote from: Spinachcat;1127396Based on real world plants or fantastical creations? Or a mix?

Based on real-world plants and poisons, and alchemical (really, chemical) formulas.