What growing your own food can do for you
As global economic woes persist, many families are reviving the tradition of the family vegetable garden. What a great upside to a tough time! Not only is the back-to-garden movement saving folks money on their grocery bills, but it's putting healthier food on the table.
Need a few more reasons?
1. Fresh vegetables are more nutritious, and it doesn't get any fresher than straight from the garden to the table. Vegetables start to lose valuable nutrients (and flavor) the moment they're picked. When they're harvested just moments before you serve them, you're getting the absolute maximum nutritional benefit.
2. You can grow organic a lot cheaper than you can buy it. If you're struggling to make ends meet, organic produce may feel like a luxury you can't afford. But you can grow your own organic produce using your own composted kitchen scraps as natural fertilizer. As organic gardening coach Jean Ann van Krevelen says, "Compost is waste turned into plant food." You can also use inexpensive pest controls like companion planting and soap spray instead of harmful chemical pesticides.
See also this article from the Wall Street Journal: How much can a garden save you?
3. Eating local saves energy and fossil fuels--and it doesn't get any more local than your own back yard. This translates into lower food costs for you and a lower carbon footprint for your household, as well.
4. Gardening provides free exercise and stress relief. No money for gym memberships or spa weekends? An hour in the garden will get your heart pumping and your muscles toned. It also clears the mind and erases the day's stress.
5. Kids will eat what they grow. (This may be the best benefit of all!). Want to turn your finicky eaters into vegetable lovers? Let them grow their own. Kids love to garden and are much more willing to eat vegetables that they had a hand in bringing to the table.
No more excuses!
If you haven't already, why not celebrate Earth Day this year by breaking ground on a small (or large) vegetable plot? Here are solutions for the most common obstacles:
No idea what you're doing? Look no further than Jean Ann van Krevelen's Growing Food: A Guide for Beginners, available now in electronic format with a print edition available April 15th. Jean Ann's got great advice for new and experienced gardeners and offers garden coaching as well! Check out her Gardener to Farmer blog.
No room for a garden? See how one enterprising gardener got dozens of pounds of produce from one 3X3 foot plot: Growing your own food on one square yard of land
No time to garden? If gardening simply doesn't fit into your life, you can always do the next best thing. Team up with a farmer by buying a share in Community Sponsored Agriculture. CSAs are one of the fastest growing trends in today's evolving food economy. You support a local farm with money to buy seeds and supplies. In return, you get a share of the harvest. Find a CSA close to you at LocalHarvest.org.
Related Post:
Five ways to make your diet healthier (for the planet)
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Posted by: cable | Sep 22, 2009 3:01:02 AM
Hi,
Really knowledgeable. Hope you continue to write such type of good aricle.Keep up the good work.
cable
Posted by: Nova Person | Sep 18, 2009 9:42:40 AM
Hey, nice post! A lot of helpful tips to encourage someone to plant their own garden. I'd just like to add, if you don't have enough space in your home, you can always consider organic container gardening. This form of gardening is best when you want to plant herbs and literally want them to be within reach in your kitchen. Important things to consider in organic container gardening, are the containers - they must be able to hold the soil and keep the water out, location - at least place the plants where they can have their 'sun' intake everyday, commitment - as with any garden, you must know the needs of your plant, each plant has its own particular need, and attend to it devotedly. And there are lots of information out there, all you need is seek.
Nova Person
Posted by: Jon C. Frank | May 28, 2009 3:54:04 PM
The amazing spread of nutrient density between produce grown industrially verses grown with TLC in a backyard garden can vary tremendously.
Here is an article I wrote about that subject called the Quest for Nutrient Density. In short what the beans I grew had twice as much nutrients per 100 grams as did the green beans I bought.
http://www.highbrixgardens.com/foods/quest.html
Jon
Posted by: Recently Interested in Gardening | Apr 19, 2009 7:39:13 PM
It came as a surprise to me when I checked your website. The day my dad approached me about growing food in our back yard I saw this blog entry. I really liked the story.
I was looking at your website to see details on mesclun salad because I thought I might grow some, but I couldn't find the data for it.
