Growing Your Own Vegetables

Growing Your Own Vegetables

There is nothing like having fresh fruit or vegetables in the summer and fall, especially when they come from your own garden.  Growing your own vegetables is a great idea it saves you money and helps to feed you and your family.  Not only that but gardening has been proven to reduce stress and gets you out into the sun.  Let’s look at how easy it is to grow your own vegetables.

Getting Started

Before you start digging in the dirt you need to consider the size and location along with the soil composition.  Plants are going to need at least six hours of direct sunlight every day so don’t plant your garden in the shade.  You also need to have adequate drainage or you will end up with root rot and your plants won’t grow.  You need adequate space for your plants, you can start out the first year with a small plot and expand in later years as you learn.

Good soil is everything when it comes to gardening, without good soil you won’t grow anything.  You want soil that is fairly loose and not too hard to till.  If you have hard packed soil don’t worry you can still plant a garden you can either add compost to it or you can head to the local garden center and buy some soil.  If you are serious about growing your own vegetables then you should consider making your own compost.

Container Gardening

If you are an apartment dweller or don’t have a lot of space in your backyard then you can try your hand at container gardening.  You can put your plants on your balcony or even in your home if you have to.  Look for the spot where they will get the most light.  One of the biggest perks of container gardening is not having to deal with pests and wildlife trying to eat your vegetables.  Some plants that take to container gardening really well are tomatoes, spinach, beets, peppers and eggplant.  Just make sure that you have adequate drainage in your containers.

Fresh organic vegetables grown with your own two hands are amazing, there is nothing like feeding your family the freshest of produce.  Not only that but gardening is a way to connect with nature and reduce stress.  If you can get your kids interested in gardening it might even be easier to convince them to eat a vegetable if they had a part in growing it.