Maybe it is because they were bitten by the seed planting bug, or maybe it’s just the economy, but I’ve seen a number of posts on vegetable gardening.
Green Side Up! gives garden tips on cracking tomatoes. The wonderful Tracy DiSabato-Aust is suggesting ways to have an ornamental display of veggies to stave off the recession. And Beth is putting together her veggie wish list. The Well Read Gardener was early, and made her order list in a very organized way. And that is going to be one full service vegetable garden, I can tell you!
Now. Here is the hard truth. If this is your first year to experiment with growing your own food… it isn’t going to save you money. It might be tastier produce, and it might be something you have fun and enjoyment doing (check back with me on that after you do the July weeding), but you are likely to put more money into it than if you took a trip to your local farm market. I’m not trying to discourage you, but I do want you to be prepared in your expectations.
And while I’m at it… there is no such thing as the “no-work” garden. All gardening involves labor, but that is actually a good thing…because it means it will help you keep fit. And the produce you grow, I think by all rights it will probably be healthier. And you will have salted it with your own efforts and grown some of your own abilities in the process -and that is as good as money, any day.
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Well I will agree that it is a lot of work. The first year I grew my own food, I definitely spent more money than I thought I would 🙂 I have found it to be very rewarding, however! I wondered myself one year, if I was saving any money and found that as long as I was sowing in succession, having crops ready to put in right after harvest, I was saving a lot. Not to mention there are no pesticides, and I know exactly what goes into my soil. I love growing my own food and have been trying to grow more and more every year. We won’t talk about the weeding in July, however 🙂
I’m so glad you added your experience and what you find to be the advantages of “growing your own”. I’m hoping to increase my vegetable garden this year- and hope it produces better than last year, which wasn’t the best for me.
Aside from what Tessa said (knowing what goes into the soil, and therefore the crops), we do it for the quality of the food. Veggies from the farmers market is vastly better than from the supermarket, but veggies picked minutes before you serve it up in a meal tastes many notches better than the stuff from the farmers market. We’re not Super Foodies, but we are foodies.
Hi Ilona, thanks for reminding newcomers that starting a garden is not cheaper than just buying food from a grocer. But it is most certainly more healthful, the food safety issue is unmeasurable and the costs do go down over time.
As anyone can see from following your blog gardening is one of the most enjoyable things a person can do themselves.