Why Grow a Vegetable Garden?
Yesterday was gardening day. My son and I planted lettuce, green bell peppers, onions, zucchini, cucumbers and lots and lots of tomatoes. We put in strawberry and blueberry plants last month too. I first considered growing my own vegetables because I felt it must be cheaper, but I’m coming to find that’s not always the case.
It can cost a pretty penny to cultivate a vegetable garden. When you consider composting supplies, mulch, organic fertilizers, organic pesticides, plants and seedlings and (a necessity in my case) fencing, it might be cheaper to buy your organic summer veggies at the supermarket. At least when you’re first starting out.
That’s not to discourage anyone from growing her own fruits, berries and vegetables, however. I’m of the opinion that it’s OK, no…it’s important to splurge on certain things. No supermarket tomatoes can compare to fresh off the vine varieties coming from my garden. In fact, last year my four year old son snacked on small cherry tomatoes more than he did cookies or ice cream. Heaven is a sweet, hand-picked strawberry.
When you grow your own veggies, you know you don’t have to worry about harmful chemicals. You can see for yourself the quality of the product. I don’t know about you, but there’s no better summer-time lunch than a bowl filled with just-picked salad veggies. Don’t be discouraged from planting vegetables because it’s expensive to get started, I’m here to tell you it’s well worth the cost.
Tags: grow-vegetable, grow-vegetables, vegetable-gardenRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Eco Simplicity, General
7 opinions for Why Grow a Vegetable Garden?
Mom2fur
May 13, 2007 at 11:00 am
Good luck with your garden! I think I’ll get mine in next weekend. I’m going to look for the best tomato plants I can find. Every year, I learn something new. This time, I know to ‘prune’ away some of the tomatoes when they are little. Last year, I didn’t and I had lots of green tomatoes–hardly any red ones.
Lou Paun
May 14, 2007 at 10:38 am
I agree! Home-grown vegetables may not be cheaper (it depends - there are lots of variables) but they are always tastier. More important, they are healthier. The nutritional content of commercially-grown food has dropped sharply (some experts say by as much as 45%)over the last fifty years, as badly-managed soils have become depleted and agribusiness has used petrochemical fertilizers to create larger harvests. When you manage your own soil and grow your own food, you know you’re eating something healthy for your whole family.
Anna Hackman
May 15, 2007 at 11:29 pm
I absolutely agree with yousaid about your own vegetable garden. A way to save money is to buy heirloom organic seeds and save the seeds from vegetable. I was told that heirlooms are the only ones that will produce the same variety as you had the previous year. I know hybrid tomatoes will not come back as the same as the previous year because they cross pollinate.
I did this last year with my tomatoes and the seeds grew and are now seedlings! Instead of getting mulch you can save your leaves from the fall in bags and mulch them up in the spring.
Plus the joy you get from gardening is just priceless. anna hackman http://www.green-talk.com
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Aug 18, 2007 at 3:28 pm
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Cricket
Apr 11, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I’ve never been able to save money by growing a vegetable garden. I go a little crazy buying starts, paying for disking and whatnot, soil amendments, soil testing, straw, containers, little signs sayin what’s what, etc. I know that if I just stayed out of the garden center, I’d be okay! This last season I used my own compost (from the chicken coop) and scored free tomato starts from a friend in my master gardener group. I also got some free wire cages. So I really think there are ways to “do it” cheaper than just buying vegetables, you just have to consider all the costs. I get more value out of gardening “mentally” which is worth a LOT. So, I don’t really compare it dollar-for-dollar Growing vs. Buying vegetables. To me, theres just no comparison to fresh off-the-vine or stalk grown-your-own goodness.
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