If you’re new to gardening, starting a vegetable garden may seem like a daunting task. However, starting a vegetable garden is rather simple, and incredibly rewarding.
Growing your own food doesn’t have to be a complicated or expensive process. You don’t need to be an expert gardener or have extensive knowledge of farming practices. You can start small and build on your successes as you go along.
If you’re considering starting a vegetable garden but you aren’t sure if it’s worth the time and effort, read our list of reasons to start a vegetable garden below.
Growing Your Own Food is Fun
Starting a vegetable garden gives you the ability to grow what you like to eat. If there are certain fruits or vegetables that you absolutely love, growing them yourself allows you to have a constant, reliable supply of fresh produce.
Many times, grocery store produce has been picked before it was ripe so that it will last longer on the shelves—but this means that everything may look perfect when it arrives in stores, but will taste more bland when purchased by customers later on.
By growing food yourself, you can ensure that everything is eaten when it is the most fresh and ripe. Tending to a garden is also a fun and interactive project for those looking to spend more time outdoors
Growing Your Own Food Saves Money
Growing your own food is a great way to save money. By growing your own vegetables, you can spend less on groceries, because you’ll have a constant supply of fresh produce outdoors ready to eat. You can grow food in containers and small spaces as well, such as on a balcony or in front of your house.
You can grow many different types of vegetables and fruits at home including tomatoes, peppers, squash, and cucumbers. There are also plenty of leafy greens that are easy to grow, such as kale or spinach.
When starting a garden, the initial investment is minimal and mostly consists of the vegetable seeds, soil, and gardening tools. After this initial investment, almost no money is required to maintain your garden and enjoy fresh produce.
Growing Your Own Food Encourages Healthy Eating
Many struggle to eat healthy because unhealthy food is widely and conveniently available. By growing your own food, healthy options become convenient and accessible. This will prompt you to eat more fruits and vegetables and to make healthier dishes that incorporate flavors from your garden.
Homegrown Produce is More Fresh
One of the biggest benefits to starting a home garden is that homegrown produce is fresher and healthier. Because it’s grown locally, you know where your food comes from and how it was produced.
Your vegetables will also be more nutrient-dense than those at the grocery store because they haven’t been shipped across the country or overseas. You won’t have to worry about your produce being sprayed with harmful chemicals or pesticides, nor will you need to wonder how old your produce is.
Growing Your Own Food is Beneficial to the Planet
If you’re looking for ways to reduce your carbon footprint, starting a vegetable garden is a great place to start. There are so many benefits to growing your own food, and they all come with a smaller environmental impact than buying produce at the grocery store.
Here are a few of the ways that gardening can help keep the planet clean and healthy:
Gardening reduces fossil fuel use. Fossil fuels are used in transportation, manufacturing, packaging, refrigeration and packaging materials—and sometimes even pesticides! You can help cut down on all those resources by growing your own veggies instead of purchasing them at the store.
Gardening reduces carbon footprint through reduced waste production and transportation costs associated with transporting food from farms to stores around town (and across oceans).
Produce grown locally will also have less environmental impact because it requires less energy than shipping produce from states such as California or Mexico, where most vegetables are grown today due to their better weather conditions for growing crops year-round. This means less greenhouse gas emissions created during transport as well as more money saved since there’s no need for expensive refrigeration equipment during transit.
Why You Should Start a Vegetable Garden: Final Thoughts
Whether you want to start a vegetable garden in your backyard or on your balcony, starting a vegetable garden is a fun and rewarding project. It doesn’t take much to get started, just a few seeds and pots!
You may be pleasantly surprised to discover how enjoyable it can be to grow your own food, and know that you’re saving money and the environment in the process.
As you enjoy fresh produce from your garden, download the Lil’ Broc app to track and monitor the shelf life of your produce.