Growing your own vegetables is one of the best aspects of gardening to many people. It has several benefits too. Firstly it can help you physically get in shape as a useful form of exercise and it can also boost your psychological well-being. Home grown also scores highly against similar produce found in your local supermarket on two counts. It will cost far less to grow your own and, secondly, your home grown vegetables are likely to taste better too.
Furthermore, you and your family are far more likely to eat the recommended 5 portions of vegetables a day if you grow your own if you don’t already do so.
You will also benefit from knowing exactly where your vegetables have come from and what has been used in the growing process unlike in the supermarkets where we are never quite sure how and where the produce has been grown or what they use to preserve it for as long a shelf life date as possible. It is worth bearing in mind that the longer the time between a vegetable being picked and being eaten, the more goodness it loses so growing your own makes a lot of sense for so many different reasons.
How to Grow Your Own Vegetables
First of all you should look at the size of your growing area. Some people will have a large garden, others a smaller one. Some will have an allotment and for others they might be restricted to just using the windowsill and a couple of small plant pots but whatever your situation, consider the types of vegetables that would be suitable within the confines of the space in which you can grow.
Try to choose vegetable plants that you tend to enjoy eating anyway. There’s no point planting a vast quantity of runner beans if you hate eating the things so choose to grow what you will eat and don’t overdo it. Only plant enough for what you and your family will consume.
Research Your Land
Gather information from your neighbours. Try to find out the kinds of things that grow well in your immediate vicinity by talking to people. Neighbouring gardeners will be able to offer you useful tips on how different vegetables fare within your area and will only be too willing to offer you tips on how they get their vegetables to thrive.
Look after your soil. The more you protect and nurture the soil into which you’re planning, the less weeding, digging and watering you’ll need to do and don’t forget to learn how to compost as that can also be a natural time-saver and healthy growing aid.
Gathering experience through practice and sound advice from books, the internet and gardeners in your locality will all become sound allies in your quest to grow tasty vegetables. You’ll learn what grows best directly planted into the soil and what vegetables to plant in any given area of the garden. You’ll discover what works best in pots and all about the benefits of crop rotation. You’ll work out the seasonal varieties of vegetables and how and when to plant them so you can have some kind of vegetables growing in your garden all year round.
There is quite a lot to learn but growing your own vegetables is one of the most rewarding aspects of gardening and can have a profound effect on you feeling that much closer to your immediate environment.
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