Grow Your Own Vegetables – for Better Flavor, Health, and Money Saving Too
Spring is on the horizon, so if you haven’t already, now is the time to make your plans for this year’s vegetable garden. Even with just a small amount of space outdoors, you can grow a surprisingly large amount of tasty garden goods. Planting a few containers on your porch can work great too. There are about as many approaches to vegetable gardening as there are types of delicious and colorful vegetables to grow, so start exploring, dreaming, and planning today!
What are the benefits of growing your own vegetables, especially when you are living gluten-free? We know that following a gluten-free diet generally means an increase in grocery bills since gluten-free alternatives to traditional gluten-containing foods are often more than double the price. And while it can be hard to completely get around spending more on these types of gluten-free items, there are other ways to trim back your food budget to help compensate. One delicious, creative, and satisfying way is to grow your own vegetables.
More Benefits to Home-Grown Vegetables
Flavor:
There’s nothing like the flavor of freshly harvested produce. As time passes after vegetables are harvested, the flavor tends to decline. Have kids or others in your household who may not be crazy about vegetables? Picked fresh is often another story entirely!
Creativity:
You are literally involved in “creating” your food! And planning exactly what you want in your garden is a creative process too. Being creative is associated with reduced stress and improved mental health.
Fewer shopping trips:
Produce tends to be less long-lasting than many other items in our shopping carts, so when you’ve got your produce supply right outside your door, you’ll likely reduce trips, and save yourself time and gas money too.
Reduced Food Waste:
Since you’re harvesting just what you need, say goodbye to wilting greens in the back of the crisper drawer that you need to get rid of. Not only does avoiding food waste save you money, but un-composted food waste is also a major contributor to greenhouse gases.
Improved Nutrition & Health:
When a food item is easily available (from right outside your back door) and tastes great, you’re more likely to eat it. Only about 1 in 10 adults in the United States is getting the recommended daily amount of vegetables, and eating enough vegetables and fruits can help reduce the risk of some of the chronic conditions that are major causes of mortality in the U.S.
Getting Started
The details of your approach will depend on many factors, including how much space you have, how much time you would like to allot to your gardening project, and what climate you live in, among others. For guidance on gardening in your specific location, explore various resources: local gardening & seed shops may have information or be able to direct you to a good source. Other sources are state universities that have agricultural programs – many of these can guide you to information on what grows well in your area, along with information on the best timing for planting and other factors. USDA Cooperative Extension offices can be excellent information sources too.
Besides considering what will grow well in your climate and space, think about what you use and what you truly enjoy eating! When prioritizing items, also consider what will keep growing throughout the season to give you the most bang for the buck, and what items you REALLY enjoy the freshest flavor on. For tomato lovers, for example, there is nothing like the taste of a vine-ripened tomato, and store-bought alternatives just can’t compare. But if you’re not a big tomato fan, you may not want to use any of your garden space this way. Also, consider the simple fun factor – especially if you are getting kids involved, there’s nothing like digging up your own carrot or popping a few snap peas right off the vine for a tasty snack.
Your first step to a delicious edible project this spring and summer is to put all this information together: what grows well in your climate and in the kind of space you have, what are your favorites to eat, what will save you the most money, and what just plain sounds like fun to you.
A Few Beginners Favorites
Radishes
Among the most gratifying things to plant for beginners, they grow super-fast, take very little space, and are a wonderful colorful item to add to salads or just pop into your mouth as a snack.
Lettuce
When it’s time to make a dinner salad, just pinch off the leaves you need, and most types will keep growing and re-plenish themselves throughout the season.
Carrots
Don’t take much space and are just so much fun to pull up.
Herbs
Don’t forget to consider including some herbs too. If you use a lot of dill or cilantro in your cooking, plant some of them too!
Once you get started doing a little garden thinking, you’ll likely get inspired and your garden plan will take shape. And when you see your first edible plants popping up, we bet you’ll get even more excited about this fun, delicious, healthful, and money-saving project.
Don’t forget to keep a basic garden journal too: notes on what you planted where and when, harvest dates, and notes on what worked especially well (or didn’t!) so you can refer back and make next year’s garden even better!