Putting together a vegetable garden is a tremendous way to cut food costs and give your family fresh, healthy vegetables. Growing vegetables in your yard is not as difficult as you might imagine; you can do it with hard work and planning.
This might seem like a no-brainer, but if you go to the store and come back with seed packets for things you never cook, or things that you cook and do not eat, then you will be wasting your time and setting yourself up for frustration. If brussel sprouts cause mutiny at your dinner table, don’t even think about growing them. Things like sweet corn, tomatoes, and green beans might be good starter ideas, because they are items that most people like. Talk to your family when you get started, though, so you will have a good idea about what you all will be growing together.
If you live in Texas, you probably shouldn’t plant an apple tree as part of your garden. Most of the year, the climate is just too hot for you to get apple trees that will produce the sort of apples that are good to eat. You can grow Granny Smith apples in Texas, but those are much better to put into pies than to slice up and put into lunches. On the other hand, you probably shouldn’t grow watermelons in Michigan, unless you have a hothouse ready to go. The colder climate will not be hospitable. Spend some time researching your region to see what you should plant in your part of the world.
Pest control can be a huge issue with home gardens. The reason why you have to wash your produce that you get from the store is that it is often covered with pesticides that the commercial farms have sprayed throughout their growing areas to keep bugs and other critters away from the crops. One reason you may be growing crops at home is to stay away from those chemicals. However, if you don’t put anything down, your crop will be susceptible to these predators. Talk to your nursery professional to get the latest organic treatment ideas that work effectively in your part of the country. That way you’ll have healthier crops that end up feeding you instead of your yard’s bugs.
Planting your garden is by no means the end of the task at hand — it is just the beginning. You have to be vigilant in terms of watering it, keeping weeds from getting into your new crops, and keeping hungry rabbits and other varmints out of what you are growing for your family. It can be a pain, because it requires daily vigilance — if agriculture were all fun and games, people would have never come up with commercialized farming in the first place. However, watching your own crops grow and develop (and end up in yummy dishes on your table) is extremely rewarding, once you get to the end of the process.
Your home garden will bring you benefits over and over again — not the least of which are freshness and quality. Use these tips as you build your garden.