If you think about all the energy consumed by shipping food, artificial fertilizers, freezing food, and processing food, it can quickly add up to a lot of pollution. So why not skip all of that and grow your own? It can be as simple as growing tomatoes in a planter or as extensive as producing all your food needs for the growing season and beyond. If you haven’t gardened before, there are a number of resources on the web to help you start off simple. As you get more experience, you can expand what you grow. Remember to have fun with it and enjoy your journey to go green.
If you don’t have any gardening experience, don’t be intimidated by the sounds of growing your own food. It can be easy if you follow a few guidelines.
If you have the space, start with a large area (about 6 feet by 10 feet) so you’ll have room to try a variety of food to grow. Make sure the space gets sun all day long. If you don’t have room to grow a large garden, you can either plant the food in containers or work them in between plants in an existing garden.
Water is the key. Not too much, not too little. Once vegetables start to produce food, consistent watering is important. To check the soil by picking up a handful and squeezing it. If it holds together, it is fine. If it crumbles, it needs water.
An easy way to manage this is to run a soaker hose through the garden and connect it to a water timer. This way, it will take care of itself.
Some plants are easier to grow than others. If you are growing food for the first time, start with these plants as they’re easy to grow:
Have fun with it. Growing your own food can be very rewarding. It has more taste and you can’t get it fresher than from your own garden. Enjoy!