Growing your own food is a great experience. It is fun, gets your creativity flowing, can help you save money and best of all can help you reduce stress and help you make the switch towards a healthy lifestyle. So how do you go about it? Here are a few tips to get you started on this wonderful journey that you are sure to enjoy:
1.) Find Out What Crops You Can Raise in Your Region: This is step number one. There are a variety of plants that you can grow on your own. But the specific types of crops you can raise in your region will depend on various factors including climate, soil, rainfall and of-course the available space in your backyard. The best way to get this information is to check with a seasoned grower. You can also use the internet to do your research. Subscribing to garden bloggers in your area is a great idea too.
2.) Time to Grow: Once you have made a list of vegetable and fruit plants that you can grow in your area, find out how much time is required to grow each plant variety. This includes but is not limited to planting, harvesting, watering, fertilizing, soil requirements, etc. Start with easier plants first that do not require a lot of maintenance. Fruit plants generally take a long time to bear fruits but they are well worth. It抯 almost like an investment where you invest once and keep getting returns for a very long time. Apples, pears, plums, raspberries and peaches are all excellent choices.
3.) Overcoming Climatic Restrictions: What do you do when you live in areas that get less sunlight or experiences adverse conditions not suitable for growing plants? One of the best ways to work with such a climate is to build a geodesic dome solar greenhouse. You can get more details on how to build a geodesic dome solar greenhouse here.
4.) Storing Food:You cannot eat all the food that you product in one go. So storing food becomes an important consideration. Food can be stored by drying, canning, freezing and bedding. Some foods can be stored in-ground and some like grains need to be stocked in barns. Find out how you can store the food you are planning to produce from experts in your area.
5.) Learning the Tricks: For starters it is best if you have a mentor to guide you. If you do not get a mentor, you can always get the information you need from other seasoned growers in your area. In addition to that the internet is a great place to get some much needed advice. There are a whole lot of forums and social networking sites dedicated to this cause. Just do a search for 慻ardening social networks?and you will come across a host of them. Most of these networks have experts who will be willing to help you for free. Just join a proper group and post your questions. You can also make some great friends this way.
6.) Just Get Started: The best way to go about this is to get started without thinking twice. You might fail in your first attempt but that does not matter. The important thing is that as soon as you get started, you start to learn. And it is a fact that the universe helps you too. You will be surprised at the amount of info and sources you will start finding.
7.) Don抰 Give Up: This is perhaps the most important tip. There is a major chance that you will not do good at your first attempt in growing your own food. But isn抰 this the case with most things that we do in life? We learn with time and failures are only stepping stones to success. So whatever you do, do not give up. Just keep learning and moving forward. And once you have mastered your art, make sure to give information to others as well so they do not have to face the same difficulties that you faced.
By growing your own food you are adding a whole lot of value to the environment and you will surely be rewarded. Good luck!
