A modern-day gardening movement is emerging in the United States as the concern for the environment grows along with the growing economic situation. To ease the pressure of public food supply, during both world wars, the American government encouraged citizens to grow their own vegetables, fruits and herbs to be more self-sufficient and less vulnerable to economic hardships. Today gardens focus on environmental and financial benefits. However, self-sufficiency, especially during a time of war, helps everyone.
The benefits of saving on your grocery bill today are most gratifying. Starting a vegetable, fruit and herb garden requires only a modest financial investment, mainly in the beginning. You will enjoy more tasty and nutritional food being that it will come right from the ground or tree to your plate or palate. Your garden will give you easy access to healthy, even organic, produce. Rest assured that your produce will not contain any harmful disinfectants or be pumped with nasty chemicals to make it look prettier and/or larger.
Think of how green you will become harvesting food from your own garden. The produce bought at grocery stores can travel hundreds of miles from the grower to grocer, wasting gas and energy. If your garden produces large harvests, you could sell or donate the leftovers.
Once you get into this, you will discover it can be fun and can be enjoyed by all ages. To get started, consider which type of garden would best suit your lifestyle. If you don’t have much yard space, container gardening on a sunny patio or balcony is great or even just a windowsill can work nicely for small indoor gardens. For an outdoor garden, choose a sunny, level, easily accessible location. Using a raised bed is very convenient and gives the plants more room to spread out their roots freely.
Of course, will need tools and buying high quality tools is worthwhile because they will last for many years. You should have to get, at the bare minimum, a shovel, a wheelbarrow, a spreader, a hose with a spray nozzle and a hoe. Another useful tool is a garden hose reel to make storing your hose easy.
Now comes a fun part: you get to choose which vegetables, fruits and herbs you would like to grow. Some plants work better for container or inside gardens; for instance: herbs, tomatoes, sprouts, lettuces, peppers and strawberries. For outdoor gardens, you will first need to consider the climate zone in which you live and the planting season for each plant to be the most successful.
Today Americans have become very sensitive to environment and health concerns. Buying all-natural and organic products at the heath food markets can be expensive. A home grown garden eliminates this expense and can be a very pleasurable, rewarding experience. Join the others in partaking in an enjoyable solution to eating healthy and living green for years to come.
