Vegetable Gardens Have Become Fashionable
By Sandy Morris on Feb 2, 2010 in Shop-N-Save
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There are a lot of adults who remember their childhood days of working in the family garden to pull weeds or harvest the vegetables. This activity was done as a matter of normal living.
As years pass, we forgot how to grow vegetables because we found it easier to go to the supermarket. Today’s children have no idea that they could actually grow their vegetables… after all, they only have known the grocery store.
As the recession began taking its toll on more and more Americans we began to search for cheaper ways to do things. We began clipping coupons again and started shopping at stores that had weekly bargains.
Now with the recession continuing in America, except for DC, more people are considering growing their own vegetables again. Some are using their own back yards to create gardens that even Mr. Green Jeans would be proud of. While others have no backyards but that has not kept them from creating vegetable gardens for their families.
Local communities are banning together and making empty plots of land available for homemakers to practice their gardening skills. Others are using containers on their patios and some are making raised platform gardens to keep the gardening from tweaking their backs.
According to a 2009 study conducted by the National Gardening Association, it was discovered that the average vegetable gardening household saved just over 500 dollars per year by growing plants and cultivating their own harvest. Most couples used just 70 dollars to get started with their garden supplies, seeds and garden tools. It is estimated that 34% of all American households now grow some of their own food – a number that rose 10% from 2007-2008, and another 19% from 2008-2009.
Where do you start?
The first thing you’ll need to do when designing a vegetable garden is selecting the right size and location. First, be sure your site gets a lot of sunshine. The majority of vegetables need at least six to eight hours of direct sunshine each day for the best outcome. If you have a more shaded area, you can stick your spinach and lettuce there. As you assess your yard, make sure to take into account the shade cast by the deciduous trees and the house during specific times of the day.
Ideally, the garden will be handily situated in close proximity to the kitchen, so you can tend to it with less effort and gather your crop without hiking long distances. The best soil will be full of nutrients and drain well, so you may have to add compost and use garden tools to aerate the earth before you start.
There are several strategies when it comes to choosing which plants to use in your vegetable gardening endeavor. Some vegetables are grown from seeds in a method known as “direct-sow.” A few weeks before the last frost (check the Farmer’s Almanac to get this date), sow your beets, carrots, parsnips, peas, radishes, chard, turnips and salad greens. After the last frost, sow your beans, corn, squash and herbs like dill and cilantro. Next, you may want to use some transplants for broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, parsley, peppers and tomatoes. Your summer squash, lettuce and broccoli will grow equally well from seeds or transplants, so that choice is up to you. Growing plants like beets, chard, green beans, lettuce, parsley, peppers, tomatoes, radishes and summer squash is rather easy in most parts of the country, so you may want to include a lot of these crops to start.
However you choose to do it… just do it. Gardening gets you out in the sunshine, improves your muscle tone, helps improve your eating habits and can be an inspiration to family gatherings.
