Growing up, springtime often meant it was gardening season.  We never grew vegetables or fruit, but we definitely had our fair share of plantings, bushes, flowers and trees.  Given my parents’ passion for creating a beautifully landscaped property, I’m surprised we never embarked on the idea of a vegetable garden.  Although I don’t have my own outdoor space today, I yearn to grow a vegetable garden.  Here’s why:

1. Rewarding: When we create and grow things ourselves, there is a huge sense of accomplishment and pride that one feels.  It is much more gratifying to eat the food that you grow and raise yourself then if you buy it at a store.
2. Organic at Home: When you grow your own vegetables, you choose the methods of how you grow them. You get to decide if you want to use chemicals, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers or if you would rather grow them organically. Since you make the decisions of how you will grow your garden, you know what you are really getting.  It is the safest and most transparent farming you can get.
3. Cost Savings: Let’s face it: Good produce can add up on the grocery bill.  Growing your own veggies and fruit, however, can save tons of money!
4. Increased Intake of Micro-nutrients: Granted, you can only grow the fruits and vegetables that will do well in your local region, but for the most part, you can grow what YOU like and what you will enjoy the most.  Choose the vegetables (and fruit) that you love and know you’ll be most inclined to eat. Doing so will up your intake of important vitamins and minerals that your body needs.
5. Taste: Fresh vegetables and fruit from a home garden ALWAYS taste better than produce you buy in the store.
6. More Meals at Home: When you have delicious fresh fruit and vegetables right in your own backyard, you’ll be more inspired to cook and dine at home using the wonderful vegetables and fruit in your garden.  Cooking at home will save you money, give you time to bond with your family and create wonderful memories together.  Further, you can cook healthier meals than if you were to eat out at restaurants.
7. Your Children Will Like their Vegetables: Get your kids involved in the planting, growing and picking the produce from your garden. Doing so will give them a sense of accomplishment and pride for the work that they put into it. The great benefit of this is that they will gain an appreciation for the food that they work so hard to grow, making them more likely to try and like it.  You might even want to assign a specific portion of the garden to them, giving them full responsibility for its success.

Have you planted a vegetable garden? What do you love about it?