Growing your own vegetables is a pastime that has been rewarding gardeners and feeding families almost since the dawn of time. With more and more people concerned with food additives and grocery store prices, home gardening has become increasingly popular.
Starting your own garden can feel overwhelming. Where do you start, what plants should you buy, and how many do you need? Here are a few tips to get started growing your favorites yourself!
Start with Family Favorites
What does your family like to eat? This should always be the starting point when planning a vegetable garden at home. Tomatoes are cheap and easy to grow, but if your family hates tomatoes or you have an allergy, it would be a waste of time and space. Choose plants that will feed your family for the best return on your investment.
Weigh Cost Versus Effort
Some plants are trickier to grow than others. They might need more particular soil or light conditions, be more prone to disease, or simply take more space and time than average to yield a good crop.
If these same vegetables can be cheaply purchased at the store – such as onions or potatoes – it might be best to purchase rather than grow them. Use the space that you might have allotted for their growth to a crop that grows faster and easier, instead.
Give Yourself Space
How much space do you need? That depends on the type of plants you will be growing. You can learn more about the requirements for each crop from your retailer of vegetable plants in Skokie, IL. If you have a limited amount of space, you might need to trim down your to-grow list. If you plan on growing enough to freeze or can part of your crop, you will need to find more space. Weight the room you have against what you hope to accomplish to find the right balance for your garden.
Check out the Meinke Garden Center at Meinkegardencenter.com to learn more.