If you’ve been contemplating whether to start a vegetable garden this spring, then you’re in the right place. Trust me, this is one of those projects you will never regret. Starting a vegetable garden has easily been the one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Starting this vegetable has had a positive ripple effect on all aspects of my life; emotionally, mentally, and physically. When I’m in the garden I feel a sense of calm, peace and quiet. I love venturing out into the garden in the morning with a cup of coffee and taking it all in. Watching my plants grow from sprouts, and seeing my garden blossoming and thriving has been extremely rewarding and fulfilling. Not to mention, the freshest, most delicious, and naturally organic vegetables!
When I started my first garden about 6 years ago, our backyard was really bare. We were still fairly newly moved in and didn’t have much to do with the space (except it being Opie’s potty place). But then one day, we decided to build a few planters boxes and well, we just didn’t stop. There’s truly something special about growing your own food and then cooking a delicious dinner with it. Picture fresh summer salads and grilled vegetables for your backyard BBQs this summer.
This spring, I’m going to launch my vegetable garden series, where I’m going to walk you step-by step through everything there is to know about building, maintaining, and creating your own vegetable garden. If you’re intimidated by the process, don’t worry! I’m going to share all my tips and tricks on how to start a vegetable garden for beginners. And to kick things off, today, I’m sharing with you 7 reasons why you need to start a vegetable garden, THIS spring! Let’s get started!
7 reasons to start a vegetable garden!
- Fresh vegetables with no pesticides.
- Truly organic! This is my TOP reason to start a vegetable garden. Knowing where my food comes from and how they’re handled and grown is so important. Being a mom, one of my biggest goals is to make sure my family is the healthiest they can be. So by having my vegetable garden, I can help my family start their days right by making them smoothies and salads every day!
- Appreciation for food
- When you grow your own food it just tastes so much better than any store bought vegetables. Especially for my kids! They love being able to plant the vegetables, and picking them when they’re ready. With a vegetable garden, they have a sense of appreciation for food because they know that it takes time, love, and care to grow. When you buy vegetables or meat at the grocery store, you’re very far removed from the process, especially when it’s packaged up in a plastic bag.
- Understanding where food comes from
- This one is a big one for us. For us, it is super important for our kids to know where their food comes from which is why we love growing and harvesting our own vegetables, meat, and why we raise our chickens for eggs. We teach them how animals are raised and butchered, how vegetables are planted and take months to grow, etc. It teaches them about nature, respecting animals and plants, and connects them a bit more to planet earth.
- Reduces food waste
- My dad, having grown up poor, always said to me, “there are lot of people all around the world that are going to sleep hungry, while you get to eat whatever you want. Always appreciate the food you eat.” As a young kid, I unknowingly wasted a lot of food. It isn’t until you become a parent that you realize how important it is to teach this lesson to kids. But when you grow your own vegetable garden, you don’t waste as much because you basically pick what you eat, and you don’t buy unnecessary food that will end up going bad in the fridge.
- Sharing with family, friends, neighbors and our community
- When it comes to harvest time I get super excited because since I have a pretty big garden, I get to share the harvest with friends, family, and my community. When I have some vegetables I can’t eat, sometimes I’ll leave a basket in the front and let people grab it. It’s such a great feeling to share!
- Save time and money
- We all know how expensive buying organic vegetables can be and it definitely adds up. Plus, growing your own vegetables saves you a trip to the grocery store! All you need to do is shop in your own backyard!
- Healthy diet
- Trust me when I say we’re just like everyone else, we crave chips and processed food. But I can tell you when you have a vegetable garden with fresh vegetables, you’ll eat more whole foods than you ever have before. Since you have this fresh garden in front of you, you will end up making better choices. A chop salad, grilled shishito peppers, and sautéed eggplant! Yum! Also, if you’re a parent, this is a big one. My kids LOVE vegetables…and I mean they like all kinds of vegetables.
If you were thinking about starting a vegetable garden this spring and were on the fence about it, I hope this pushes you to start one! Make sure to comment below if you started one. I’d love for you to share pictures of your garden on my Instagram. As always, thank you so much for taking your time to read this! Have a beautiful day friends!
Love
Tiffany
