Why Garden? Part 3

Today I am going to tell you MY favorite reasons for growing vegetables! If any of these reasons or the reasons listed in Part 1 or Part 2 of, "Why would I want to garden?" sound appealing to you, I hope you will consider growing a garden this year! Remember, if you've never gardened before, don't worry, I will walk you through the start-up process step-by-step.

So, in my case...

I grow vegetables because it's FUN!!!

I love spending time outdoors, being close to nature.

When I am stressed, gardening calms me.

Working with the seeds, the plants, the soil... it's all very meditative for me.

I like gardening by myself. I enjoy the calming, peaceful alone time.

I also like gardening with friends and family. It's a great way to spend time together.

I LOVE seeing beautiful baby plants sprouting up from the soil!

I like seeing morning dew on the leaves of lettuce & cilantro, raindrops gently dripping off of red, shiny peppers.

Essentially, I see beauty in everything in the garden, from the moist, crumbly texture of the soil to the colors, shapes, & textures of different vegetable seeds, to the myriad shades of greens, reds, yellows, and even pinks & purples of the vegetables themselves.

I love feeling the sun on my back and wearing a big straw hat!

I like taking artistic photos of vegetables.

In general, I love being creative with the entire gardening process. I can read endlessly about gardening, I love experimenting with new vegetable varieties, and when spring is right around the corner, I find that scheming up new ways of growing my garden is more fun than going out on a Saturday night.

I like working hard and seeing the fruits of my labor.

I enjoy sharing the food I've grown with family, friends, and coworkers. They are so appreciative and sometimes can hardly believe how fresh and delicious garden-fresh produce tastes.

Nothing beats walking outside, grabbing a head of this, a couple roots of that, picking a pepper or tomato, snipping a few sprigs of herbs, then walking back inside and cooking up a fabulously fresh breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

There's also nothing like walking past the garden and seeing the most delicious looking spinach, sweetest snap peas, juiciest cherry tomatoes, etc. and just grabbing them and munching on them right there. YUM!!!!

I love sharing the garden with children. They LOVE finding and eating the sweet snap peas, the cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes. They are very curious and interested in discovering that the broccoli head grows right out of the center of a giant broccoli plant! They like finding worms, bugs, and butterflies in the garden. Children are delightful gardening companions.

The family dog likes the garden too. When he's not stealing our sweet, juicy snap peas, he enjoys romping around in the backyard with me as his pal.


I could go on and on about why I love to garden, and surely other people garden for additional unique reasons. I will just end Gardening Info Series Question #1 with the following summary:

YOU MAY WISH TO GROW A VEGETABLE GARDEN IF YOU WANT TO EAT DELICIOUS, FRESH, NATURALLY GROWN FOOD, POTENTIALLY SAVE MONEY ON GROCERIES, AND/OR IF ANY OF WHAT I'VE WRITTEN ABOVE SOUNDS FUN, BEAUTIFUL, CALMING, TASTY, OR INVITING TO YOU IN ANY OTHER WAY.

Question #2 in our Gardening Info Series will be:
"How To Select A Garden Site"

Why Garden? Part 2

Gardening Info Series Question #1:
"Why Would I want to garden?"

In last week's post I talked about the exceptional taste and potential health benefits of vegetable gardening. Today, I'll discuss the potential cost savings of growing one's own food.

Tonight, in response to hearing someone say, "But eating organic is so expensive," I went snooping around the produce sections of two large grocery stores, notebook in hand, writing down the prices of Certified Organic (O) and Conventional (C) vegetables. Here are just a few of my observations:

Lettuce
Iceberg: $1.99/head O, $1.49/head C
Romaine & Leaf: $2.99/lb O, $1.49/lb C
Boston: $4.29/head O, $1.49/lb C
Pre-washed Bagged Salad Mix:
$5.99/10oz. ($.60/oz.) O
$3.49/6 oz. ($.58/oz) C

Beets with Tops
$3.99/bunch O, $3.49/bunch C

Kale, Collards, Swiss Chard
$3.49/bunch O, $1.99/bunch C

Radishes
$2.99/bunch O, $2.49/bunch C

Clearly, in every case the organic vegetables are more expensive. Yet, each of us may have our own opinion about how significant and/or "worth it" we feel it would be to buy the organic option in each particular case above.


This is Part 2 of, "Why would I want to garden?" Therefore, since I've already told you about the health benefits and the great, fresh taste of garden-grown veggies, the second response I offer you to this question is the following:

YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER GROWING VEGETABLES IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO EAT FRESH, HEALTHY, NATURALLY-GROWN PRODUCE POTENTIALLY AT A VERY LOW COST!

Let's take my family and the crop Romaine Lettuce as an example of how we could save money by planting a vegetable garden. Why did I choose lettuce? Because lettuce is easy to grow, even for beginners, and it doesn't take up much space in the garden!


We are going to assume the following:

a) We have selected a garden site that meets all the essential requirements for growing great veggies.
(Stay tuned, I will teach you how to do this!)

b) My family eats 1 lb. Romaine Lettuce per week.

c) We prefer to buy Organic ($2.99/lb).

d) We grow lettuce only when it grows best, about 6 weeks in spring, 6 weeks in fall.

e) A packet of Certified Organic seeds costs $3.50.


Now we can do the following math:

Grocery Price x Quantity Eaten x Weeks Grown) - Seed Cost = Potential $$$ We Could Save

$2.99/lb. x 1 lb. x 12 weeks - $3.50 = $32

Some readers may say, "Wow, that's great!" Others may say, "That's nothing. I'm not going to grow a garden just to save $32!" Both of those are excellent responses, because every family's financial situation, time availability to maintain a garden, etc. is different.

I would like to point out, however, that larger families may consume more lettuce than my small household, plus LETTUCE IS JUST ONE OF MANY CROPS THAT CAN BE EASILY GROWN IN A WISCONSIN GARDEN! Therefore, if you do a similar calculation for each of the crops you would like to grow, the potential cost savings will begin to look much prettier.


You'll notice that I keep saying potential cost savings. This is because of assumption a) in the example above (a garden site that meets the requirements for growing great vegetables). For some, growing a vegetable garden can be as cheap as buying seeds and paying the water bill. For others, depending on their location, soil type & fertility, and other factors that I will go into more detail about later, gardening could actually cost more money than it saves.

I encourage you to continue to follow this Gardening Info Series because I will keep telling you more of what you need to pay attention to in the garden planning process!


Next post: "Why would I want to garden? Part 3"

Why Garden? Part 1

Gardening Info Series Question #1:
"Why Would I want to garden?"

1) Without a doubt, food grown naturally in a home garden is exceptionally FRESH!

2) Fresh vegetables taste amazing and are HEALTHY for growing children and adults too.

3) The USDA recommends that children ages 2-8 eat 1-1.5 cups of vegetables PER DAY! Girls and boys ages 9-18 need 2-3 cups per day depending on their age, sex, and daily physical activity. As adults we need 2-3 cups of vegetables every single day!

Now, let me ask you this: Have you ever worked at a restaurant? A bakery/deli? A health food store? A Certified Organic vegetable farm?

ALL PLACES THAT GIVE YOU FREE FOOD!

I have worked at all four of those places, and let me tell you what I learned from those experiences.

IN GENERAL, WHEN WE HAVE CONVENIENT, FREE ACCESS TO CERTAIN TYPES OF FOOD, EVEN IF WE TRY TO RESIST, WE INEVITABLE BEGIN TO INCLUDE MORE OF THOSE FOODS IN OUR DIET!

The same is true for having a vegetable garden. When we have already bought the seeds, spent hours in the hot sun planting and tending our garden, and then suddenly right outside the back door have a generous bounty of delicious, fresh produce just waiting to be eaten, chances are

WE WILL INCREASE OUR DAILY VEGETABLE INTAKE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS NEW, FREE, DELICIOUS FOOD SOURCE.

Besides the exceptional taste and thehealth benefits of eating garden-fresh produce, there are additional benefits to growing a vegetable garden, which I will discuss next time.

Gardening Info Series Overview

It’s March and spring is right around the corner. If you’re like me, you’re having visions of the delicious, high-yielding, beautifully maintained vegetable garden you intend to grow this season!

Or, maybe you’ve never gardened before, but the idea of saving money on grocery bills, eating a healthier diet, or getting your kids involved in a fun, educational project this summer sounds appealing.

My name is Brenda Foster. I am the Founder and Director of Wisconsin Families Garden, LLC. In this Gardening Info Series, I will answer some of the important questions individuals and families are asking about planning and managing a vegetable garden.

If you want to garden but don’t know how, don't think you have the space, or if gardens you grew in the past didn’t turn out as you envisioned they would, then I encourage you to follow our Gardening Info Series, starting with this question:

"Why would I want to garden?"