Growing your own food – how to start

Many people are getting interested in the idea of growing their own food. People are becoming more aware of the negative impacts eating processed foods can have on one’s health. Thus, a trend is emerging where people are taking an active role about where they get their food from.

Growing your own food, it ensures that you are getting healthy food into your diet. It’s also physical activity that gets you outside, amongst nature and in sunlight. In addition, growing your own food provides you with a strong sense of satisfaction. Knowing that you have worked hard to produce the food you are about to eat, you will appreciate it that much more.

Not to mention the financial benefits of growing your own food. While, it may not be so cost effective when you are just starting out, in the long run growing your own food can save you up to thousands of dollars per year! So how do you start? Let’s find out….

Tips on how to start growing your own food

Start small

When you are first starting out with growing your own food it’s important not to start too big. The best way to is to start small. Buy a few plants at first. Then gradually add to your crops as you become more comfortable with the plants that you have. It does take time to build up gardening skills, so it’s better to build up these skills gradually.
You are bound to make mistakes, and they will be easier to deal with on a small scale. If you get too excited and buy many plants and they are unsuccessful, you are likely to become discouraged.

Plant easy plants

it’s a good idea to start with plants that are easy to grow and look after. Lettuce and other green leafy salad veggies are easy, and you will get high yield from them. In addition, they are quite easy to grow in pots and in containers.

Get an urban compost

use a compost or urban compost if you live in the city. Compost is a good way to dispose of organic scraps in the most environmentally friendly way. What’s more, is that it creates an amazing source of nourishment for your crops.

Create a vertical garden

especially if you live in an Urban environment this a good way to grow herbs and leafy greens.

Choose the right sunlight spot

ensure that you choose the best space for your plant in terms on sunlight. The best place to plant is a spot that receives sunlight in the morning. If you plant in a place that receives more sunlight in the afternoon you might need to water it a little extra in the afternoon.

Plant veggies that you like to eat

this might be obvious, but still there is not much point planting something that you will never eat anyway. The harvest might end up being wasted.

Get the right soil

it’s important to start to grow your own veggies. You probably won’t have a successful harvest with the existing soil in your yard, so you will have to source a good quality soil from a local soil supplier to start with. Eventually you can start creating your own soil, but it takes a bit of time to learn how to do it.

Buy starter plants from garden stores

instead of growing your own food from seeds, the best way to start is by getting starter plants. These are vegetables plants in their infancy. While they cost slightly more than seeds, they are good way to start on gardening. Starter plants will give you a higher success rate than seeds. This will give you more confidence when you are starting out growing your own food.

What should you plant?

When you are first starting out with growing your own food, it’s important to start with easier crops. Here is a list of some the easier veggies and herbs to start growing in your garden in Australia:

Vegetables:

Tomatoes – they are great to grow because they easy. They just need access to sunlight and a support to grow on. To protect them from pests, grow basil next to it (which is also easy to grow).
Cucumbers – another amazing vegetable to start with. They like sunlight, warm temperatures and need a support for climbing. With regular watering, they will grow like weeds!
Carrots – carrots are simple to grow, but it may be difficult to produce beautiful long ones unless you have a good soil that isn’t too rocky. They grow best in raised beds and grow best in an area with plenty of sunlight.
Radishes – they are super easy to grow and only take 20 days to reach full size. Growing them from seed is easy too, they just need regular watering. The great thing about radishes is that you can sow seeds and grow them all year round.
Green beans – one the best homes grown vegetables, because there are heaps of different varieties to choose from. They are a great source of protein to add to your meals. You can find bean types that are vines or small bushes that support themselves.
Zucchini – these are one of the best vegetables you can grow because they grow so well – especially in a warm climate. The other great thing is that they grow easily from seed. They just need to be grown in soil with good moisture.

Herbs:

The great thing about planting herbs is that they each possess their own medicinal properties. They also help to make your food taste amazing and can have a variety of positive effects on your physical health.

Basil – it’s a great herb to start growing in your garden since it so versatile. You can use it in virtually any meal. In salads, pastas, soups and you can also make a great pesto out of it.
Chives – herbs that taste slightly like onion. They are also a great addition to any meal. Some foods that chives pair well with are potatoes, fish and salads.
Coriander – this is a great herb to grow in your home garden, especially if you live in a warmer climate. Coriander is easy to grow from seed.
Dill – otherwise known as Dilweed, this herb is great to have in your garden. Dill does wonders to flavour foods and are a great addition to fish, soups and potatoes. Some of the medicinal properties of Dill include that it prevents insomnia, helps to manage diabetes, boosts immunity, plus much more.
Fennel – is another great herb to have when you start growing your own food since its bulb can also be eaten as a vegetable. It has a unique flavour like aniseed, and is a perfect addition to salads. Some of the health benefits of consuming fennel is that it leads to increased bone strength, lower blood pressure and reduces inflammation.
Mint – this another amazing herb to have growing in your garden. Mint is perfect for brewing into a tea, and can be made into mint sauce, or can be a great addition to deserts or fruit salads. Some of the medical properties of mint is that it helps with digestion. It helps with indigestion and gas, gastric ulcers and is also great for oral health.
Parsley – is another great herb to have growing in your home garden since it’s an amazing addition to your cooking. Some of the health benefits of parsley is that it has anti-inflammatory properties, it strengthens the immune system and has anti carcinogenic properties.
Sage – leaves have a very strong flavour which make it a great addition to any dish. Sage grows best when it has a lot of access to sunlight. Sage can also be dried and preserved to use later.
Thyme – another easy herb to grow in your garden is thyme. This is a great herb to add to soups and roasts. Thyme is best grown from cuttings, since it is difficult to grow them from seed. Alternatively, you could plant them from starter plants that you get from the garden store.

What are the benefits of having a food garden?

There are many benefits of growing your own food. So here we’ve outline them for you so you can decide for yourself if starting your own food garden is something you would like to do:

Improve your overall health

one of the obvious facts of growing your own food is that you will improve your health as well as your family. It means you will be accessing vital nutrients and minerals that will have a positive impact your body. Not to mention the physical benefits. Growing your own food requires physical labour which is good exercise. Plus, it means you get outside and in the sun, which is always beneficial to your health.

Save money

while it does take a bit of time to start saving money from your food garden, eventually your groceries expenses will shrink as you begin harvesting your own food. If you start growing pumpkins and other starchy vegetables you can store them and use throughout the winter months.

Lower your carbon footprint

growing your own food is not only beneficial to you but it also benefits the whole planet. When you take responsibility for growing your own food in sustainable gardens. When you don’t use pesticides or herbicides you are saving the earth from the damages of chemical pollution.

Eat food that tastes amazing

The fresher the food the better it tastes. So, if you are growing your own food, the time it takes to get from the garden to your plate is only very short and means it will taste better. Studies show that organic vegetables tastes better than generically farmed vegetables since the synthetic fertilisers compromise the taste.

You take control of your own food security

when you grow your own food, you are taking food security into your own hands. The global market place means that food prices can fluctuate at a moment’s notice meaning you are not in control when prices sky-rocket for some reason. When you take control of growing your own food you are not leaving yourself at the mercy of the food market. You provide your own food.

Learn about nature

growing your own food gives you an opportunity to be in touch with nature. While you are reaping the rewards in terms of health benefits you are also giving yourself the opportunity to learn about nature, specifically about growing food. The whole process of growing your own vegetables is a hands-on learning experience.

What are the disadvantages about growing your own food?

While there are many benefits that can be enjoyed from growing your own food, there are some drawbacks:

Takes time

unfortunately it’s not possible to create a successful food garden without spending a decent amount of time working on it. You need to consistently tend to your garden and make sure every plant has what it needs. In addition, it does take time before you will be able to be fully self-sufficient with your vegetables.

Start-up costs

while you can save money from growing your own food, there are some costs involved with starting your own food garden. You need to buy soil, seeds, starter plants, pots, gardening tools and perhaps a compost bin.

Holiday costs

if you go away on holiday you may also need to pay someone to look after your garden while you’re away, particularly if you are gone for long periods of time. If you don’t pay someone to tend to your garden could start dying which be a waste of your hard work and energy.

Nevertheless, the overall benefits of growing your own food a so great, its likely to outweigh those few disadvantages. Though, if you would like to start you own vegetable garden and need help with the start-costs you could consider getting a small personal loan. At We Find Loans we can help you to find one that’s right for you http://35.201.15.107/